MFPs lower cost of colour print mode

HP's new multi-function printers could save enterprises money

HP has expanded its commitment to reducing enterprise print operating costs with the launch of new multi-function printers (MFPs) and new usage-based print service options that charge different rates for different print settings.

The CM8060 and CM8050, which utilise new technology dubbed Edgeline, are colour inkjet MFPs that offer print speeds of 60 and 50 pages per minute respectively.

The usage-based service option allows customers to buy or lease printers, ink refills and maintenance options from HP. It will see HP offer different price per page options, based on Professional, General Office and monochrome colour, which could save up to 30 percent on enterprise printing costs.

The company estimates that its new HP Color Accent feature can reduce costs further by charging black and white prices for pages that use only small amounts of colour.

Rolf Gerstner, manager for business and marketing strategy for HP’s EMEA commercial imaging and printing group (IPG) solutions, declined to outline the exact price per page prices, however, saying only that the new usage-based print service model will be competitive with similar services available with rival manufacturers’ monochrome S4 copier-based MFPs.

“This second [colour] print mode is very different from draft mode – it offers transparency and separate pricing for different print types,” Gerstner said. “The specific costs depend on the [number of] devices deployed, and how they are utilised, but they will be competitive.”

The Edgeline printhead uses an ink writing system that employs a bonding agent to bond the pigments to the page, meaning that print speeds can be accelerated without fear of smudging due to wet ink.

HP estimates that 50 percent of spending on its managed print services come from the same 200 corporate customers worldwide. In order to aid optimisation of HP print servers, the company has reduced the number of sales people handling various aspects of these accounts from 20 to 4, it said.