Is it the end of the laser printer? Well according to Epson it may well be.
Since the day Gary Starkweather invented the laser printer in the Xerox labs back in 1969, it has been the mainstay for office printing for its speed, accuracy and cost – that’s over 40 years! Now Epson are to launch the WorkForce Pro WP 4500 inkjet printer series in September 2011 which it claims will surpass the speed and cost of laser printing. This is a smart move for Epson considering they produce all their laser printers under licence. Whereas they own all the rights to their piezo-electric printing technology and have done since 1993.
There will be six in the WorkForce Pro WP 4500 range from the basic function WP4015DN to the all singing and dancing multi-function WP4535DNF which will feature the usual printing, scanning, faxing and copying capabilities along with Wi-Fi, duplex printing and access via Apple and Android apps.
With four large ink tanks under the hood, the WP 4500 range can print 2400 pages in black and 2000 pages in colour using their XL cartridges. According to according to the senior manager of business products at Epson, Jordi Castillo, the WorkForce Pro range will be able to hand 20000 pages per month and will cost 50% less per page than their toner using competition.
The WorkForce Pro definitely has the looks of a laser printer and is built with that laser printer sturdiness that is expected of an office printing work-horse. So just maybe the end is nigh for the laser printer.