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Issue #0834/1 – Along with its new Stylus Office All-in-One printers "Serious wireless business inkjet All-in-One devices take up battle positions", Epson has launched a heavy duty inkjet printer for the office market. Competing with both Hewlett-Packard Officejet Pro inkjet printers and low-end colour laser printers, the Epson B-500DN business inkjet printer is a pricey colour printer to buy but knocks spots of every other colour printer device where long-term Total Cost of Printing is concerned.

Epson claims that its B-500DN is a, “High productivity, high print volume business printer with colour cost per page as low as a mono laser printer”! So, we’ll put that to the test against some of the mono laser printer competition and with comparisons against the most obvious competitor, Hewlett-Packard’s Officejet Pro K5400dtn as well the main colour laser printers.

One observation that is interesting to note, is that Hewlett-Packard treats its Officejet Pro K5400 business inkjet series in exactly the same manner as its business laser printers – there are four models ranging from the basic K5400, through n and dn models, to the top of the range K5400dtn.

Although Epson has only a DN model of the B-500, this model in itself has two paper feeds so, in all cases, we’ll match the effective DTN status of the B-500DN for our comparisons. Where laser printers are concerned, this does not mean selecting the DTN model within a range because most laser printers have a multipurpose by-pass feed that does the same job as the rear feed on the B-500. What it does mean is avoiding any laser printer with a single-sheet by-pass feed.

Epson B-500DN

B-500DN print head

On top of this, the first page out time is claimed to be as fast as 3 seconds!! So, between raw print speed and first page to print time, the B-500DN is going to be a tough act to follow, even by a laser printer. For instance, the Officejet Pro K5400 prints at 16ppm and 15ppm in normal mode (first page to print time not quoted), with best mode being the same as the B-500 at 5ppm. Then, it is necessary to go right up to the Colour LaserJet 4700 or Colour LaserJet CP3525 (a new model) to find 30ppm colour laser printing.

HP CLJ CP3525

Note: although the Hewlett-Packard Colour LaserJet CP3525 has not yet formally been launched (November 1st), full information is available on the internet and the product is fully available, with pricing, for purchase. Because of its aggressive price position it would be irresponsible not to include it (which would mean including the Colour LaserJet 4700, at nearly €2,400, instead).

In fact, the B-500DN outstrips the low-cost colour laser competition by more than head and shoulders, for its price, in a number of areas.

At around the same price point, we find colour laser models such as Brother’s HL-4050CDN (20/20ppm), Epson’s AcuLaser C2800N (25/20ppm), Kyocera’s FS-C5015N (16/16ppm) and Konica Minolta’s magicolor 2550DN (20/5ppm).

Note that all prices used in this article are median street price sourced in Germany, including tax.

Note that here we have two models that have built-in auto-duplex capability to match the built-in capability of the B-500DN, while the other two are network only models. Maximum paper capacity is lower than the B-500DN in every case – but note that one of these models is a four-pass machine printing at only 5ppm in colour.

So, at the price level, Epson’s B-500 is at least 50% faster and up to 500% faster in colour; it has two paper feeds with an inbuilt capacity of 650 sheets, compared to capacity ranging from 200 sheets from one source to 600 sheets from two sources amongst the laser printers.

Therefore, moving to a selection of printers with a configuration similar to the B-500DN, we need DN configurations in the laser ranges, offering duplex printing and network interface, with a print speed of around 30ppm or more in colour. Because the multipurpose feed on the laser printers offers the second feed capability, we don’t need to select twin-feed models.

In only one case does the available print speed fall below the 30ppm mark and then only to 29ppm. The table below briefly describes the laser printers that compete most closely on basic specification with Epson’s B-500DN and includes the two other major business oriented inkjet printers.

*Note: Ricoh’s Aficio GX5050N does not have a standard second paper feed and it is not clear which mode print speed is quoted for.

Other features of the B-500DN that are particularly noteworthy include the extra high-capacity black ink cartridge that is available. This offers a massive 8,000 pages yield, while the normal high-capacity colour cartridges each offer 7,000-page yields (there are no extra high-capacity colour cartridges). These capacities actually beat one of the laser printer competitors by a clear margin – 33% in black and 133% in colour! In addition, the B-500DN colour cartridges match the colour yield of another one of the laser printers.

Epson’s B-500DN, as a business printer, even has PCL emulation but stops short of being a PostScript compatible printer.

HP OJ Pro K5400dtn

It comes as no surprise that the purchase price of all the laser printers is considerably higher than any of the three business inkjet printers. The closest match is Hewlett-Packard’s new CP3525dn, which is 44% higher than the B-500DN. All of the others are higher still, with Konica Minolta’s magicolor 5650EN-D at the top of the scale with a median street price in Germany of €1,141.

Purchase Price - Business Inkjet vs Colour Laser

Xerox’s solid ink Phaser 8560DN represents the intermediate position in the group from the technology perspective, being ink-based but of a page printer design and it is the page printer design that determines its price position rather than the ink technology. Its complex and sophisticated engine is more in keeping with a laser printer than an inkjet printer with scanning print head.

Xerox Phaser 8560

Where the solid ink printers fail to impress greatly is in cost of ink. While three of the four laser printers have more expensive colour toner than the Phaser 8560’s solid ink, and colour ink for the Ricoh business inkjet printer is as expensive as the most expensive toner, the colour solid ink form the Phaser 8560 is only a fraction less expensive. Black ink for the Phaser 8560 is at the higher end of the scale, meaning that overall Total Cost of Printing is second highest in the group, behind only Lexmark’s C780dn (no surprise that this model is the most costly printer)!

Total Cost of Printing - Business Inkjet vs Colour Laser

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 2,500 pages per month; 70% pages in mono and 30% pages in colour; is based on the use of maximum capacity supplies; takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the device; and also includes the cost of purchase. All prices are median street price sourced in Germany, including tax.

Most gratifying is to see Epson’s B-500DN falling into place with ink costs that are the lowest in the group by a significant margin – beating even the Officejet Pro by 45% on both its mono and colour nominal CPP.

Oki C710

This means that, even with it higher hardware purchase price, the B-500DN has come on to market as the least expensive business printer on the market in the long-term. Total Cost of Printing is 25% below the Officejet Pro K5400dtn, 60% below the least costly laser printer (Oki C710dn) and 65% below the most expensive (Lexmark C780dn). It also costs a massive 61% less to run than Ricoh’s attempt at a low cost business printer, the Aficio GX5050N.

Taking a look at the situation from a variable page volume viewpoint, the B-500DN is a clear winner upwards of about 1,300 pages per month, below which its higher hardware purchase price benefits the Officejet Pro K5400dn. Relatively speaking, the page printers, together with the Ricoh GelSprinter machine, cluster together in a tight grouping at more than double the cost of the B500DN.

Total Cost of Printing - Business Inkjet vs Colour Laser

OK. So, now it is time to investigate the claim that the B-500DN has a “colour cost per page as low as a mono laser printer”. This is the sort of claim that is usually met with some scepticism, especially considering the relatively high hardware purchase price of the printer. Epson’s qualification for the statement is that it is “Compared with best selling Mono Laser Printers in EMEA in 2007. Cost per Page calculated from official list prices and official specifications in March’08”.

However, in this instance, the results are perhaps something of a surprise.

We have pulled out the eight lowest priced mono laser printers that can offer a competitive print speed to the B-500DN, as well as auto-duplex printing out of the box and have a multi-purpose by-pass paper feed of at least 50-pages (i.e. ignoring those models with a single-sheet bypass feed).

Hardware purchase prices straddle the price of the B-500DN very neatly, with three costing significantly less to buy and five costing rather more. There are none at around the same price point.

Purchase Price - Business Inkjet vs Mono Laser

However, it is in the cost of ink that we start to notice the difference. In exactly the same was as we discovered in the previous section of this article, black ink costs less than black toner. Compared to this group of mono laser printers, black ink for the B-500DN costs as much as 56% less than toner. The minimum saving on ink is 42% and that is against the Kyocera FS-1300DN – a manufacturer noted for its low Total Cost of [mono] Printing.

Kyocera FS-1300DN

Interestingly, the FS-1300DN is one of the low cost laser printers at purchase, so it is here that the greatest competition lies for the B-500DN!

Put all costs together into Total Cost of Printing over three years, calculated for printing 5% pages on all printers but with the B-500DN printing those pages in colour (1.25% page coverage per colour), and we find that the Cost Per Page of the B-500DN is not just “as low as” the best-selling mono laser printer but knocks all the mono laser printers into touch by a massive margin.

Total Cost of Printing - Epson B-500DN vs Mono Laser

Note that for this group of printers, the long-term Cost of Printing over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 2,500 pages per month; is based on the use of maximum capacity supplies; takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the device; and also includes the cost of purchase. Calculations are for all mono laser printers printing 5% pages in black and white, Epson’s B-500DN printing 5% pages in colour (1.25% per colour). All prices are median street price sourced in Germany, including tax.

As stated two paragraphs up, the FS-1300DN provides the keenest competition, yet, even here, a saving of 18% can be achieved by running the B-500DN business inkjet printer!

Compared to the more expensive of the mono laser printers, the B-500DN can offer savings of up to 50% on Total Cost of Printing over three years, printing in COLOUR compared to printing in black and white on a mono laser printer.

This next chart might not present as dramatic a set of results as the equivalent chart comparing the B-500DN with colour page printers but, it more than adequately demonstrates that the B-500DN is the most cost-effective small business printer of all – at any page count above 1,000 pages per month.

It is more cost-effective than any of the mono laser printers, let alone the colour laser printers investigated earlier. The only reason that it does not prove most cost-effective at the lowest page volumes is that its hardware purchase price is on the high side compared to several of the laser printers. It would be fully expected that the purchase price will drop over the coming months as the B-500DN creates a name for itself in the market and, more particularly, as refresh products and new models of the Epson business inkjet printer are launched in the future.

Total Cost of Printing - Business Inkjet vs Mono Laser

You will notice form the chart that we have included Total Cost of Printing for the B-500DN printing nothing but mono pages as well as nothing but colour pages (5% coverage throughout). The fact that the two lines are almost superimposed on one another is an indication of the strength of Epson’s claim and the keenness of the competition it represents in the market.

As an overall printer, the B-500DN offers everything the small business environment needs in an office printer – it is fast; it is networked; it offers auto-duplex printing; it offers two paper sources with a high paper capacity; and it offers PCL emulation. And, it offers all of this a unbeatable economy – an unprecedented position to take. The closest any printers have come to this position before are the Kyocera ECOSYS mono laser printers, which are more economical than any other mono laser printer.

So, apart from the ‘prejudice’ factor of the B-500DN being inkjet technology, it is the lower duty cycle that will be the deciding factor in terms of the printer’s suitability to a particular business. Duty cycle puts a limit on the size of business or business unit that will be able to benefit from the low cost of the B-500DN – but probably only eliminating it from high-volume environments where, clearly, laser should be in service anyway.

For environments up to 5,000 pages per month, the B-500DN brings significant cost savings from a well-specified business printer and brings serious competition to the Hewlett-Packard Officejet Pro range for the first time.

~End~

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Hardware, New Products, Comparisons, News, Total Cost of Printing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.