• September 1st, 2009
  • By: Steve White
  • Under: News

The Multi-Function Laser Printer

By now we all know that investing in laser printers is a smart choice.  However, getting a deal on a number of office devices can be a deal maker.  For this very reason, inkjet printer manufacturers have been successful in winning the wallets of small and home business professionals.  Multi-function printers with printing, scanning, copying, and faxing capability are the most economical and ergonomic choice when choosing office equipment.  But now, with the latest laser multi-function printers, business owners can invest in the best of both worlds.  People who are considering laser printers now have the added advantage of investing in laser printers while reaping the benefits of a multi-function printer.

Is this something new?  We’ve seen a lot of multi-function laser printers hitting the market lately but this isn’t a new idea.   Manufacturers have been trying to find a cost effective way to combine the laser printer with the multi-function platform for about 10 years now.   About 4 years ago they started hitting the market and have been slowly making their way through the market.  These days, multi-function laser printers are becoming the choice among business owners who are looking to upgrade or replace their current laser printers. What’s more, color laser printers in the multi-function format are become increasingly popular.

Now that business owners can get color laser printers with the multi-function capability, they are able to invest smarter and more efficiently.  Not only can they upgrade their existing laser printer, but they can also get color printing, a new fax machine, an accessible copier, and a document scanner.  All of these functions are still important in our digital age and can be an added bonus to your laser printer investment.

If you are a business owner and are replacing your existing laser printer, chances are that it’s time to look at a new fax machine, copier, or scanner.  Why not combine them all into one space saving solution?  Industry standards can almost ensure a quieter office environment after making the switch.

Plus, if you need to place the machine in a central location, you can rest assured that most multi-function laser printers are network ready.  Kyocera Mita’s latest multi-function laser printer, FS-1128MFP, is network ready and processes about 30 pages per minute.  Its toner cartridge yields 7,200 makings its price per print less than a cent each.  This printer is also Energy Star compliant so you’re saving money on utility bills while helping the environment.

Another great benefit of choosing the laser printer is it warranty and maintainability.  The FS-1128MFP comes with a standard one year return to depot warranty.  The RedStart Company, which offers the FS-1128MFP also offers extended warranty service with unlimited onsite service calls including parts and labor for a reasonable price.  Parts and maintenance kits are also available for purchase.

If you’re looking to replace your existing laser printer, or want to get into the laser printer market, then laser multi-function printers provide you with the benefits of multiple office devices while being a savvy investment your money.

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  • August 15th, 2009
  • By: Steve White
  • Under: Printers

Investing in Laser Printers (Part 2)

To any business owner, the decision of what type of office equipment to purchase is an important one.  Most companies create and store their documents on their computers, but they eventually need to be printed.  Therefore, when it comes to deciding on a reliable printer, investing in a laser printer has stronger benefits than settling for an inkjet printer in the long run.

Laser printer cartridges yield more prints at a quicker speed and with a better resolution.  Laser printers use powdered toner and heat to fuse the powder to paper.  Lasers apply electric charges to the areas where toner is required.  Inkjet printers require water soluble inks; these are sprayed onto the paper by jets.  This type of ink can sometimes get smeared when it becomes wet.  The laser printers toner cartridge holds a large amount of toner and can usually print around 3,000 to 5,000 pages depending on brand and type. While it is slightly more expensive than an ink jet cartridge, it has a much longer printing life and provides quality images.

Most laser printers now offer the same type of features that inkjet printers have.  They can print on different types and sizes of papers and the toner is slightly cheaper than the ink used in inkjet printers and they tend to last a lot longer.  Laser printers are generally quieter than inkjet printers.  This could be of great significance in a quiet office where the printer is in a central location.  Another excellent feature of laser printers is that most arrive network ready right out of the box, meaning they include all of the necessary connections and software to walk you through the complete set-up process.

Did you know that laser printers also come in a multi function variety? Yes, you can save both space and money by combining printing, scanning, fax, and copy functions all into one machine.  The Redstart Company offers these multifunction printers with all or most of these functions at an affordable price for businesses both large and small and, of course, with that great laser print and quality.  We’ll talk about these more next week.
Some business owners may wonder if laser printers are maintainable.  Laser printers indeed are very durable and easy to maintain whereas inkjet printers are nearly impossible to repair once they have broken.  The Redstart Company offers printer maintenance kits that help eliminate repeat service calls and maximize print quality and performance of your laser printer. 

Their maintenance kits are priced substantially lower than if each part were purchased individually.  Also for added peace of mind, The Redstart Company specializes in genuine Kyocera Mita printers and supplies.  All of these are shipped with either a 1-year return to depot or a 1-year on-site manufacturer warranty.

If you are looking to get into the laser printer market, or you need to replace a laser printer unit, statistics still show that laser printers are far more valuable in the long run than inkjet printers.  Be sure to check out http://www.redstartprinters.com/ for all of your Kyocera Mita laser printer needs.

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  • August 1st, 2009
  • By: Steve White
  • Under: News

The Real Cost of Inkjet Printers vs. Laser Printer (Part 1)

When it comes time to purchase office equipment, an important decision is made between different printer technologies.  You could make the decision to accept the inkjet printers that are almost free or choose to invest your money in laser printers.  Most would think the decision would be easy when you consider the initial financial investment.  However, when you think about the actual cost of using an inkjet printer, the decision to invest wisely isn’t as easy as just accepting it.

Let’s consider a few things about inkjet printers and ink.  First, inkjet printers are widely available at any store.  It’s not unheard of to see an inkjet printer for sale in local grocery stores.  And the ink for these printers is even more widely available even showing up on the shelves of convenience stores.  If anyone has tried to purchase a personal computer, they know that they are often offered inkjet printers as part of a bundle at insanely low prices or in a lot of cases free.

So how do manufacturers make money on inkjet printers?  In one word: Ink.  When you consider the actual price of ink at retail, it is probably one of the most precious liquids in the world.  Let’s consider one of the most popular ink cartridges, an HP 22 Black ink cartridge.  It contains about 5ml of ink and currently retails at a major retail outlet for about $15.  Remember, this is considered budget ink and this price is lower than it was when the cartridge was first introduced.

First, let’s note that is $3 per ml.  At 30ml to an ounce that comes out to about $90 an ounce.  By comparison, you can purchase an ounce of Chanel Number 5 perfume for about $25 an ounce.  This would be considered a luxury and not a budget item.   If you consider that there are 128 ounces in a gallon, you can see that a gallon of this ink would cost you $11,520.  Compare that to a gallon of gas.  I can only imagine that it costs next to nothing to create a gallon of ink.

This same cartridge yields about 150 pages of plain text printing.  That’s not even a third of a ream of paper (500 sheets).  You would have to purchase 4 of these cartridges to use one ream of paper.   And if you only print out a couple of sheets a day you are still looking at purchasing about 5 of these a year.  In my experience, even the best multi-function printer lasts about 2 years.  So your acceptance of an inkjet printer will cost you about $150 or more in black ink.  That’s not even considering color ink.

Multi-function printers are a small business owner’s dream.  You have multiple components in one, but when one of these components fails, it’s more economical to just purchase a new printer than it is to get it fixed.  As printer technology progresses, print head nozzles get smaller to produce finer drops.  This creates the potential for clogged nozzles which can happen in both OEM and third party ink cartridges and results in having to purchase a new cartridge.

This also means that the new cartridges contains less ink for the same yield in prints which further increases the overall investment margin.  Every time you replace your printer with another “economical” inkjet printer you start the process all over again.

With the price of ink being so high, consumers tend to purchase third party ink cartridges or refill kits which have the potential to cause damage to your printers.  Printer manufacturers have made the printers in such a way that if you are not using OEM cartridges you will not get the full benefits of your printer.  Also, if you use a non-OEM cartridge your warranty is voided giving you no choice but to purchase a new printer.

Inkjet printers are getting a reputation as disposable printers.  The printer is cheap, the quality is decent, the speed is unimportant, and the ink prices are tolerable.  But how does this compare to the investment of laser printers?  Find out in part two coming later this week.

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  • About Steve White

    Steve White has almost 25 years in the computer hardware industry as a consultant for MICR check printing solutions and broker of equipment in a global marketplace. He is the owner of The Redstart Company, an Oklahoma based business specializing in networked printing hardware which offers genuine printers, printer supplies, and toner as well as same day order processing and free UPS shipping to the continental United States.

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