So what do these new intros do to the market?

T65x series is at max a 55 ppm machine, they can easily modify the speeds for the printers, and the MFP ver- sions via the firmware. The X651de lists at $1,599 and runs at 45 ppm. The X652de MFP lists at $1,700 and runs at 45 ppm. The X654de MFP lists at $2,499 and runs at 55ppm. Last, the X656de MFP listing at $2,749 runs at 55 ppm. The X658de MFP lists at $3,799 and also runs at 55 ppm. The fact that Lexmark is using the same print engine is great for the service indus- try. You only need one fuser to service all of these. The only big difference between models is that the T650 has a 250 sheet tray and pickup assembly while all the others use 500 sheet versions.

Lexmark also added color printers and MFPs to their new products, expanding the C500 and C700 series lines. Both come in MFP versions.

So what do these new intros do to the market?

We were pleasantly surprised that we didn’t see price erosion when HP released the P4015, the replacement for the LJ 4250. We expect- ed to see it come in a couple

hundred dollars less. But HP held their ground. However, it’s one thing to demand it, it’s another to have cus- tomers buy it at that price. General market data so far indicates it’s starting to take over where the LJ 4250 left off but not quite as strongly. My guess is the economy is a strong part of this. Once the economy has picked up, we’ll have a better feel for the success of this price point. However, I’m encour- aged at this stage.

It’s interesting to see how committed all the OEMs, not just HP and Lexmark, are to the MFP units. These are getting to price points where customers are trying them out and once they do a scan to email job, they’re looking for another one. Want to sell a printer based MFP? Show a customer how to scan to email (color scan preferably which is pretty standard on business class units now) and you’ll have them hooked.

And will the strategy of CSR (Customer Self Repair warranty service) succeed or not? Will the customer adopt the warranty repair or pay a service tech to install a war- ranty part? Or be frustrated

enough to buy another brand name next time? Will resellers and aggregators even sell these units knowing it’s a one shot deal with little other revenue to be gained such as future maintenance kits? Time will tell how the market will respond and whether HP will continue along this path.

EDITOR

Pam Olson