Lexmark attacks high-end

Lexmark is attempting to transfer the recent explosion of interest in colour printing from the consumer market to the corporate arena.

Last week, the company launched a clutch of printers to meet what it sees as a gap in the high-end colour market. The Optra 1200 laser printer and two inkjets, the Optra Colour 40 and its big brother the Optra Colour 45, will lead the charge.

"In 1996 there were more colour printers sold than monos. By 2000, 80% of printers sold will have colour capability," commented Lexmark's marketing director Kevin Spinks.

The Optra 1200 is billed as a 12 page per minute (ppm) model, but in fact can only print what is already held in its memory at 12ppm, and new jobs take longer. It has 32Mb of RAM as standard, upgradable to 64Mb.

The Optra 1200n model adds to the basic unit a high-speed parallel port for better network connectivity, and an Ethernet 10BaseT/100BaseTx MarkNet S internal print server. The Optra 1200 has two open internal solution ports whereas the 1200n has only one. It handles 250 sheets, which can be either A4 or A3. The printers weigh in at between 51kg and 63kg, depending on configuration, and measure 555x670x401mm.

The Optra 1200n with network connectivity and 64Mb of RAM costs #5,799, while the 32Mb version Optra 1200 is priced at #4,999.

As for the inkjets, Lexmark's Optra Colour 40 and 45 are priced between #370 for a basic model and #1,270 for a 16Mb network-ready machine.

Both inkjets print at 8ppm mono or 4ppm colour. They weigh between just under 5kg and 9kg, not including the cartridge.

The Optra 1200, 1200n, Colour 40 and 45 are all shipping immediately.

Lexmark 01628 481500.