The problem with printing freely is that the cost adds up. For most people, this is not the problem because, at most, they print 10 pages in a week. On-going printing costs are something that only heavy duty printer tend to consider. This means businesses who churn out a lot of documents per day. The primary concern for these types of businesses is print related savings. If you’re looking for a printer with such specific qualities, then you would do well to consider the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D.
The last device we reviewed from this Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) was also from the DocuPrint series – the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M225DW. However, the M225DW is a multifunction printer while the P455D is a single function printer. The P455D is a very interesting option for businesses looking for high volume printing at affordable costs. Here’s our review of this A4 monochrome laser printer.
Strengths of Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D
Let’s get the absolute bottom line out of the way. The best quality is that the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D is a high volume printer and it doesn’t try to be anything else. It is designed to do what it is intended to do as best as it is done in the industry i.e. high volume printing. This is why most of this printer’s qualities revolve around heavy-duty printing.
The first of these is print speed. Speed becomes a bottleneck for high volume printing. You can’t really print a lot of pages if your printer spits out five pages every minute. The print speed of this device is in the upper ranges for its market segment.
The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D has a rated print speed of 45 pages per minute (ppm) and does justice to this rating in practice too. With respect to starting times, the device does well again. It will give you the first print from the ‘ready’ mode within five seconds.
Print speed and paper handling go hand in hand. Both need to be good for a printer to be good at high volume printing. The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D comes standard with a total paper handling capacity of 700 sheets split between a 550-sheet main tray and a 150-sheet multipurpose tray. However, you can increase this capacity with the addition of three more paper trays. These additional paper trays are optional and can take the total paper handling capacity of the device to 2,350 sheets. The monthly duty cycle of this device supports its high volume printing persona. Its monthly duty cycle is 109,000 per month.
We explained earlier that high volume printer owners are always worried about costs because it quickly adds up to become unsustainable. Therefore, a hit high volume printer needs to be very cost efficient for it to be useful. The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D meets that criterion, especially if you use generic cartridges. If you use compatible cartridges, then you’ll have to pay no more than 1.8 cents per page. This is very much affordable and as per the market segment standards. If you use genuine cartridges i.e. those produced by the OEM, you stand to spend about 2.3 cents per page.
Fuji Xerox has included an extra feature in the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D to support cost savings. The P455D has automatic duplexing. Automatic duplexing can cut your paper costs by half. The price you pay for these savings is time. The print speed also goes down if you choose automatic duplexing. With automatic duplexing, this device’s print speed is 27 ppm.
Weaknesses of Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D
As is the case with all electronic devices in the world, the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D has its flaws too. For example, even though the P455D offers great savings while in operation, the amount you’ll have to spend to get it in the first place isn’t small. This device is priced around $1,100 which can be a stumbling block for many businesses. However, because it saves you money on every page, this large initial investment is soon recouped. In fact, the more you print on this device, the more money you save in the long run when compared to other cheaper options in the market.
Another flaw in the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D is that it doesn’t offer wireless connectivity in the standard variant. However, we feel that this was a deliberate decision from Fuji Xerox as opposed to oversight. The logic behind not offering wireless connectivity as standard is that most businesses tend to use either USB or Ethernet connectivity when it comes to office equipment. Therefore, if someone plans on using the LAN wire then why should he have to pay for the wireless components too? On the other hand, people who want wireless connectivity wouldn’t be too troubled about having to pay slightly more for it.
The last and probably the most significant flaw of the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D is its weight. This is a heavy device. It weighs 12.8 Kg, which means that you’ll need help if you want to move it around. It would be a better option to pick its final resting place and leave it there until the end of its days.
Key Features of Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D
Incidentally, devices that offer smaller footprints tend to be on the heavier side because everything is crammed into a very small space. The reason why this device is so heavy is that it is compact. The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D measures about 315mm in height, 426mm in depth, and 393mm in width.
A word on this device’s output quality is necessary if you’re going to consider it for your business. Monochrome printers, generally, don’t go wrong with their print quality. Monochrome printing is usually intended for business printing, which doesn’t require elaborate print quality. This is why most monochrome printers don’t have print quality related problems.
The same is true with this device. What it can print, it can print to good quality. The maximum resolution that the device is rated for is 1200 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi). This means that if you want to get fine prints on a piece of paper, you shouldn’t worry about its legibility. At the same time, we strongly recommend not printing graphics and photos with this device.
On top of the device, towards the left, you’ll see a control panel consisting of multiple buttons and a 4-line backlit display. While you won’t be using this control panel much, it is always good to have another option. The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D features inbuilt memory worth 256MB too. Furthermore, you can increase this memory capacity by going for the optional 512MB memory module. Other options you can go for include a hard disc unit and a maintenance kit.
When you get the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P455D, you’ll be given a 12 month quick exchange warranty. However, if you have an ABN number, you can increase this warranty through the OEM’s Corporate Advantage programme. With this programme in play, you’ll get an upgrade to three-year on-site warranty.