Lexmark announced today that they were introducing three new multifuction inkjet printers, all of which will be priced under $80. The new models are the Lexmark X3470, X2470 and the X1270.

The Lexmark X3470 prints, scans and copies but does not fax. It is rated at 17 pages per minute, features memory card slots and it has PictBridge to print directly from a camera. It also features a proof sheet, a first for Lexmark. You print out a page with thumbnail previews of your pictures, mark which ones you want to print, then scan that sheet and the machine prints them out. The Lexmark X2470 is basically a less fancy version of the X3470. It has the same basic features and prints at the same speed, but it lacks memory card slots and the proof sheet function. These two machines will use the Lexmark #1 ink cartridge, which combines black and color into one cartridge. Lexmark claims that this helps to eliminate “the cost and hassles of buying multiple cartridges”, but single cartridges like this can present problems for some people. Because the black is made from combining cyan, magenta and yellow, the results can be a little off at times. In the past we have heard some customers say that the black ends up looking a greenish color. It also tends to use up a lot of ink, so the hassle of buying multiple cartridges might just be replaced with the hassle of buying one cartridge more often.

The Lexmark X1270 is basically as no-frills as an all-in-one machine can get. It prints, scans and copies…and that’s about it. It is rated at the same 17ppm as the other two machines for printing black pages, but only 9ppm for color. To be fair, this machine is “under $50″ ($49.99) so expectations can’t be too high. This is a machine for people who want a basic all-in-one but aren’t crazy about extra features or photo printing.

The Lexmark X3470 will retail at $75 after a $25 mail-in rebate and the X2470 will retail at $59. They will be in stores sometime in May.

Lexmark’s new all-in-ones raise the bar on value and ease of use in home printing [Press Release]

These two printer giants are in court over HP‘s hiring of Bruce Dahlgren, a former manager at Lexmark. He left the company in January, and Lexmark believes that his going to work at their rival violates a non-compete agreement he signed with them in 2000. Lexmark believes that he could share all their secrets with HP and that he would be directly competing with the company he just recently left. HP counters with the fact that Dahlgren doesn’t have any secrets and that he only knows about products that are already on the market. They say that Lexmark’s rules are too restrictive, while Lexmark states that Dahlgren kept his imminent employment at HP secret until the last minute. Juicy stuff.

The whole thing is being complicated by the fact that California, home of HP and now Dahlgren, has different non-compete laws than Kentucky, where Dahlgren worked at Lexmark and where he signed the agreement. The article notes that this is a big deal to Lexmark because they believe that Dahlgren can help HP in selling “printing solutions”, which means helping big companies with their printing needs.

During an investor conference call in January, Lexmark’s chief financial officer, John Gamble, said the company has a competitive advantage in managing large accounts, known as the enterprise market.

“Our ability to service the enterprise market with very high-end market products and extremely good solutions offerings is very, very good,” said Gamble.

That same area is one that HP hopes to grow.

To imagine Lexmark competing with HP may seem strange, since it seems like HP easily dominates them, and in reality they pretty much do. But if Lexmark feels they have an advantage over HP in any area, it is wise for them to fight to protect it.

Lexmark non-compete clause contested by HP [Lexington Herald-Leader]

Recently Tom’s Hardware had an excellent and exhaustive review of five multifunction machines currently out on the market. They review and compare the Canon PIXMA MP500, Dell All-in-One 944, Epson Stylus Photo RX700, HP Photosmart 3210 and the Lexmark P6350.

They compare the machines based on their photo printing, their speed and the cost of owning and operating them. Some findings:

-the Lexmark P6350 prints text the fastest in Normal mode
-the Epson RX700 prints a standard photo the fastest, barely edging out the Photosmart
-the HP and Canon seem to perform the best in the photo print quality test
-the PIXMA MP500 is the cheapest to operate over the life of the machine; the RX700 the most expensive

Not to spoil things, but they don’t declare one one winner. Instead, they note that the HP Photosmart 3210 and the Canon PIXMA MP500 stand out above the others. They had a favorable opinion of all the machines except the Dell, which they were “disappointed” with. Regardless, their analysis is definitely worth a read. It is very rare that you will find this much hard data showing the performance of different printers anywhere else. You can read all the reviews you want and get people’s opinions on these machines, but it is nice to see some numbers to put things in perspective.

Multifunction printers call the tune [Tom's Hardware]

Not really a big secret, but this article notes that 15% of all printers sold by Lexmark are sold to Dell. Lexmark manufacturers the printers, sells them to Dell and then Dell brands them with their name. Last year, Lexmark sold $782 million worth of printers to Dell, up from $570 million the year before. The article says:

Lexmark has been criticized by analysts who say the company’s relationship with Dell, which has rapidly gained printer market share, dilutes its own brand name.

While that may be true, it’s hard to argue with hundreds of millions of dollars of sales. Besides, most people probably don’t even know that their Dell printer isn’t made by Dell, so the Lexmark name probably isn’t being diluted in too many people’s eyes.

Lexmark selling more printers to Dell [Kentucky.com]

Lexmark’s new C522n color laser printer recently won the Editor’s Choice award from PC Magazine. We know this because Lexmark put out a press release the other day stating this. While it is a nice honor, the HP Color LaserJet 2600n, the Konica Minolta magicolor 2400W and the Ricoh Aficio G700 all won them as well. Technically, the C522n is the newest Editor’s Choice, so that does mean something. Any time a machine can unseat the legendary Ricoh Aficio G700 from atop its throne, it is worth noting.

The C522n is designed for network use and has a list price of $499, which makes it relatively affordable but still more than the HP 2600n. Of course, the first time you replace all the cartridges it will cost you around $540 if you buy the Lexmark brand, but that is another story. The only downside to the printer that PC Mag makes note of is that the graphic output of the machine is “a little low”, but even with the advances in printing over the years, people still likely have pretty low expecations for how well pictures will come out on a laser printer. According to the review, the C522n is best when it comes to printing text, both in terms of quality and speed. This is one of the reasons why they give it the slight edge over the HP.

You can check out PC Mag’s review.
And their comparison of similar models.

Lexmark’s new C522n color laser wins prestigious PC Magazine Editors’ Choice award [Press Release]

From a recent CNET story:

Lexmark International Group on Tuesday said quarterly profit fell by almost half, hurt by tough price competition and a slump in computer printer sales

We think that stories like this will become more common as more people grow tired of the high cost of ink. The home printing market has exploded recently, but may be starting to cool down just slightly. Ironically, the slowdown in sales resulted in Lexmark beating profit expectations for the quarter:

The higher-than-expected profit came as a result of lower operating expenses and weak printer sales, Lexmark said. Printer makers typically sell hardware at a loss in hopes of reaping long-term recurring sales of ink and toner, which are highly profitable.

Does anyone find it a little strange that they actually saw some benefit from selling fewer printers, supposedly their chief product? This shows the curious and now tenuous business model that the printer companies employ these days: lose money making the hardware, make it back with the ink. Only if people stop buying more and more printers that require more and more ink while at the same time using alternative ink products, printer manufacturers like Lexmark aren’t left with much to fall back on.

Lexmark profit falls; job cuts planned [CNET]