rices of color laser printers have dropped so dramatically in the last t
wo years that many observers say monochrome printers gradually will become as obsolete as monochrome monitors and black-and-white TVs.
Tektronix Inc. has reduced the price of its Phaser 350 color laser printer to $2,995, from $3,495. "We want to put a color printer in every office," says Jean Nassar, VP of worldwide marketing for Tektronix, in Wilsonville, Ore.
The average price of a color laser printer is expected to drop 25% this year, according to Keith Waryas, an analyst for International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass. Shipments of desktop color laser printers have been growing at a phenomenal rate. In 1995, only 31,870 units were shipped in the United States; IDC expects that to rise this year to 65,000.
According to Kevin Craine, IT supervisor of Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Oregon, color can enhance people's understanding of documents. For instance, spot color on accountin
g statements can highlight data to provide information quickly, he says.
Ken Feehan, product line manager for Apple Computer's LaserWriter printers, says that when people stop seeing color as a luxury and start seeing
it as a way to promote their businesses, the monochrome printer will become obsolete. "In 10 years," he predicts, "you will not be able to find a monochrome printer on the market."
"Our color printers have saved us quite a bit of money," says Bill Sitton, president of Golden State Directories in Cameron Park, Calif., which prints phone books. "We paid $8,000 for our [Tektronix] color laser printer two years ago and paid it off as soon as we put out two phone books."
At today's prices, users like Sitton will be recovering those costs even more quickly.
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rices of color laser printers have dropped so dramatically in the last t
wo years that many observers say monochrome printers gradually will become as obsolete as monochrome monitors and black-and-white TVs.
