Laser Printers Worthy Of VAR Consideration
The biggest reason is cost. Monochrome laser printers are the most cost-effective printing solution on the market and they require almost no maintenance.
CRN Test Center looked at two monochrome laser printing solutions. One is a high-performance multifunction unit from Lexmark and the other is a very affordable and tiny unit from Konica Minolta.
Lexmark X644e MFP
Inexpensive multifunction printers (MFPs)especially inkjet unitsare often too slow for busy office environments and require frequent ink replacement, which is costly. Lexmark's monochrome X644e MFP is not an inexpensive unit, yet the speed at which it can print and copy makes it ideal for heavy office use. An easy to use eight-inch color touch screen provides access to all functions.
The X644e can print at 1,200 x 1,200 dpi, copy, fax and scan to e-mail. Its 533MHz processor allows it to copy or print at speeds of up to 50 ppm. It will print the first copy in as little as 8.5 seconds, which is comparable to many commercial-grade units. Copies can be enlarged by up to 400 percent and reduced to 25 percent of the document's original size. The unit features a 50-sheet duplex automatic document feeder, a 500-page media feeder and a 100-page bypass feederall of which are dispensed into a 500-page output tray. Although the X644e can only print in black and white, it does offer duplex color scanning at 600 x 600 dpi. Standard memory is 256 Mbytes, expandable to 768 Mbytes.
One downside to the X644e is priceit has an MSRP of $3,219. However, its estimated street price of $2,499 is a bit more palatable. Plenty of monochrome MFPs cost less, but few can print as fast. This MFP is ideal for use in an administrative office or as a shared unit in an SMB environment. The X644e has a duty cycle of 225,000 pages per month. Connectivity ports include a 10/100 NIC and USB 2.0. With no optional trays attached, the X644e measures about 28 inches high by 22 inches wide by 25 inches deep and it weighs 83 pounds. Replacement toner cartridges that will print 32,000 pages cost $344.
The Lexmark X644e also offers enterprise-level security options such as disk wiping on its optional hard drive, data encryption, SNMP v3, IPSec, SSL, confidential printing, job expiration and more.
A USB port on the front of the unit enables scanning and printing from USB drives, and the color touch screen allows users to preview a scanned document before faxing.
Lexmark offers its partners a two-tier option for partnering: Partners can choose to either become certified or can choose to sell Lexmark products as a base partner. Partner levels are assigned based on program participation and commitments. All partners enjoy the benefits of sales support, a dedicated Partner Source partner portal, Profit Plus rebate programs, Quick Bid program, demo products and no-fee online certification.
Margins are determined by partner participation and are partner-specific. Lexmark declined to disclose margin range estimates.
"Partner business models are different, and Lexmark offers programs that are dedicated to the partner in all areas: margin enhancement, certification and increasing their services portfolio," which makes profit estimates a wait-and-see proposition, the company said. There are no special requirements to become a partner, and channel program membership is completely free. Lexmark offers its partners and customers extensive support options, which should be more than adequate to solve any problem.
Konica Minolta PagePro 1400W Monochrome laser printers are often very inexpensive, highly reliable, offer good performance and are very smallpart of the reason being that there's only one toner cartridge to deal with and far fewer internal mechanisms.
One of these units is Konica Minolta's PagePro 1400W. With an MSRP of just $120, the PagePro actually costs less than a single toner refill for any color laser printer. Being so affordable, resellers can sell one to go on the desk of every employee at their clients' businesses.
The PagePro 1400W's size is as small as its price. It measures just 14 inches wide by 9.5 inches high by 10.6 inches deep and weighs only 15.6 pounds; resellers won't risk back injury when lifting the 1400W and it will fit just about anywhere. The PagePro 1400W is easy to set up with its plug-and-play USB 2.0 interface. The toner cartridge comes pre-installed so solution providers can have it running in minutes. Performance-wise, the 1400W is no record setter, but it outputs the first page in 13 seconds and prints at 17 ppm, which is plenty fast enough for individual use. It offers a 9,000 page-per-month duty cycle. The 1,200 x 600 dpi printer produces sharp, easy-to-read output, and it can print on plain paper, thick stock, transparencies, labels, envelopes and recycled paper.
There are several downsides to such a small unit, as with any mini printer. The PagePro 1400W only has a 150-sheet multipurpose input tray and a 100-sheet face-down output tray, and duplex printing must be done manually. Because it is smaller, the toner cartridge also is smaller and will need to be replaced more frequently.
However, a 1,000-page starter cartridge of toner comes with the printer, while standard 2,000-page cartridges cost $54.99. The included imaging drum is good for at least 20,000 prints, and it will cost $105 to replace the drum when it's shot. At that point it might be better to sell a customer a new printer for only a few more dollars.
Konica Minolta's two-tier partner program is broken down into a Partner level and a Platinum Partner level. The Partner level is open to all VARs and has no initial requirements to join. Partners are offered SPIFs on selected products; free literature and samples; a test drive program for the end users; demo program; a try it and buy it program for the VARs; dedicated field and inside sales representation; direct line to technical support and an online partner portal.
Platinum Partners get all of the aforementioned benefits plus more, including MDF funds, custom marketing materials, preferred status on the company's online locator and a Partner plaque. To become a Platinum Partner, VARs must demonstrate six solid months of product sales, which will be evaluated by Konica Minolta. The company did not disclose margins, leaving that calculation to the product distributors.
