Solution providers now can sell the benefits of low-cost color without sacrificing profits.
The TCO approach for color dovetails with solutions sales, another important profit-sustaining strategy for resellers. “With solid-ink products, resellers now can add their solutions on top of a great story about saving money, which gives them another benefit they can portray to their customers,” says Haffner. “The raw printing costs are much lower, so that makes the solution that much better.”
Under usage contracts, the per-page cost of a 25 percent color data sheet is about $.07 with the 8860s, or roughly one-third the cost of competitive products, Xerox estimates. Thus, the pricing dynamics of more-expensive hardware combined with economical consumables still apply. “And when a solution provider goes in and says, ‘I’ll take over your fleet, and I’ll save you 10 percent,’ this is a product that they can install; the cost per page is so low, it makes that reduction easy to achieve,” Haffner says.
Higher Page Volumes
Xerox research is showing that 8860 users end up printing more color pages — as much as two times more for some businesses. An average monthly print volume for Xerox customers is about 1500 pages, while 8860 users average 3200 pages. In addition, the color densities are higher on each page.
Haffner reasons that because the operating costs for the solid-ink device are comparatively low, users are less inhibited about color expenses. “That means solution providers can actually make more money with the kind of customers that are motivated by this approach,” Haffner adds.
However, not every customer appreciates a TCO message, and for those people Xerox also sells the Phaser 8560 solid-ink printer, which follows the more conventional pricing scheme of a lower box price and higher consumables costs. “There are certain people who don’t understand TCO and don’t want to pay a lot of money for their printer. But they like solid ink, so we have an offering for them,” Haffner explains.
He advises solution providers to consider each customer’s business needs and attitudes about TCO and then lead with the solid-ink device that fits best. “The power of choice for a customer is huge. Solution providers can say, ‘You can go with this option, or you can choose this one, and here’s how each [affects] your budget and cash flow,’” says Haffner. “That gives the solution provider a chance to be a consultant and provide more value.”
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