When your business needs a serious workhorse of a printer, it can be difficult to get the functionality you need without also paying for features you don't want. Now Fuji-Xerox might have a solution.
Printers and print costs are often a point of contention between a business owner and his or her accountant. If your business is churning enough hardcopy to make daily trips to a print shop impractical, then it's tempting to overindulge on a do-everything multi-purpose print device.
For print purists, a colour laser printer with scanner and fax, capable of outputting on A3 is the ultimate device. But it's also an expensive device. On the other end of the scale is the basic monochrome laser - a dependable workhouse that does A4 printouts and not much more.
For businesses like architects, builders or anyone who needs hardcopies of complex spreadsheets or other tables, A3 can mean the difference between squinting at something illegible, and communicating vital information clearly.
But when you go A3 you have to pay a massive premium - until now that is. Fuji-Xerox's DocuCentre S2520 strikes a balance between cheap dependability and flexible capability.
It's a multifunction device with scanner and fax on board, it can output to A3, and because its monochrome a single page costs less than a cent to print.
What's more, with a lease, a business can get an S2520 in the office for less than $2 a day.
While its footprint is closer to photocopier than desktop printer, the S2520 actually is a desktop device. It's not especially heavy and it ships with a single paper bin built-in. Additional bins and a wheeled stand can be added on later.
Since it's a state-of-the-art laser printer it outputs at 25 pages per minute, and can be connected to a single PC via USB or, more usually, put on a network via Ethernet.
Operation can be as simple as selecting print from a word processor, or power users can make use of various collation options including stacking copies at alternating 90 degree angles for easier separation.
The single paper bin can only take one size of paper a time, but a door on the side of the printer lets the user load a few A3 (or A4) sheets when needed. For businesses that need to swap paper sizes more frequently, additional paper bins add on via simple stack.
With an RRP of $2500, the DocuCentre S2520 is certainly affordable, especially for a device that looks (and functions) more like a full-on photocopier. Fuji-Xerox says toner costs $96 ex GST and will yield 9000 pages.
Obviously even this device is overkill if you don't need A3 output, but if big paper could help you communicate with clients and customers, the S2520 is a cost-effective way to go about it.
