Celebrate Earth Month with Xerox: Save an extra $100 on the environmentally friendly Xerox Phaser 8560 and Xerox Phaser 8860 Solid Ink Printers.

From now through the end of June, Xerox is offering a $100 “Earth Month” rebate on the purchase of the following printers:

Xerox Phaser 8560/N + Free Full Set of Phaser 8560 Ink – $599 (after Xerox rebate)

Xerox Phaser 8560/DN + Free Full Set of Phaser 8560 Ink – $799 (after Xerox rebate)

Xerox Phaser 8560/DT – $1299 (after Xerox rebate)

Xerox Phaser 8560/DX – $1899 (after Xerox rebate)

Xerox Phaser 8860/DN – $2399 (after Xerox rebate)

To claim the $100 rebate, you must visit the Xerox rebate website after you purchase the printer (simply click on one of the links above to purchase). To visit the rebate website, CLICK HERE. The following offer codes must be used to claim this rebate: Phaser 8560: EU85600410E, Phaser 8860: EU88600410E.

Xerox Solid Ink

Xerox Solid Ink Sticks

If you aren’t familiar with solid ink technology, here is a quick recap. Solid ink produces incredible color print quality, it is easy to use, cost-effective, and is very good for the environment. The first solid ink printer was introduced in 1991 and won several awards. A solid ink printer uses solid sticks (or blocks) of no-mess, non-toxic ink instead of toner or inkjet cartridges. The Supplies Guys carry the complete line of Xerox Solid Ink Sticks as well as a high quality compatible solid ink alternative.

So you own one of the world’s most powerful Xerox printers, the Phaser 8560, but now you want to learn more about how to take care of your printer while keeping maintenance costs low. Well the first thing you should do (if you haven’t done so already) is to download the Xerox Phaser 8560 manual from Xerox Corp’s website. The 8560 manual should provide you with a detailed user guide and advanced features guide; installation guide and provide instructions for how to change your 8560 ink sticks and other printer supplies. We wanted to take some time and review common Phaser 8560 maintenance tips which are reviewed below. Hope you enjoy!

Phaser 8560 Ink Sticks

It is pretty clear to state that you should replace your 8560 solid ink sticks whenever your printer says it is running low. However on average one solid ink stick will typically yield 840 pages on a 5% coverage rate. If you are interested in getting the most out of your solid ink sticks, then we recommend you not allowing your printer to cool in-between print jobs (your printer needs to warm the ink prior to printing, so that is why printing in succession can maximize the life of your solid ink sticks).

One of the nicest perks when it comes to owning a Phaser 8560 printer is that there are plenty of options to help keep printing costs down. The two options are to either buy new, compatible solid Phaser 8560 ink sticks by volume (3+ solid ink sticks per color) or to buy bundled solid ink sticks.  Buying compatible solid ink sticks can save you up to 50% over the genuine OEM product. Manufacturers of compatible solid Phaser 8560 ink sticks will typically provide a guarantee to their ink sticks. Retailers of such products should also be offering a guarantee for compatible solid ink sticks.

The second option to help reduce the price of printing is to purchase your Phaser 8560 ink sticks in bundles. “Bundles,” is a term which typically refers to: three or more solid ink sticks in each color  – cyan, magenta, yellow and black.  It would be possible to purchase one bundle and walk away with 16 ink sticks (4 of each color). Buying the compatible solid ink sticks in bulk will allow for you to lower your cost / print on the Phaser 8560 series. If you are not comfortable purchasing compatible Phaser 8560 ink sticks but you still want the perks of saving money, then consider buying a bundled genuine OEM package.

To learn exactly what solid ink sticks are and how they work check out this post titled, Phaser solid ink sticks.

Phaser 8560 Maintenance Kit

Replacing your Phaser 8560 maintenance kit is a routine process for “maintaining” the health of your printer.  The 8560 maintenance kit includes: How often you need to replace your maintenance kit depends in terms of time, however maintenance kits for this printer model typically need to be changed every 10,000 prints (the standard maintenance kit).  Your printer will let you know when it is time for an upgrade Neglecting your printer’s warnings could lead to other expensive repair problems! Now if you don’t feel like changing your Phaser 8560 maintenance kit every 10,000 prints you can opt to purchase an “extended” maintenance kit. This option will allow you to print triple the amount at a significantly lower cost per print. Much like the Phaser 8560 ink sticks, buying compatible 8560 maintenance kits (both standard and extended versions) is a possibility.

Phaser 8560 N to DN Upgrade

The advantage of purchasing a Xerox N to DN upgrade is that it enables you to perform auto-duplexing thus saving time, money and frustration. Auto-duplexing is simply a term that means the printer is automatically printing on both sides (double-sided printing). Adjust the settings on the printer and you will be ready to go.

Other Phaser 8560 Printer Upgrades

Now there are a few quick and inexpensive ways to maximize the performance of your Phaser 8560 printer. If you work at a larger office or if your 8560 printer is constantly being summoned, then you may want to consider a memory upgrade (256 MB or 512 MB are both options) in order to extend your printing queue.  You should also consider purchasing the 8560 productivity kit. The productivity kit is essentially a hard drive for your printer. This will enable your 8560 printer to: print with extended font / form storage, saved personalized printer settings and more. Adding extra paper trays is also a convenient way extend printing capacity (each printer tray holds 525 sheets) if your Phaser 8560 is in high demand. Or if your sheet feeder ever breaks, that can be replaced too. We saved the best, most convenient upgrade for last – the wireless network adapter. The wireless network adapter transforms the Phaser 8560 printer from an Ethernet enabled printer to a fully wireless device. This allows your Phaser 8560 printer to be located anywhere in the office!

If you are like me and prefer to spend your time doing more important things rather than waiting for your print job to finish, then check out these three budget monochrome (black and white) printers that are all under $300. They all print at speeds greater than 25 pages per minute, so if you have the same “NEED FOR SPEED” that I do, check them out.

Brother HL-5370DW Monochrome Wireless Laser Printer – $249:

2 Sided Printing: Yes (auto)

Brother HL-5370DW Laser Printer

The HL-5370DW is a flexible, high-performance solution for printer sharing in small offices. It offers the same print speed, input capacity and duplex printing capability as the HL-5340D, and it also features outstanding connectivity with its built-in wireless 802.11b/g and Ethernet network interfaces, as well as 32MB of memory. The built-in wireless 802.11b/g and Ethernet network interfaces allow you to share this printer with multiple users on your network. For users with wireless access points that support SecureEasySetup, Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or AOSS, you can automatically configure your wireless settings by simply pressing a button on your router.

You can also easily print two-sided documents as well as print professional looking documents, brochures, and booklets using the built-in duplex feature. This feature can help save money and reduce your paper use.

Samsung ML-2510 Compact Laser Monochrome Printer – $118:

Standard Paper Capacity: 250 sheets

Samsung ML-2510 Laser Printer

 The SAMSUNG ML-2510 is a monochrome laser printer that can fit into almost any space. Samsung calls it “The most compact printer on the market”. It is especially easy to install, all it takes is just four clicks. It also has a jam-free roller system that can make printing much, much easier.

Clocking in at 24 ppm for A4 size, and 25 ppm for letter size, its printout rate gives other printers a run for the money. A resolution of 1,200 x 600 dpi will deliver clear and crisp prints, but the resolution is not as high as the other two laser printers being compared here.

 

Xerox Phaser 3250/D Monochrome Laser Printer – $268:

 

Pages Per Minute: 30

Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi

2 Sided Printing: Yes (auto)

Standard Paper Capacity: 251 sheets

Xerox Phaser 3250/D Laser Printer

Connectivity: USB 2.0

Recommended Monthly Print Volume: Up to 4,000 pages

First Page to Print: As fast as 8.5 seconds

Size: 14.3″ x 14.5″ x 9.4″

 

The Xerox Phaser 3250/D is ideal for small offices where compact size and speed are a must. It has print speeds up to 30 ppm, a 400 MHz processor, a first-page-out time as fast as 8.5 seconds, and standard paper capacity of 251 sheets. You can also print on a variety of media including envelopes, labels, postcards, and more.

Save paper and reduce costs with “N-up” printing which allows you to print multiple pages on one sheet. When printing draft documents, you can use toner saver mode so solid areas will print gray instead of full black. Other advanced features include: Watermarks, Poster printing, Fit to page, Scaling, Overlays, Booklets, Reduce/enlarge, and Custom-size pages.

The automatic two-sided printing feature on all Phaser 3250 models can save you paper and money. You can also run your Phaser 3250 in Power Save and Toner Save mode and further reduce your electricity and consumables costs.

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After looking at the bottom line functionalty that each of these 3 prniters has to offer, I think it is clear that if you are just looking to print, nothing fancy, no network options, etc… The Samsung ML-2510 may be right for you at a price that can’t be beat. If you want a few more bells and whistles, it seems like the Brother HL-5370DW edges out the Phaser 3250/D,  offering a few more options and a slightly lower price.

 

From now until December 31, 2009, Xerox is offering up to a $1200 rebate off of a new Xerox printer purchase if you trade in your old printer. The eligible “new” printer list is below along with the “potential” rebate amount. To find the rebate value of your old printer, visit the Xerox Trade In site by clicking here. On top of the rebate, they will also pay the shipping charge for you to send them your old printer!

If you are not sure if it is time for you to upgrade to a new Xerox printer, check out our recent post which compares the newest Xerox Phaser Ink Printers.