Issue #0539/2 - Expensive to operate, neither printer presents as a low cost option but Lexmark’s T640 has flexible paper handling options.
In the next category, Lexmark’s T640 and Xerox’s Phaser 3500 sit at a 33ppm print speed within a group of competing printers offering print speeds between 33ppm and 35ppm.
Lexmark’s T640 is typically placed very low in the league of purchase prices. However, at the base level, in this instance it is not the cheapest – nor is Dell’s Workgroup Printer M5200n. It is the Xerox Phaser 3500 that takes this slot with a price that is 10% lower than the Lexmark. The Dell is then 12% more expensive than the Lexmark (25% higher than the Xerox).
BUT – of these three, it is only the Dell that is network-ready as a standard out of the box feature! By the time the network interface has been allowed for in the Lexmark T640n and Xerox Phaser 3500N, the situation changes entirely. And, here we see some extraordinarily high networking premiums applied by both companies.
Xerox Phaser3500N
In fact, once this factor has been accounted for, it is the Dell M5200n that is the lowest cost in the group – by 7.6% from the Xerox Phaser 3500N, which is still less expensive than the Lexmark. The Lexmark is more than £100 more expensive than even the Xerox but is £145 more expensive than the Dell.
Lexmark has always been at the forefront of high-capacity toner cartridge development and the T640 is no exception. This model has a maximum capacity cartridge of 21,000 pages but is shipped with a cartridge that delivers only 6,000 pages. This is another way, along with the lack of network card as a standard feature, in which Lexmark keeps the basic purchase price lower than most other manufacturers.
In reality, it is an attempt to promote value that just is not there.
| UK - Mono | Purchase |
Print Speed |
Maximum mono yield |
Nominal CPP |
Long-term CPP over 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother HL-8050N | £829 | 34 ppm | 17,000 | 0.82 pence | 1.11 pence |
|
Dell Workgroup Laser M 5200n |
£499 | 35 ppm | 18,000 | 0.74 pence | 0.91 pence |
| Epson EPL-N3000 | £664 | 34 ppm | 17,000 | 0.82 pence | 1.03 pence |
| Kyocera Mita FS-3830N | £650 | 33 ppm | 20,000 | 0.33 pence | 0.65 pence |
| Lexmark T640 | £644 | 33 ppm | 21,000 | 1.17 pence | 1.39 pence |
| Oki B6300n | £609 | 34 ppm | 17,000 | 0.74 pence | 0.91 pence |
| Xerox Phaser 3500 | £540 | 33 ppm | 12,000 | 1.25 pence | 1.40 pence |
| Xerox Phaser 4500 | £949 | 34 ppm | 18,000 | 0.95 pence | 1.27 pence |
Note that for this level of machine, the mixed mono/colour CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 10,000 pages per month using maximum capacity toners and takes into account any standard, or starter, toner cartridges shipped with the printer and includes the purchase price.
Lexmark T640In point of fact, Kyocera Mita’s FS-3830N is priced for purchase at the same level as the Lexmark T640, yet the nominal CPP from Kyocera Mita is 72% lower than Lexmark. So, there can be little excuse for such high CPPs from Lexmark. None of the competitive machines in the group show such poor value for money as these two new models from Lexmark and Xerox.
Both are hugely expensive to run despite not being the cheapest to buy. Dell’s well-known policy of cost competitivity is strongly reflected here and Oki, with its B6300n, is also placed as one of the lower priced machines, yet has a CPP that is as competitive as Dell’s.
It is Kyocera Mita’s FS-3830N, network-ready in its base version and also with a very high capacity cartridge (20,000 pages), that demonstrates best long-term Cost of Printing, with a three-year CPP that is lower than even Dell and Oki machines by a margin of 29%.
In terms of configuration and capabilities, the Lexmark T640 has a small basic page capacity of only 250 sheets against a standard paper tray of at least 500 sheets on the other printers. In its defence, maximum paper capacity from Lexmark is quoted as 3,850 sheets, the highest in the group by a factor of two, from a total of six sources. This is thanks to the availability of a 2,000-sheet feeder for the printer.
Incidentally, for this page capacity, Lexmark quotes a paper weight of 75gsm, whereas the de facto industry standard has always been to quote number of sheets at 80gsm, meaning that the figure of 3,850 sheets is not a real, comparative figure. Reality is that maximum paper capacity is likely to be closer to 3,350 sheets. This is another demonstration of Lexmark’s apparent intent to deceive customers in its attempt to gain any competitive advantage it can.
Partly configuredKyocera Mita FS-3830N
Overall, the Lexmark T640 does has a wide variety of available paper options, including: 500-sheet and 250-sheet feeders; duplex; 2,000-sheet high capacity feed; staple finisher; 5-bin mailbox; 1,850-sheet output stacker. The only competitor offering media handling flexibility of this level is the Kyocera Mita FS-3830N.
Xerox actually makes claims that the Phaser 3500 has “Class-Leading Volume” and that “With a monthly duty cycle of up to 100,000 images, the Phaser 3500 reliably handles the heaviest workgroup printing volumes.”
While the claim that it will handle the heaviest workgroup printing volumes may well be true, claiming that it has ‘class-leading volume’, is just plain misleading. At 100,000 pages per month, this machine actually has the lowest quoted duty cycle of any printer in the group. Duty cycles in the group are as high as 175,000 pages per month (Dell M5200n and Kyocera Mita FS-3830N) and, surprisingly, the duty cycle of Lexmark’s T640 is claimed to be double that of the Phaser 3500, at 200,000 pages.
So, although they are the newest printers in a group that includes printers that have been on the market for some time, some for at more 18 months, they do not represent the best value in any respect unless highly flexible paper handling is a priority – in which case the expensive Lexmark T640 might be an acceptable option.
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