In conjunction with its earnings announcement today, Lexmark International will unveil a new series of printers. The new products are color laser single-function and multi-function, both part of high-growth segments that the company is banking on for its future success. The lineup includes five new color laser multi-function printers -- MFPs print, scan, copy and sometimes fax -- a major addition for the company, which previously offered only one MFP. Citing statistics from market researcher IDC, Keith Jones, a vice president in Lexmark's Printing Solutions and Services Division, noted that unit sales of color laser MFPs grew by close to 50 percent from 2005 to 2006.
Even though color laser MFPs accounted for less than 4 percent of the laser printer market last year, the segment has the potential to print lots of pages and profit for printer companies, courtesy of the multiple toner cartridges. The five color laser MFPs to be introduced today include two desktop products and three work-group products. The suggested prices range from $499 to $699 for the desktop products to $4,499 to $18,999 for the work-group products. The two desktop products have received "Editor's Choice" awards from Better Buys for Business, an independent reviewer. The products are aimed at everyone from small businesses to the largest corporations, Jones said. They are not often bought outright; instead, a customer leases the printer or pays for a certain number of pages per month or year.
For those who buy the toner, the cost per color page could be anywhere from 6 cents to 10 cents for a high-volume customer on some of the devices, Jones said. "There's no competitor that we're seeing routinely in the market that is measurably below us in that regard," he said. He noted, though, that the company is not emphasizing cost per page to customers. "What we're emphasizing ... is more around our ease of use solutions capability (and) the range of paper handling," he said.
That ease of use also comes into play, Jones said, in Lexmark's additional offering to be announced today -- the Education Station. It's a program built into one of the company's current monochrome laser MFPs. Its features allow teachers to scan documents directly to specific network folders or print specific forms as they are needed. It also can be upgraded to include features such as automatic grading of certain exams. Its initial cost is $3,699.
