Inkjet: No Longer a Bad Word
Inkjet printers have been given a bad reputation over the past several years. Their deceptively low purchase prices are matched by high consumable costs. They print slow. Worst of all for managed print services companies, they are rarely connected to the network and are therefore difficult to manage.
A recent viral video from RISO and Epipheo Studios demonstrates how this definition of inkjet is coming to an end with the RISO ComColor printer series.
Wildlife advertising aside, it’s great to see alternatives to laser popping up for high-volume, in-house color document production. RISO, whose high-end machines bridge the gap between office copiers and commercial production printers, is marketing this product to both print centers and office users.
So, what’s the big deal?
RISO claims you can print color pages on a ComColor printer for 2 to 3 cents a page. If this is true, you get a faster, higher capacity, and more environmentally friendly printer that costs significantly less than a standard office MFP. With scanning capabilities and a variety of finishing options, the higher end ComColor machines could easily replace a laser MFP.
To cover off the basic technical specs, these inkjets print up to 150 pages per minute and have a duty cycle of up to 500,000 pages per month. The printers use 24 heavy-duty inkjet heads that remain in a fixed position, allowing documents to print in a single pass. A single set of cartridges can yield over 90,000 pages. RISO says their ink is fast drying, fade resistant and moisture resistant, resulting in print quality that is better than a traditional inkjet printer.
There was one part of RISO’s marketing video that struck an emotional chord with me, and it may be the reason why I’m happy to promote this new product. The animation of the complex paper path in a laser copier made me cringe. Paper jams are right up there in my list of top annoyances, and for whatever reason, engineers thought it was reasonable for users to have to pull five, six, or seven pieces of paper out of just as many different locations along a paper path to correct a jam. It’s crazy. The paper path in the new RISO machines is simplicity at its finest.
The simplicity of these printers also helps make them energy efficient. With few moving parts, the RISO machines use as little as 300 watts when running, and unlike laser machines they don’t need to generate heat. Comparatively, as the video says, you could cook a turkey in a laser machine. That’s not pepper on your Thanksgiving bird--it’s toner. Yum!
The ink and packaging itself is also easier on the environment than toner cartridges. The ink is contained in recyclable cardboard, and RISO claims that all of the ink gets used before you need to change supplies.
Alternatives to laser technology, like these inkjet printers from RISO and the latest solid-ink machines from Xerox, have the potential to bring positive change to the hardware market. The environmental benefits of these technologies should be enough to change the market, but the cost and performance is right too.
If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend viewing the RISO video and checking out Epipheo Studios to see some innovative marketing.
Posted by Emily Offshack on 11/10/2010