NEW YORK – During a product launch held yesterday, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) unveiled eight new colour printers for the small to mid-size business (SMB) and home office market spaces.
Scott Gray, a product marketing manager for Dell’s print and imaging team, said while the vendor has offered printers since 2003, the company began making a bigger push into this space within the past couple of years.
“Within the past 18 months we’ve probably added 20 new (printer) models and we’ve also done printer refreshes,” he said.
Dell executives at the event said the top business drivers for SMB customers when looking for printers include workspace efficiency, support resources and affordability.
Steven Mast, group manager for consumer and SMB (CSMB) imaging and product line management at Dell, said three of the new printers come with Clear View LED print technology.
“LED technology lets users get better print speeds and efficiencies when compared to traditional laser printers because there are fewer moving parts,” he said. “This technology also helps us achieve a smaller footprint because it doesn’t take up too much space in the (printer).”
The three printers that feature LED technology include the 1250c which can print up to 12 mono letter-sized pages per minute (ppm) and 10 colour ppm, the 1350cn/w, which is a Wi-Fi enabled printer that can print up to 15 mono letter-sized ppm and 12 colour ppm, and the 1355cn/w printer, which is a four-in-one multifunctional printer (MFP) that features both network and Wi-Fi options.
With up to 11 per cent less power consumption on the Dell 1350cn/w printer, Mast said these printers are well suited for SMB and home office users who require a reliable and energy efficient product.
The 2150cn/cdn model is a four-in-one networked printer that offers users duplexing options.
The 3130cn printer is a colour-laser with networking and duplexing standards.
The new printers also come with Dell’s standard one-year basic hardware service and on-year of advanced exchange service.
All of the printers are now available either through Dell or thru its network of more than 50,000 global channel partners, with the exception of the 1355cn/w, which will be made available November 16.
Mast couldn’t comment on margin earnings for partners for the printers, but he did say it’s “competitive” to what other vendors are offering for similar products in the market place.
To help clarify the printer naming conventions, Mast said the c stands for colour, n for network, w for wireless and d for duplexer.
Pricing for the models are as follows: 1250c and 1350cw are $299 and $329, 1355cn/w will be $399 and $449, 2150cn/cdn and 2155cn/cdn are $349 and $539 and the 3130cn is priced at $549.
Follow Maxine Cheung on Twitter: @MaxineCheungCDN.
