Xerox promises colour prints for Rs 2

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Xerox, one of world’s premier document management companies, added another option in its line of office products in the printer and MFD category. Unveiling 5 new colour printers in its ‘Color in Office’ series with which it claims to offer colour printouts at a measly rate on Rs 2/- per print with its patented ‘solid ink’ technology.

Even if their claims come in the vicinity of the printing price they are quoting, this indeed will be a revolutionary step for corporate enterprises, large ventures, SMEs, advertising design houses where colour printing is very much part of day to day work.

The newly launched products; Xerox WorkCentre 7232 (A3 multi functional device, 10 ppm for colour and 30 ppm B&W), Xerox WorkCentre 7328 (A3 MFD, 26 ppm for colour and 28 ppm B&W), Xerox WorkCentre 7655 (A3 MFP, 40 ppm for colour and 55 ppm B&W), Xerox Phaser 6180 MFP (20 ppm colour printing) and Xerox Phaser 8860 (30 ppm colour printer) come across as the outcome of some serious R&D carried out in printing technologies but its inhibitive pricing – starting from Rs 1.8 lakh to a staggering Rs 10 lakh - ensures that only big and mid sized ventures will realistically be able to acquire them.

Princy Bhatnagar, director, Xerox India ltd begs to differ. His point is, “investing” in these mean machines will translate into ‘long term savings’ as a customer who buys the normal colour printer for Rs 16,000 will have to spend a similar amount for buying cartridges. In the ‘Colour in Office’ series, Bhatnagar argues maintenance costs are next to nil. But the fact is 85% of working units in India qualify as ‘small units’ and hence the affordability factor rank quite high in their check list before making any such ‘investments’.

But the fact remains that Xerox has made a smart move by taking the lead in a sector where potential is great but options are severely limited. Despite the fact that the market share for colour printers in India is a meagre 4%, the compound annual growth rate over the next 2-3 years is expected to be around 23%. So by providing top of the line colour printing solutions in India, Xerox has taken a step that makes marketing sense and puts it right above its competitors in India for the time being.

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