Old Gold and Black > 4.25.02 > Lexmark printers replaced

After listening to student input, Information Systems has opted to include the Hewlett Packard DeskJet 940c color printer with ThinkPads next year, instead of the Lexmark inkjet printers distributed in previous years. In making this decision, IS has also decided to return to a four-year printer cycle, where students will not receive a new printer their junior year.

After undergoing testing, Jay Dominick, an assistant vice president and chief information officer, said, "The one that was rated most highly was the 940c. It wasn't the fastest one. É It was the one that had the highest reliability and the best overall performance, and price performance."

The 940c, which retails nationally for , packs a front-loading sheet tray and prints 1.2 to 12 pages per minute. While the personal printers are moving to HP, the university will continue to purchase Lexmark laser printers for high-volume printing.

According to Dominick, the university explored other printer manufacturers after an outpouring of student comments concerning current printers.

"We thought we had a very good printer out this year in the Z42, we were excited about it," he said. "We got more feedback with problems with the printer than we ever anticipated. We were certainly surprised about the student reaction to it, it caused us to step back and look at what is of value here."

The printers are in a harsh environment," Dominick added. "I'm not sure that HP will stand up any better under actual Residence Hall use, but we will try."

Earlier this semester, a team of IS engineers evaluated five printers from different price ranges: one from Epson, two from Lexmark and two from HP. According to Dominick, the printers were judged on reliability, print speed, quality, cartridge type and cartridge cost.

"We tested them, and the color quality and the physical process of printing for the HP had really impressed folks. It seems like a solid printer," he said. "It's front feed and the cartridges can be swapped out like on the Lexmark." out like on the Lexmark."

Technology review site CNET.com, which rated the 940c 6 out of 10, calculated cartridge printing costs at 5.2 cents per page for black and white and 31 cents per page for color printing.

When the university's technology program was first implemented in 1996, over 100 laser printers were spread throughout campus to serve as the students' printing solution. Dominick said that the printers, located in common areas, were often damaged and inoperative.

The Lexmark 2030 became the first personal inkjet printers distributed to students, which were followed by the 5700 model. For the past two years, the Lexmark Z42, has been distributed in a two-year cycle to incoming freshmen and juniors. Juniors will receive the HP 940c when they trade in their Lexmarks this August.

"Lexmark was exceptionally competitive on price, willing to work with us on delivery and getting the right stuff in and out of the box. They would even come in and help us with distribution," Dominick said. "We had great sales support from Lexmark. That's not the case with Hewlett Packard." In addition, IS will service all HP printers themselves, since they have shorter warranties than the Lexmark models. Dominick said that the university's printing solution will be reevaluated next year, and the printer provider may change again in the future.


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