Lexmark In Britain

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Lexmark and Kingfisher: Lexmark signs deal with large Britain-based chain

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I moved away from Lexmark quite some time ago, I still have a perfectly good printer sat in the loft. I found that the machines are sold really cheaply, but the cartridges are one of the most expensive brands on the market. I assume this is a clever sales tactic Only my experience of course [duck].

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I moved away from Lexmark quite some time ago, I still have a perfectly good printer sat in the loft. I found that the machines are sold really cheaply, but the cartridges are one of the most expensive brands on the market. I assume this is a clever sales tactic Only my experience of course [duck].

When I bought my first PC back in 1995, I also purchased a Canon BJ200e printer. The little rascal is still printing. The quality of the documents is still good also. The ink cartridges are becoming more difficult to find, so when I find them, I buy quite a few.

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I moved away from Lexmark quite some time ago, I still have a perfectly good printer sat in the loft. I found that the machines are sold really cheaply, but the cartridges are one of the most expensive brands on the market. I assume this is a clever sales tactic

I think it is ‘standard practice’ for all printer manufacturers to make their real profit on consumables, but then this is what automobile manufacturers have been doing for years too…

As a BTW, we have a requirement to print on polyester, both translucent and opaque-white material. By chance I found that Konica Minolta use a toner/engine combination that results in a layer of toner that is both opaque and glossy – the sort of result you would expect using Letraset (if anyone still remembers it!) The reliability of the KM machines we found lacking, and the latest range will no longer handle polyester – you end up with a nice plastic concertina of no use to man or beast.

A visiting printer engineer – called into extricate a piece of toasted polyester – remarked that he knew of only one company that manufactured a printer with variable fuser temperature, and that company – Lexmark – not only used the same laser engine as the KM range, but was the only company he was aware of in the UK that you could call and speak directly to an engineer and discuss specific printing requirements. This I did, and 30 minutes later received an email recommending a laser printer specified for printing on polyester (actually vinyl labels).

So, £800 (US$1,280) later, we have a massive printer that is only used perhaps 10 or 20 times a week. It sounds a lot, but when using media that costs £2.50 (US$4) a sheet, it doesn’t take long to spend the cost of a cheaper alternative on wasted material.

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… A visiting printer engineer – called into extricate a piece of toasted polyester – remarked that he knew of only one company that manufactured a printer with variable fuser temperature, and that company – Lexmark – not only used the same laser engine as the KM range, but was the only company he was aware of in the UK that you could call and speak directly to an engineer and discuss specific printing requirements. This I did, and 30 minutes later received an email recommending a laser printer specified for printing on polyester (actually vinyl labels)…

Good for you (and Lexmark!). It’s nice to hear about a company that has truly “personal” service once in a great while! And you can’t blame them when there’s that much revenue involved.

PS And here I was thinking I had an “inside track” because I used to work there and have called and talked to an engineer a couple of times about their ink cartridges. )

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