Lexmark Canada has launched four new series of colour and laser monochrome printers the vendor hopes will allow it to expand its share of the enterprise market with an array of new features designed to appeal to SMB and enterprise users, along with several new consumer-focused devices.
“With these (new printers) we’re paying attention to detail,” said Brian Kember, product manager, Lexmark Canada. Kember said the environment, the lifecycle and usability were all key focuses in designing the newly released printers.
The new Lexmark 650 series of monochrome laser printers and multi-functions are priced from $799 to $4199, and are built on Lexmark’s proven sixth-generation print engine. The MFPs include a large 9” colour touchscreen, and the workgroup-class devices also come with scan to network, card copy scan and scan to e-mail at no extra cost.
“These are designed for large businesses and SMBs that require robust devices,” said Kember. “We’ve been very successful in the enterprise space for many, many years.”
The 650 series deliver up to 1200×1200 dpi print quality results. Several models feature built-in two-sided printing, an Eco-Mode to reduce power consumption and a Quiet Mode to reduce noise. Extra high-yield toner cartridges also print up to 36,000 pages, meaning less toner cartridges must be disposed of. A customer-installed wireless option is also available on all models.
Also new is Lexmark’s E Series of monochrome laser printers, priced from $199 to $649. With print quality of up to 1200×1200 dpi, eco-conscious features of the E Series include built-in two-sided printing, an instant warm-up fuser designed to save energy when the printer is not in use as well as decrease warm-up time, and an Eco-Mode to reduce power consumption.
The E460dw features integrated wireless printing and is the first printer to have achieved 802.11n draft 2.0 certification, notes Lexmark.
Finally, in the colour category Lexmark has launched the C540 Series of colour laser printers and the X540 series of colour laser MFPs, with prices starting at $399 and $699. The new printers feature the Instant warm-up fuser technology, Eco-Mode, Quiet mode and are Energy Star compliant, and most models also feature built-in two-sided printing. Both series also feature models certified as 802.11n draft 2.0 Wi-Fi certified, and are targeted at business users.
“We only work through the channel; we do very minimal direct sales. Our channel partners are very important, and we constantly work with them to make sure we’re providing their customers the best solutions,” said Kember. “When it comes to these new workgroup devices, and when it comes to the channel, we’re very focused on the environment. We have a cartridge that prints 36,000 pages, the largest in the segment, that’s a very good environmental message that requires less recycling.”
Kember notes Lexmark also has some of the quietest devices in the market, with a 53 dba average. The low-end monos offer a small footprint with high yield cartridges, and a numeric keypad for improved usability and confidential printing. The colour low-end lasers also offer an impressive footprint, said Kember.
A new initiative is Lexmark’s cartridge return program. Each toner cartridge already comes with a postage-paid shipping label to return the spent cartridge to Lexmark for recycling, but now there’s a bonus.
“For every 10 cartridges returned you get one for free, and if you keep on returning you also get a photo conductor kit for free,” said Kember.
Mark McCullough, marketing manager for Lexmark Canada, said the rewards program with the free cartridges ultimately lowers the cost of printing for the consumer by approximately 20 per cent.
“It also encourages the customers to return the cartridges, which keeps them out of the landfill,” said McCullough.
