Dell Enters Printer Market

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/topics/segtopic_printers.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/topic...ic_printers.htm</a><br /><br /></div>Dell is always interesting to watch in the market, so when I got a press release via email telling me they had released their new printers, I thought I'd let you know as well.<br /><br />"The new family of easy to buy, easy to use, and easy to own Dell printers offers models to meet every user's needs. Two new personal printers — the low-cost Dell All-In-One Printer A940 and the fast-printing Dell Personal Laser Printer P1500 — are designed for the home or small office. The highly expandable Dell Workgroup Laser Printer S2500 series is designed for high-volume workgroup environments. All printers are color matched to Dell computers, provide effortless installation and setup, deliver razor-sharp print quality and come equipped with the innovative Dell Ink/Toner Management System. In addition, all of these exciting new printers are backed by Dell's 24x7 toll-free technical support and include standard one-year Advanced Exchange Service."<br /><br />What do you think? Will you buy a Dell printer the next time you buy a Dell machine?

[Wuss912]

i dont think so...

[luebster]

Hmmm...there are some things that concern me.

First, will replacement ink cartridges be available at retail stores? I won't mind ordering "official" Dell ink cartridges via their website, until I'm out of ink at 2 am and whatever it is I'm printing is vital for a meeting/presentation/exam/whatever that day and I don't have any replacement cartridges on hand and I need to run to Wal-Mart or [insert your favortite 24-hour retailer here]. I can do that with my Epson...I doubt I'll be able to do that with a Dell.

*please spare me the links to DIY ink cartridge filler kits...I don't like them.

Second, how many sheets does the feeder hold? I didn't see it on the website..maybe I missed it. It's not THAT big a deal, but I don't want to print a 50 page document and have to drop sheets in every 3 minutes.

Third, (and this isn't just Dell), but why don't printers come with serial and/or USB cables? I know, I know... give the printer away and overcharge for the accessories (cables, ink, etc). Did you know that it costs Best Buy less than $3 for that $24.99 USB cable? That's 800% markup! &lt;/rant>

Anyway, if Dell (or a 3rd party) makes replacement ink cartridges available in retail, I would strongly consider a Dell printer.

[jpaq]

Is that Lexmark I smell?

Who is the OEM on these?

I agree with the toner/ink comments. Then again, every time I run out of ink, I just end up buying a new printer anyway. The cost is little more than two cartridges, and I get a technology upgrade in the process.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

What do you think? Will you buy a Dell printer the next time you buy a Dell machine?

Nah... Not until I'm sure that I can get replacement consumables easily. Until then, I don't think so...

[eustts]

Wasn't there a rumor going around about Dell buying Lexmark?

If this is what Dell has done, the supply chain is already there.


:D

[NeoAxim]

Dell ink cartridge replacements are available on their website with free shipping.

Yes I believe that Lexmark is the OEM on these printers.

Not sure on he paper tray.
Truthfully my printing needs at home are so little that most of the scenarios you guys have brought up really wouldn't affect my decision to buy one of these printers. I don't think I will have a presentation to print at 3am absolutely necessary for the next day that I need to print at home on my inkjet anytime soon. For me it is basically price (which Dell has satisfied in a $109 dollar, with rebate of course, multi function printer) the other is quality and reliabaility which remains to be seen as these have just hit the market.

But you do get the Dell warranty which is hard to beat and so far Dell has been one of the most consistent suppliers of quality products so I think that a Dell printer could be an option for me if my HP dies on me.
I will just have to see what the early adopters have to say.

[Jason Dunn]

Personally, I was surprised Dell didn't have a "photo printer" ready to go out of the gate. And the retail presence of ink + paper is critical for me in choosing a printer.

[lorddsp]

If there is anything that HP does well, it´s their printers. OK, i admit it, it´s REALLY expensive ink, but...

I still print with my very old Deskjet (6 years) and it´s probably the only part from my computer who is older than my son (2 years now)

[Macguy59]

Depends on who is supplying the print engine.

[SofaTater]

If there is anything that HP does well, it´s their printers. OK, i admit it, it´s REALLY expensive ink, but...

I still print with my very old Deskjet (6 years) and it´s probably the only part from my computer who is older than my son (2 years now)

I'm still using -- regularly -- my HP LaserJet 4P printer. It's over ten years old now. I paid $1,000 for it new, but I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of it...

[Saaby]

I read this on Avantgo on CNet.com on my Axim today.


I won't buy one. I like my Epson, I won't consider one either--not until they have Ink in B&M stores. The Article said that they'll have free shipping and overnight shipping for like $3 for all products placed before 12 AM EST.

Like has been said though, when I run out of Ink and there isn't any extra in the drawer I need more Ink NOW, not tomorrow. These printers tell you when Ink is getting low so that you (IN theroy) order more in time. My Epson does that too and I'm still caught short on occasion.


The article did not say that the OEM was Lexmark but it did say

"the Lion's share of Dell's printer technology comes from Lexmark. The companies shgned a manufacturing partnership last year."

[NeoAxim]

I think maybe where I also differ from the majority of you is that I basically buy absolutely nothing tech related from a B&M store.
I think the last thing I purchased in person was maybe a paper shredder and a 50 pack of CR-W's which was an impulse buy when going to Staples with my girlfriend.

I get just about everything online, buy.com, amazon, dell.com, pctoys.com, basically everything imaginable comes from them.
For one the price, 9 times out of 10 you are getting a better deal online than you are in a store, for another convenience, bear in mind I live 2 blocks from a Staples and I still consider hitting a few keys and having it shipped to my house more convenient than walking to the store paying more or finding it out of stock.

Now again this is all a personal preference but I am surprised to see so many tech aficionado’s, basically people who quite obviously spend alot of time online need things sold in a B&M store to consider a purchase.

[JMountford]

you have to be concerend about ink and toner refills, or better yet wonder if these are truly proprietary or if Dell has licensed ink and toner technology from someone else.

[Wuss912]

Now again this is all a personal preference but I am surprised to see so many tech aficionado’s, basically people who quite obviously spend alot of time online need things sold in a B&M store to consider a purchase.

the reason i wouldn't consider this isnt because of supplies becoming unadvaiable (which would suck) but because i don't trust dells oem to provide a good quality printer... as well as compatiblity issues and price..
i mean for 109.00 i can get twice as much in deskjet printers..
and for 800.00 i can get a way nicer hp laser (or even a cheap color laser)
so i'd say they really aren't priced properly for me to consider them.
of course I being the odd duck that i am also need linux compatibility which lexmark's low end printers are known for not being.

[Jonathon Watkins]

If there is anything that HP does well, it´s their printers. OK, i admit it, it´s REALLY expensive ink, but...

Indeed, the ink is where they make thier profits. They can afford to make a $70 printers below cost, as they make it back on the ink. That's why they are trying to protect thier ink monopolies at all costs. :?

[NeoAxim]

as well as compatiblity issues and price..
i mean for 109.00 i can get twice as much in deskjet printers..
and for 800.00 i can get a way nicer hp laser (or even a cheap color laser)
so i'd say they really aren't priced properly for me to consider them.


I think to compare their inkjet to a standard inkjet printer takes away from what you are getting. You are actually purchasing a multi-function machine with an inkjet printer as well as flat bed scanner and copier for $109.
Now I know prices have come down in the last few years on inkjets but just over a hundred bucks for a multi function machine is pretty good.

Again for me a printer is important and I want a good one but it does not have nearly the same requirements I have for my other PC related equipment\gadgets.
The printer is a necessity and I want a quality build for a good price and inexpensive ink.
So based on what I look for Dell might have a possibility on their hands.

But then again I took down my Linux machine, if what you say about Lexmark is true I might change my mind once I bring another penguin back online.......................... :wink:

[ucfgrad93]

I'm still using -- regularly -- my HP LaserJet 4P printer. It's over ten years old now. I paid $1,000 for it new, but I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of it...

Man, Tater you gotta stop peeking in my office window! I have the exact same printer! Like yours, its about 10 years old and I paid $900 for it. I'd love to be able to figure out how many pages I have printed over the years!

[Icebaron]

If there is anything that HP does well, it´s their printers. OK, i admit it, it´s REALLY expensive ink, but...

Indeed, the ink is where they make thier profits. They can afford to make a $70 printers below cost, as they make it back on the ink. That's why they are trying to protect thier ink monopolies at all costs. :?

I think you're thinking of lexmark and to a lesser degree epson...

Both companies have flooded the market with walmart-carried $30 printers whose ink costs twice that. If you find an HP printer at walmart for that price point, its a near guarantee that its a completely outdated old model getting liquidated just to clear out the warehouses.

To do a little comparison... the black ink cartridge for HP's newest print technology costs $19.99. Lexmark's top end on its newest printers costs $32.99 for a black ink cartridge that has in my experience lasted the same, if not less, time than an HP cartridge. I've also never seen an HP cartridge clog before running out of ink, and have seen lexmark do this many times in the process of demoing the units to sell to customers.

Some more prices to mull over... the cheapest printers using lexmark's latest cartridges retail for 50-60 dollars. The cheapest HP printer using this technology is around the 130 smackeroo mark. So, I wouldn't be so quick to jump all over HP for the price of their ink... as they are far from the worst offender in the market.

[ucfgrad93]

Nah... Not until I'm sure that I can get replacement consumables easily. Until then, I don't think so...

Ditto. If I had to rely on ordering from Dell and not running to a local store, forget it!

[hulksmash]

Icebaron makes a valid point. HP acually invests over 500 million dollars annually on their R & D on inkjet and laserjet printers, and in fact they invented both laser jet (with canon making the engines hp making all else) and ink jet technologies. They continue to lead the way. And, by the way, they have received an A rating from PC week magazine (which is a users' survey) over 11 years in a row for quality, customer service and support in laserjet and inkjet categories. A company doesn't keep that record by simply trying to dupe their customers, but instead by making high quality products and standing behind them with top level customer service and support. Incidentally, HP has over 100 US patents in their printer technologies and this is because they invest much in high standards research and development, not just branding a product with their name like Dell does. Dell is a reseller, not a manufacturer and certainly not an inventor of anything but good direct market business models.

Dell used to be known for customer service but eversince they tried to diversify their product offerings, their quality of customer service has suffered and it is documented by various on-line and other business periodicals. Lexmark does make Dells printers for them.

Oh, and someone mentioned that Lexmark ink cartridges clog frequently. One of HP's proprietary technologies is the fact that all their ink cartridges have print heads built right onto the cartridge, instead of on the printer hardware like all other inkjet manufacturers who don't have that patent. This is why HP's printers last forever, like a few of you mentioned above, they run cleaner and are very superior and therefore you get BOTH photo quality AND laser quality text , not merely one or the other. If you look at the other printer manufacturer's ink cartridges you will find that theirs are larger, not because you get more volume but because they have to include a reservoir on theirs with a blotter inside to catch the ink that their lower technology forces them to use to keep their nozzles clean, or at least try to. It is actually in their manuals as well. Canon's do this every time you turn the printer on, and Epson does this very often, every time they run through their "cleaning" cycles, they are flushing their nozzles with up to 10 ml of ink, ink that will never make it to your paper. This is true with Dells inkjets too, (I figured I should include this statement so as, to make it appear that I am still on subject :wink: ),... :google:

To answer the question, no, I will never buy a Dell/Lexmark printer, I prefer quality over a disposable printer with no consumables in B & M stores.

[agostumpy]

I sure do hope that Dell does something good with the Lexmark poop poo they're dealing with. However, it looks like these are just Lmarks w/ Dell names slapped on them. Let me be blunt (IMHO)

:devilboy: STAY AWAY FROM LEXMARK :devilboy:

I've worked on all brands of printers for the past 4 years, and I fix 10 Lexmarks for every 2 HP's out there, and HP has sold TONS more out there.

Please Dell, do us proud!!

[kidA]

yeah, i don't know that i'll ever buy anything but an HP printer. they're proven, and i've had my deskjet for over 2 years and don't plan on replacing it until it either explodes or grows legs and runs away. prints crisp photos, fast text. ink is cheap. whoever said HP ink was expensive... my last printer was a lexmark and the ink was far more expensive than HP ink and didn't last as long--even when the print head didn't get clogged, which happened often enough that it drove me crazy. iv'e never had problem with my HP though.

[Steven Cedrone]

HP's quality is indesputable... I still know people that use Deskjet 500's - these things just keep on going and going (I remember the only problem: they would stop picking up paper. And HP sent out a free "fix" to anyone that wanted it)...

But hey, good luck to Dell! I am sure they will bundle them with new systems and sell a ton of them...

Steve

[PetiteFlower]

You know when I first got my HP printer(697, bought for about $80 I think?) I was warned by my friends that they sucked because they would start printing streaks after a while. Which is true, but once I figured out how to CLEAN the printer, problem solved! And as far as I can tell, all inkjet printers do that :)

At any rate, if the dell printers are manufactured by Lexmark, wouldn't that mean that they could (possibly) be compatible with ordinary Lexmark cartridges that can be found in stores?

[karen]

....I remember reading that HP ink was oil based, while most other inks were water based. The water based ones dry up on the print heads, which is why those other printers need expensive replacements or maintenance.

Is that still true?

My Epson 1520 needs just such maintenance, costing about $100-200. Since it prints 17x22, I will most likely have it cleaned.

Karen

[Wuss912]

....I remember reading that HP ink was oil based, while most other inks were water based. The water based ones dry up on the print heads, which is why those other printers need expensive replacements or maintenance.

Is that still true?


Karen
i dont think so...
hp's inkjet cartregegs have the print heads built in so they get thrown away with the cart...
so even if they do clog you just replace the cart and your done...

[hulksmash]

Actually hp color inks are dye based with water and the black ink is pigment based with water also. The reason for this is that the dye-based colors absorb into the paper and create actual colors like orange from layering red and yellow instead of dithering a red dot and a yellow dot close to eachother to fool the eye into "seeing" orange like other manufacturers. The reason black is pigment-based is to achieve the laser quality text that hp is famous for without having to super saturate the page with black dye therefore achieving crisp, dark black text. And as I mentioned before, while others can do one or the other, no one else achieves high photo quality AND laser quality text from a single inkjet printer quite as well as hp does.

Side note, Dell actually does have a chance of capturing a chunk of the inkjet market, based on the sheer volume of their client list that is brand-loyal to them and who will order a printer from dell just because it is easier.