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Cost of printer ink under fire

A cheap printer could turn out to be a costly buy due to the cost of replacing the ink cartridge, a survey has found.

The price of inkjet printers has come down to as little as £34 but it could cost up to £1,700 in running costs over an 18-month period, a study by Computeractive Magazine has revealed.

Survey findings
Canon i560 - £129; cost of ownership over 18 months - £1029
Epson C44UX - £49; cost of ownership over 18 months - £1157
HP Deskjet 5150 - £89; cost of ownership over 18 months - £708
Lexmark z605 - £40; cost of ownership over 18 months - £1775



Consumers are at risk of being ripped off, said editor Dylan Armbrust. "Replacement cartridges may cost as much or more than the cost of the printer," he said.

The inkjet printer market has been the subject of an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which concluded in a 2002 report that retailers and manufacturers needed to make pricing more transparent for consumers.
"Well over a year later our results suggest that consumers are still at serious risk of being ripped off," said Mr Armbrust.

The Computeractive investigation looked at printers from the big four manufacturers, Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark.

The average life of a black ink and colour cartridge was calculated, as was the cost per page of printing.

The cost of the ink was a big factor in driving costs up. Ink cartridges vary in both price and the amount of time they last, from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Responding to the survey, Lexmark said the research was flawed because it did not compare like with like.

"We estimate people will purchase around two cartridges per year. Customers who want to print a large amount should quite rightly look beyond just the ticket price," said a statement from the firm.

Canon said it could not comment on the survey because it had not seen it, but added that the cost of printers and cartridges reflected the amount of money the company spent on research and development.

Last summer a report by Which? Magazine found that some printer ink cost more per millilitre than vintage champagne.

It recommended people use generic cartridges which are often half the price of branded products.

Source - BBC News

Machine failures result in 'huge hidden costs'

Research from imaging technology company Canon into IT service and support packages reveals that time spent by IT managers dealing with machine failures is seriously underestimated by senior management. Thus, the company says the cost impact on their business goes unrecognised.

In the study, conducted for Canon by independent research company Winnmark, managing directors and financial directors were asked to estimate how long they thought their IT departments spent dealing with machine downtime. The results, says Canon, were startling with senior management underestimating the time spent by as much as a third.

The company adds: "With 29 per cent of respondents stating that machine downtime can have a negative impact on the business within two hours of a machine going down, the research clearly demonstrates that printers and copiers sit at the heart of many of the most fundamental business processes."

"And, with IT managers reckoning that almost seven per cent of their time is spent on print/copy issues, and that a guaranteed first-time fix when a service engineer is called out would free up 6/5 per cent of that time, it's clear that IT companies need to take urgent steps to address the levels of support provided by their service packages. Looking at this in financial terms, if one considers that the average salary for an IT manager in the UK is around £60,000, then this equates to £4,200 of their salary wasted on machine down time, never mind their loss of productivity. Compare this to the cost of a service package, and it adds up to a compelling argument.'

In fact, Canon adds, 63 per cent of IT managers felt that a guarantee of first time fix would not only ease business processes, but also improve business performance, while 77 per cent believed that it would significantly improve confidence in the print/copy machines.

Canon says: 'The effect of machine downtime has more far reaching implications, with not only the IT department and the success of the business being negatively impacted: 63 per cent of IT managers agreed that first time fix guarantees would also hope to bring down stress levels across the office as a whole.'

The survey base comprised more that 226 MDs, FDs. And IT managers from SMEs across the UK, the vast majority of whom agreed that having the right IT and office equipment service package can mean the difference between business success and failure in today's high pressure, commercial world.

Source - Office Equipment News

FISHTALES Spring 2006

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'Fix it when broken' is costing UK firms a fortune

It turns out that having staff sat around, arms folded, waiting for their PC to be fixed, isn't the most cost-effective use of their time...

Companies are dogged by a 'fix it when broken' attitude towards their IT infrastructure which is costing them millions of pounds each year.

Staff are left waiting for their machines to be fixed as IT support are constantly fire-fighting - rather than companies scheduling routine maintenance which could greatly increase productivity, according to collaborations solutions provider Intentia, which conducted the research.

Chris Cooper, director of plant maintenance global operations at Intentia, said: “Almost 90 per cent of organisations agree that preventive maintenance increases productivity and return on assets, yet only around a third currently spend more than half of their maintenance budget on preventive strategies.”

Part of the problem is that companies still view maintenance as a cost rather than being able to think about it as in investment.

Less than half the respondents to the survey view maintenance was an investment - despite the obvious long-term savings.

Cooper said: “This relatively low figure indicates a lack of awareness of the potential return on investment from enterprise asset management and the need for maintenance generally.”

By timetabling regular maintenance work during times of expected staff downtime - such as evenings and weekends, for example - companies could guarantee greater productivity during the week. This would provide a particular boost for organisations that "are under increased pressure to deliver more for less," added Cooper.

Though such a suggestion may not prove popular with the techies ultimately charged with working even more unsociable hours than many already do.

But one IT director who silicon.com spoke to said it's far more important that companies get the most out of their systems; whatever it takes.

Asking to remain anonymous, he said: "Businesses need to start treating systems the same way they would their cars.
You wouldn’t keep your car running until it broke down, that would be stupid. They always go wrong when under the most stress which is when you need them most.

"Finance Directors will happily pay dealer servicing costs for their company Jaguar yet let their huge investment in systems go un-maintained until they crash. In addition, everyone accepts that they get a new company car every three years yet keep their PCs for five years. By this time they are so slow the staff can’t use them and they continually break down."

"It’s madness," he added.

Source - www.silicon.com

2 May 2005