New Epson Color Ink-Jet Printer With Extra High-Yield 8,000-/7,000-Page Cartridges
March 9, 2010 - Epson America is introducing two new color ink-jet printers, the B-310N and B-510DN, for high-volume printing in small and mid-size businesses. Both of the new printers may be equipped with the highest-yield ink cartridges in the SMB ink-jet printer/All-in-One segment. The B-510DN (right) may be equipped with the highest-yield cartridges--a black extra high-yield cartridge ($69.99 ) rated to yield 8,000 pages, and cyan, yellow, magenta cartridges ($59.99 each) that are each rated to yield 7,000 pages, for a cost per page of approximately 0.8 and 2.5 cents for black and color respectively. In contrast, the typical business model for color ink-jet cartridges is to sell low-priced (as low $10) ink cartridges, but with much lower page yields (as low as 500 pages), with proponents stating that end-users are buying based primarily on low cartridge acquisition price, not on cost per page.
Note that at list prices of $399 (B-310N) and $599 (B-510DN) the printers cost about twice as much as comparable color ink-jet printers. At higher page volumes, however, the printers' very competitive cost per page translates into greater economy.
Epson rates both the B-310N and B-510DN at 33 ppm in black and color in draft mode (and at up to 19/18 ppm in ISO mode), maximum paper size is 8.5"x14", and both are Energy Star qualified (maximum power consumption printing is 30 watts). The printers are equipped with a 500-sheet paper drawer, and are designed for color business users, for instance, for users in real estate and health care. The B-510's paper drawer accommodate both letter- and legal-size paper, while the B-310N's paper drawer accommodates only letter-size paper, but it can be equipped with an optional legal-size paper drawer.
Epson B-310N
The B-310N lists at $399, and has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages (2,000 pages is recommended). It's equipped with a 100Base-TX/10Base-TX Ethernet network interface and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, and is compatible with Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. Automatic duplexing is optional.
The B-310N's ink cartridges consist of a black ink cartridge ($39.99) and rated to yield 3,000 pages, and cyan, magenta, and yellow ink cartridges ($49.99 each) and rated to yield 3,500 pages each, for black and color cost per page of approximately 1.3 and 5.5 cents respectively. The B-510DN may also be equipped with these ink cartridges, as well as with the extra high-yield cartridges noted previously.
Epson B-510DN
The B-510DN is essentially the same as the B-310, but adds automatic duplexing, and its 500-sheet paper drawer accepts up to legal-size paper. The B-510DN also adds a rear-located 150-sheet paper tray that accepts up to letter-size paper. With an optional support, the rear paper tray can accept legal-size paper (up to 60 sheets). Additionally, it has a higher maximum monthly volume (20,000 pages) and higher recommended monthly volume (4,000 pages).
Epson is distributing both printers via direct market resellers, online resellers, and at its retail site, www.epsonstore.com.