New efficiencies mean no price differentiator between colour and mono

In a bid to increase the use of colour in standard business documents Xerox has introduced new printers that output colour documents costing no more than the same prints would in black-and-white, according to the firm.

The Xerox Phaser 8860 printer is available immediately, while a multi-function print, copy and fax version, the Phaser 8860MFP, is due to ship in November. Both models are based on solid ink printing rather than a laser process, but Xerox claims to have updated this technology so that the combined cost of the three primary colour refills is the same as the black ink the printers use.

"Customers talk about colour printing and mono printing, but there's no need to differentiate between the two anymore – you can let the document decide," said Darren Cassidy, director and general manager for office business at Xerox.

Cost is the main reason for companies not using colour printing, according to figures from consultant InfoTrends. Xerox said the new formula it has developed for its solid ink media brings it in line with mono laser printers.

"If we take the price barrier away, there's no reason not to move to colour, " said Judith Schunke, European public relations manager for Xerox.

However, Sharon McNee of analysts Gartner said the new Xerox printers were more costly to purchase than rival hardware, adding that this cancelled out the benefit of cheaper colour prints for many buyers. "You would have to print a thousand colour pages per month or more before you would see any payback," she said.

The Phaser 8860 prints at up to 30 pages per minute in both colour and black-and-white and costs £1,699. The Phaser 8860MFP has comparable specifications but costs £2,919.