I was able to blog about HP’s new server infrastructure and the phenomena of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) just yesterday, and today I’m coincidentally covering something similar in spirit if not in target market. This time it is the Epson CX5500 MFD on the pedestal, and this is surely something more relevant to the average consumer than the half-million peso server infrastructure discussed yesterday.

The Epson Stylus CX5500 Multi-function printer, to quote its complete name, is a product of the constant downsizing and down-pricing of consumer peripherals meant for the PC. This is a sub - $100 (below P5000) piece of equipment that may seem a bit flimsy with its plastic construction, but proves to contain enough style and substance to sit quite comfortably in a small-office setting without upsetting anyone except those who hate black, shiny plastic.

                                             The sub-$100 printer of yore.

As recently as three years ago, multi–function printers under the magical sub- $100 mark were impossible to find, and those that came close sacrificed a significant amount of quality and a large number of features. Now that a host of choices exist for the buyer of these hundred-dollar machines – a new consideration has surfaced: TCO or total cost of ownership.

With HP server infrastructures and other big-scale products for the business consumer, it was usually the “manageability” and ease of maintenance issues, as well as power consumption considerations that were the most important when taking a long-term view into a purchase. A product like the Epson MFP cannot easily be weighed under these considerations, but there is one very obvious additional cost for these products that mount up over the time period that a buyer uses the printer – the cost of print cartridges and the corresponding issue of ink efficiency.

                                              This is probably already worth more than the CX5500.

Historically, ink cartridge spending, not the initial outlay for a printer, gave the printer companies the main bulk of their earnings. In other words, people will eventually spend much more for ink cartridge replacements than what they originally spent for the printer itself. This is TCO in cartridge form.

The good thing about the Epson CX5500 is that it offers the user the option of buying a pared-down cartridge that contains less ink and is less expensive, in addition to offering the regular size cartridge. Although Epson’s ink cartridges are traditionally more expensive than the competitions’, possibly due to these being ink-based, this fact combined with its multi-cartridge ink system gives the CX5500 buyer the flexibility to minimize TCO to an extent that is impossible for single-cartridge and single-ink option printers. 

                                  Two cartridge sizes are offered. Not the ones in this picture though.

Add to this defining TCO advantage features such as a maximum of 5760 optimized dots per inch (DPI) printing, Variable Sized Droplet Technology (VSDT) that further increases the Epson’s ink-saving capability, PC-free copying, and the aforementioned sleek, substantial looks, then we have here a very good option for people who’s looking for an all-in-one printer.

                                             The intended purpose of printer manufacturers in selling ink cartridges.

On the downside though, the CX5500 is noticeably slower than even my 2 year-old Canon Pixma 3000. Granted, the Pixma 3000 is a stand alone printer with a listed price around twice that of the Epson, but it only served to remind me that Epson’s printers are usually slower than its counterparts from other brands, despite its listed 25ppm printing speed. Paradoxically, this makes this model a better fit for the small-business and home user, as these settings does not (usually) require fast speeds as much as low upkeep. In this regard, the Epson CX5500 shines.

All in all, with a list price of around P5000, one cannot nitpick too much. Add to that the scanning and copying capabilities, Epson has shown that TCO concerns shouldn’t only be found in the professional space, but also in the regular consumers whose cost-consciousness covers both the initial purchase and the actual usage of the product through the years.