Epson woos business buyers with adaptable new AcuLasers
Epson is going all out to grab market share from the likes of HP by
targeting future-conscious business buyers with its new “convertible”
AcuLaser2600N laser printer. This innovative machine is available either as a
ready-to-go colour model or a mono printer that can be easily converted to
colour use by simply slotting in colour toner cartridges.
Launched last
week in Rome, Italy, Epson’s new laser series is designed for use by small
workgroups and allows these users to upgrade from black and white to colour, or
vice-versa, as and when the need arises.
The series comprises two
models: the Epson AcuLaser 2600N (mono) and the AcuLaser C2600N (colour). Both
printers feature an easy-load toner slot into which up to four laser toner
cartridges can be inserted at once.
The AcuLaser 2600N is the mono model
of the pair. It is capable of squeezing up to 5,000 prints from one black and
white toner cartridge, however if users have higher volumes of mono to print
this figure can be boosted to 20,000 by adding three additional mono cartridges.
If colour printing is the order of the day, the 2600N’s print engine allows
users to upgrade by simply adding three (cyan, magenta and yellow) colour toner
cartridges to the original mono cartridge. When users then run out of colour
toner, they can still continue to print in black and white. The AcuLaser C2600N
meanwhile offers precisely the same specs, but is sold as a ready-to-go colour
model, in that it includes mono and colour toner cartridges as
standard.
Aside from its toner-swapping feature, the AcuLaser 2600 series
boasts Epson quoted print speeds of up to 30ppm (mono) and 7.5ppm (colour), and
can print its first black and white page in just over nine seconds. With a
standard paper capacity of 650 sheets, Epson also claims the AcuLaser 2600N has
the highest standard paper capacity in its class, though this paper capacity can
be increased further still, up to 1,150 sheets.
The 2600N (mono) will
start appearing on the market over the next few weeks priced $795. Its colour
cousin, the C2600N, will cost $975.