As a multifunction color printer, the Okidata C3530N is geared toward small businesses and/or home offices. The C3530N has print, scan, copy and fax capabilities together in one machine, known as an multifunction printer, or MFP.  Network-ready, it boasts outstanding color technology and Oki’s Auto Color Balance technology that brings color consistency to documents.  The C3530N also has the ability to print banners so that you business owners can produce print-shop quality materials on your own!

To make each capability easy to access, the Okidata C3530N has a 5-line LCD display screen along with a numeric keypad.  From here, the user can navigate through each function, enter fax numbers, etc.  For the fax machine, up to 100 locations can be entered into speed dial and up to 100 pages are stored in the fax memory.

In the C3530N, the scan capability offers several options.  You can scan both color and black and white, and scan to email; JPEG, TIFF or PDF formats.  Documents can also be scanned from the printer directly to a memory stick.  From hard copy to electronic copy, you can scan items and have immediate access to edit and share them.  In our tests, we found all of these options to be simple to perform.

When making copies, we found that the text and graphics were as clear and bright as the original copies, same as the scanner.  From the printer, monochrome text was of great quality while color images appeared bright and clear. Heavier graphics printed out with a desired shine to them.

The functions and technologies found within the Okidata C3530N make it suitable for small businesses, the paper handling capabilities are able to keep up with moderate printing.  The input capacity is 250 sheets; the output is 150.  If your office prints several large documents at once, or from several users simultaneously, the paper capacity should be sufficient.  Unfortunately, the Okidata C3530N does not offer additional trays nor does it have an optional duplexer.

The Okidata C3530N brings great quality and useful functions, and proved to be ideal for a small business. Due to its reasonable print capacity, there is plenty of room for the network-ready C3530N in a business. Images and text print professionally – which is just what your business needs!

Overall Specs:

• Print Speed: Monochrome – 16 ppm – Color – 20 ppm

• Cost per Page: Monochrome – 2.3 cents per page – Color – 4.6 cents per page

• Memory: 128 MB – optional upgrade to 256 MB

• Resolution:  1200 x 600 dpi

• Duty Cycle:  35,000 pages

• Paper Capacity:  Input – 250 sheets – Output – 150 sheets

• Connectivity:  USB 2.0, Ethernet

The Oki C3530N is currently on sale at the Supplies Guys for $599 PLUS a free set of compatible toner.

The Supplies Guys have just slashed pricing on the majority of the HP Compatible Color Toner Cartridges. These savings will be on most of the compatible toner supplies for the  major HP Color Laserjet printers.

You can find a comprehensive list here:

http://www.suppliesguys.com/supplies/HP-Toner.htm

HP Color Laserjet 1600 / 2600 / 2605 / CM1015 / CM1017

Judging by Lexmark International’s stock performance (LXK), one could say the company is experiencing moderate growth, or is it merely a facade?  After today’s release of their third quarter earnings statement, one could argue that this is exactly the case. Let’s take a deeper look at Lexmark International.

3rd Quarter Earnings Report*

• 3Q09 revenue increased by 6% ($958 million)  from 2Q09.
• Lexmark reported 3Q09 earnings of $10 million or $.13 EPS, down $36.6 million from 2Q08.
• 3Q09 EPS equalled $.13, excluding the $.52 EPS for restructuring activities.
• Non-GAAP Q309 EPS ($.65) increased by $.02 from 3Q08  Non-GAAP EPS($.63).
• The Printing Solutions and Services Division 3Q09 revenue was up 5% ($654 million)  from 2Q09.
• Lexmark ended 3Q09 with $909 million in cash reserves, and capital expenditures of $51 million.

LXK Stock Performance**

• Since August 1, 2009 Lexmark International’s stock value has risen from $14.48 to $22.15 as of day end on October 19th, 2009 – a 55% increase.
• Lexmark International continues to appear as a leader in the Computer Peripherals industry, while experiencing a 15% growth on October 20th, 2009.

Forward Looking

• Lexmark Int’l will be cutting 825 positions to it’s worldwide workforce by early 2011.  This restructuring will lead to total pre-tax charges of approximately $120 million, and will consequently save Lexmark Int’l approximately $70 million in 2010 and ongoing annual savings of $110 million beginning, Q1 in 2011.
• Analysts suspect Q4 EPS to be between $.11 and $.21 including restructuring expenses.
• Release of ten new color and monochrome Lexmark laser printers, including the industry’s first touch screen laser printer, the Lexmark T656dne.

Summary

So here is what we know – despite the growth from Q209,  earnings are still down 73%  from 2008 (the entire printing industry is down), expenses are being reduced (at the expense of nearly 6% of the workplace), and that  Lexmark just unveiled  a new product in the US, which includes  the world’s first touch screen laser printer.  What still needs to be determined is this – will consumer demand return for the computer peripherals industry before Q110?  Will Lexmark’s restructuring act as a major surgery that adequately addresses their financial woes, or merely as a band aid masking Lexmark’s true financial condition? It appears that at least in the interim, Lexmark International has stabilized itself financially, but only time will tell if these corporate restructures  had any positive, lasting effects on the company’s future.

References

* Lexmark Investor Relations
** Yahoo Finance: LXK

If you’re on the road for a meeting, on a business trip, or checking in from vacation, there are endless amounts of applications to simplify your life. To enhance productivity without breaking the bank, we’ve put together a list of eight effective Blackberry apps that keep you going from anywhere around the world. While one of the apps listed below is paid after a 30-day trial, all of the others are perfectly FREE!

Photo by Honou

1. Later Flag

This free application gives you the ability to flag emails for follow up later on. Because your Blackberry doesn’t allow you to do this, this quick application is ideal for those times when you are sifting through your emails on the go and don’t necessarily feel like replying right away. You can mark emails as either high or low priority, or leave them as is.

2. Nice Office

In correlation with www.niceoffice.com, this application gives you the convenience of accessing your calendar, contacts, and tasks directly from your phone. It even has the options for you to create custom sales fields in which you can record sales activities. All you have to do is create a free account online and upload your schedule, contacts, tasks, etc. Nice Office automatically backs up your data, so you can easily transfer all of your information when you get a new phone. Plus, if your phone is ever lost or stolen, you can send a message through Nice Office to delete all your data, giving you the ultimate in privacy.

3. Fuze Meeting

On both the web and on your phone, this application hosts web conferences, and is free to download. It’s also free to use, as long as you don’t surpass three web attendees and eight audio attendees. Once you register your free account online, Fuze sends you your own meeting room URL, room number and dial-in number that you can pass on to colleagues. From your Blackberry, you’re able to view the same high-quality content you’d be seeing if you were sitting at your computer.

4. See-Fi

See-Fi is an app for calendar sharing among multiple people. For example, you can share your calendar with family members, coworkers, customers, etc. If a person wants to schedule a meeting with you, phone calls and emails are eliminated as the person can directly access your calendar and see when you’re available. You can control who views your personal calendar with See-Fi and also track who’s looking at what. See-Fi is compatible with a variety of mobile phones and carriers, so anyone around you can use it!

5. Mobile Prospector

Although this app is not totally free – free to download, it is $9.99/month after a 30-day trial – we’re including it in here anyway. Powered by Hoover’s and Dun & Bradstreet, Mobile Prospector gives you inside information on over 34 million companies. Just performing a simple search on a company gives you location, contact information, a link to their website, driving directions and biographies of executives. You can even perform a local search of restaurants, gas stations, etc. An app such as Mobile Prospector can prove to be highly effective for those in sales and/or finance positions.

6. Evernote

If you’re on the go and need to jot something down to remember for later, Evernote is the best app for filing away ideas. If you see an advertisement you want to recall for your business, snap a photo and save it to Evernote. This free app stores all of your ideas and discoveries so that you can tag them accordingly to remember for when you’re back at the office. Once at your desk, you can sync Evernote with your computer and view notes, photos, and videos on your computer. Evernote also gives you the ability to search through your notes by tags for more convenience. This great, free app is wonderful for those that can be forgetful!

7. Dictionary.com

When answering emails or typing up documents on the go, Dictionary.com gives you access to correct spelling and word usage. You also get access to the thesaurus to find related words. Words from the dictionary and thesaurus can be integrated into your emails, and you can also receive the word of the day directly from the application. If you are unsure on the pronunciation of a word, the Dictionary.com app has audio and phonetic pronunciations.

8. iStockManager

In correlation with TD AMERITRADE, iStockManager allows you to access your account directly from your Blackberry. Not only can you monitor current stocks, but you can place trades through your account. You can also check your balance and receive real-time data. View trades, quotes, balances and positions, and news all with a secure connection.