Xerox Refreshes Monochrome Laser Printers

Pretty much all small-business owners have one goal in common – they want to get more done and spend less money doing it. Launching a refresh of five monochrome laser printers and multi-function printers (MFPs) – designed for the SMB market — Xerox aims to help make that goal more readily attainable.

The idea, according to Robin Wessel, director of product marketing at Xerox, is to provide small business owners with a broader range of affordably priced products that meet the varying needs of small business.

"We don’t think small businesses should have to sacrifice features even at the lower end of the of the product line. We want to make it easier and more affordable to get the work done," he said.

Here's the latest on what Xerox has on offer for the small business owner.

Phaser 3100 MFPs

Wessel called this printer the company's new starting point for MFPs. The base configuration price starts at $279. The 3100 MFPx model costs $349 and includes an automatic document feeder, more advanced fax capabilities and a full keyboard so you can type fax To and From information right on the printer.

Both models provide print and copy speeds of 21 pages per minute (ppm), scan directly to your computer in both black-and-white and color, and include character recognition software that turns hard copies into electronic documents that you can edit.

Other features include ID Card Copy and N-up, USB 2.0 connectivity (but no Ethernet) with an option for wireless USB, toner save mode and Energy Star compliance. Wessel also noted the availability of an optional VoIP adapter saying that analog fax may not work over a VoIP phone system.

Wessel said that this system will be available in early June.

Phaser 3250

This black-and-white printer pricing starts at $279 and goes up to $349 for the networked version. It prints up to 30 ppm and offers duplex (double-sided) printing as a standard feature.

Wessel said the 3250 has its own 400Mhz processor for faster printing that's especially good for documents with lots of graphics, PostScript 3 compatibility and PCL 6 emulation. Network options include USB 2.0 for the base model and both USB and Ethernet on the 3250DN.

Phaser 3600

Wessel said this 40 ppm, 500-sheet printer offers "world class technology, speed and performance" and claimed its the "only product in its class to offer a standard, one-year onsite warranty."

It also offers up to three networking options: USB 2.0, parallel and Ethernet.

Phaser 3635 MFP

The top-of-the-line MFP offers print, copy, scan, fax and e-mail capabilities. "This is a full-on, no excuses MFP," said Wessel. "The scanning and copy capabilities are just as robust as the printing. That's not something you find in the typical all-in-one printer."

Features include print speed of up to 35 ppm, 80GB internal hard drive, 500-sheet tray, document feeder, scan to e-mail, scan to network, scan to USB memory drive capability, embedded fax and LAN fax (for paperless faxing right from the desktop). Pricing ranges $1,799 to $2,099.

Phaser 5550

This printer handles tabloid-sized prints at up to 50 ppm for both single and double-sided pages. Wessel said the machine comes with PhaserSMART, an online troubleshooting tool that helps diagnose and solve printing problems.

Other features in this printer family include three standard paper trays (100, 500 and 500 sheet capacity respectively), a 500 MHz processor, Adobe PostScript 3, PCL 6 and PCL 5e emulation, Direct PDF. Prices range from $1,999 to $3,499.

Lauren Simonds is the managing editor of SmallBusinessComputing.com