XEROX:SWITCH TO LASER PRINTERS & SAVE ?

[Anonymous]

Switch to laser printers and save costs’

PORTLAND (OREGON), APRIL 05. Replace your ink-jet printer
because it is inefficient and harms the environment, says Xerox Corporation. The
multinational corporation will run a big advertisement campaign in the
developing world over the coming months targeting the ink-jet printer.

As much as 11 to 12 million ink-jet printers are purchased
every year by consumers in the developing markets, according to a Xerox
estimation. This is not the case in the U.S. or most parts of Europe, company
representatives here said.

“We don’t have ink-jets. We have nothing to defend. Basically,
the message is `switch’. Because you can save money,” says Kaz Herchold, Senior
Vice President, DMO Business Group Operations. Switch to laser printers.

Xerox executives say that few organisations in the developing
world have actively managed print costs. And, ink-jet printers have been part of
the problem, they believe.

So what, you may ask. The answer lies in another Xerox
statistics: as much as 1.3 trillion documents are generated in the developing
world each year.

Over a period, there could be huge cost savings if the purchase
managers looked at their printer purchases a little more closely. “Documents
have not historically been on the IT manager’s radar screen. Because the
printers on which the documents are produced are not glamorous for the IT
manager. They are much more interested in software, computer hardware and
network infrastructure. And so peripherals are in the end of the food chain.
They like to spend as little as possible on these purchases. What they fail to
understand is the role of documents and managing the cost of what they do
efficiently,” says Mr. Herchold.

Ink-jets are popular because they are inexpensive, but the
technology is expensive, he adds. Though the initial cost is cheaper, the
maintenance cost is high. For instance, once a colour ink-jet runs out of one of
the four colours, you have to discard it, unlike in a solid ink laser printer
where you merely replace the colour that has been consumed.

It is also sensible to go in for a laser printer because laser
acquisition costs are coming down. “In the last year-and-a-half, the cost of
low-end laser has come down dramatically. Today, a solid ink printer is
available for $999 … Suddenly buying a laser is not that hard a decision. This
will become immediately apparent to an intelligent buyer,” he says.

Xerox prepares to take the number two spot in developing
markets. The printer market in the developing world is ready for an alternative,
the company believes. “When I look at the developing markets there is a clear

number one. But there is no clear number two. We believe that the market is
ready for a strong number two everywhere. We think we can be the number two
since we are a big brand, because we offer the channel access to a broader range
of products than the number one has,” he adds.

“We believe that every IT manager would like to have an
alternative when they are considering a printer purchase. In multi-function
systems we are by far the strongest player. We have got better products,
stronger products, been at it longer, the products are better integrated,” he
adds.

Asked about the market perception about Xerox — that it only
looks at the big clients — he said this was not true. “We are not just big iron
sellers. There are plenty of attractive smaller products that can be sold by our
channel partners. We are not an expensive click box vendor. We are not the
Mercedes of the office equipment range. We are affordable and price
competitive,” he says.

[Author]

April 3, 2005 at 12:48 PM