Print.ITReseller
eseller
.co.uk
25
In the last two years, business
inkjet technology has beenone
of the printermarket's fewbright
spots, asmore andmore small
businesses replace laser deviceswith
economical, energy-efficient inkjet
machines offering comparable print
speeds to laser and up to 50% lower
running costs.
Now that the technology is proven
at the low end, leading business inkjet
vendors Epson andHP are launching new
generation devices aimed at small and
medium-sized businesses and enterprise
workgroups (see page 28 for information
onHP’s new products).
OnMarch 19 inVienna,Austria,
Epson unveiled five newWorkforce Pro
series offering expanded functionality,
including oversizeA3 printing, longer-
lasting consumables and essential print
management solutions, from followme
andmobile printing to user authentication
and digital workflows.
RIPS
For resellers – and the industry as a
whole – themost exciting development
is the launch of Epson’sWorkforce Pro
Replaceable Ink Pack System (RIPS),
available exclusively formanaged print
services (MPS) implementations.
The threeA3 andA4Workforce Pro
RIPSmodels announced by Epson offer all
the functionality of standardWorkforce Pro
machineswith the addition of extra large
ink supplies that on lower end devices
could last for the lifetime of themachine
and never need to be replaced.
Housed in lockable compartments
bolted onto either side of the device –
black on the right andCMY on the left
– each of the four ink bags for theA3
devices has a yield of 75,000 pages.Yields
for theA4models are 75,000 for the black
bag and 50,000 for each of the colour
ones. Replacement ink sacks are available
in capacities of 20,000 or 50,000 pages.
In comparison, themaximum yield
for standard versions of Epson’s new
A3+models (theWP7000 andWP8000
series) is 10,000 pages for anXXLmono
Rippingup the rulebook
...eachof
the four ink
bags for the
A3devices
has a yield
of 75,000
pages.
so becomemore competitive, and/or boost
profitability by increasing themargin on
sales and support.
Epson believes that by reducing support
requirements, RIPS can reverse the trend
towards centralised print infrastructures,
whichMPS providers favour because
they are easier tomanage than localised
printers, but which Epson argues are
detrimental to the interests of end users. In
a recent survey, almost half of businesses
said that centralised print issues, such as
long print queues, the need to get up to
retrieve prints and the difficulty in printing
confidential documents,were a concern.
Andrew Semple, head of business
imaging for Epson Europe, told
PrintIT
Reseller
that by combining the predictable
print costs and lowmaintenance of a
centralisedmodel with the convenience
and productivity advantages of localised
print, RIPS provides a better way of
delivering print.
“AsMPS has been introduced
there has been a tendency to shift to
centralisation.There are good reasons for
this, as centralised devices are easier to
manage for the peoplewho provide the
service.Yet,we've seenmany examples
where centralised products have been
introducedwithout consideration of what
the customer’sworkflow requirements are.
RIPS tips the balance back. Because you
might never need to replace the supplies, it
takes a lot of the inconvenience out of fleet
management in distributed environments.
Centralised deviceswill always have a
place. But we believe the process has gone
too far and needs to be re-balanced,”he
said.
“Epson’s proposition is you no longer
have to go down a centralised print route.
There is an alternative now,with a product
that is easy tomanage under anMPS
thanks to its very high capacity ink supply
system.”
Reliable operation
By delivering years of uninterrupted
printing, RIPS clearly removes the logistical
problems of managing supplies for a
multitude of distributed printers. However,
the need to replace printer consumables is
not the only cause of service and support
calls and printer downtime. Printers have
Epson aims to recruitMPS specialists as it launches revolutionary
Workforce ProRIPS deviceswith super high yield ink packs,
each containing enough ink for 75,000pages
Epson unveils newbusiness inkjets including
MPS-onlymodels and its firstA3devices
cartridge and 7,000 pages for anXXL
colour cartridge. StandardA4models have
maximum ink capacities of 4,000 pages
both formono and colour cartridges.
Designed forMPS
Formanaged print service providers, RIPS
has clear benefits: it reduces running costs
(the first set of consumables is included
in the hardware price and for leasing
purposes is considered as part of the
machine); and it significantly reduces the
number of interventions a resellermust
make to replenish supplies.This givesMPS
providers the ability to drive down the
cost of print for customers, and in doing
business inkjets
Continued...
The amount of
waste generated
by printing 75,000
colour pages on
anHP LaserJet Pro
M475 laser printer.
