Epson proves cost-saving benefits of business colour inkjets

When it comes to printing, business inkjets have been getting a bad wrap but Epson has released a new range of printers that debunk a few of the myths.

In fact, Epson has calculated that if the estimated 740,000 Australian small businesses replaced one of their colour laser printers with a colour business inkjet printer they could collectively save $45m annually and reduce their carbon footprint while they’re at it.

And the savings would come from a few areas – electricity, ink/toner and paper.

Any small office/home office or small business with less than 20 employees is looking for every way they can cut costs and operate more efficiently.

And it’s not just small businesses that are looking to take advantage of the cost savings possible with the range of new Epson printers which include the WorkForce Pro 4590 ($499), the WorkForce Pro 4540 ($449), the WorkForce 4530 ($379).

Homes where school aged high school children would also benefit from a cost effective business laser printer like the Epson WorkForce Pro multifunction models.

“Laser printers have become anchors that are stopping small businesses from improving productivity and cutting costs,” said Mike Pleasants, Director of Marketing Communication for Epson Australia.

“The facts are there for all to see: business inkjet printers have lower costs per printed page, use less electricity, are faster, have a lower purchase price for comparable printers, and have features like auto-duplexing that can help cut costs even more while improving productivity,” Mr Pleasants said.

“Laser printing technology has been around for 30 years. We have now reached the tipping point where technology advances in business inkjet printers mean they easily outperform business lasers (in the same price range) on all key office productivity measures.”

To demonstrate the savings of its business laser printers Epson set up its WorkForce Pro 4540 against a comparable colour multifunction laser printer – the HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw.

On the electricity side the Epson used around a third of the power of the HP device according to testing by Buyers Laboratory Ltd – 689.6 weekly Watt hours (Epson) v 1820 weekly Watt hours.

With electricity prices on the rise – the Epson printer will save your small businesses money in the long term.

One of the areas to draw the most complaints about printers is the cost of consumables – ink and toner cartridges.

Ink for colour business inkjet printers costs $35m less than toner across Australia’s 740,000 small businesses.

The Epson WorkForce Pro 4540 can provide mono pages at 3 cents per page and colour pages at 23 cents per page with an annual ink cost of $87.50.

Meanwhile the HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw’s costs are 5 cents per page for mono and 34 cents per page for colour with an annual toner cost of $135.

And what about paper? The Epson printers have an auto duplexer for double sided printing whereas the HP model does not.

Being able to print on both sides of a single sheet of paper can significantly reduce the amount of paper which is used.

But not only does the Epson WorkForce Pro printers save you money in all of these areas it can also save you time and improve your business’s productivity.

In a side-by-side speed test between the Epson WorkForce Pro 4540 and the HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw were both sent a five page PDF document sent from identical computers at the same time.

The Epson printed the entire document before the HP had completed the first page.

Epson’s new range of printers include built-in networking and wireless connectivity and also includes Epson Connect which allows printing from wireless mobile iOS and Android devices.

Related Stories

Fuji Xerox unveils new range of economical laser printers

18 million printer cartridges recycled in 10 years

Print from anywhere with Canon’s new Pixma MX printers