Lexmark: Another contender in the ink jet printer market<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP) About two years ago, when the crisis was
\nbeginning to have its impact on us, I suggested in the By The Way
\ncolumn that we should not worry too much about it as there would
\nsoon be light at the end of the tunnel. Two senior researchers,
\nDr. Mely G. Tan and Dr. Lie Tek Tjeng, read what I wrote and
\nphoned me right away to tell me I was too optimistic. They were
\nright. I was indeed being oversanguine.<\/p>\n
Today however, with the tremendously positive responses that
\nare forthcoming from all sides -- particularly after Ibu Mega was
\nelected Vice President of this country -- I think we do have
\nreasons to be quite upbeat. No, I'm not saying that it's already
\nparty time. A lot of damage has been done, and it requires a lot
\nof hard work and perseverance to rebuild our economy. Besides,
\nthere are still loudmouthed people whose agenda does not include
\nreform.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned in my column last week, during those difficult
\ntwo years quite a few IT companies either left Indonesia or
\ndelayed investing in the country. However, one company, Lexmark,
\nmade the bold move to officially enter the Indonesian market even
\nbefore we could tell whether our next president would be a leader
\nor a joker. Last month, Lexmark officially appointed one of
\nIndonesia's leading electronic companies, PT Galva Technologies
\nCorporation, as their distributor. Galva makes GTC computers, one
\nof the three OEM brands in Indonesia, so the appointment was
\nright on the mark.<\/p>\n
If you still have one of those legendary IBM keyboards, turn
\nit over and check the name of the manufacturer. Chances are it
\nwas made by Lexmark for IBM. In fact, even while I type this
\narticle I am using a Lexmark ergonomic keyboard that can be split
\ninto two and adjusted any way I like. I bought it in Hong Kong
\nback in 1995 and I still love it. Too bad Lexmark is not in the
\nkeyboard business anymore.<\/p>\n
The company, which used to be a division at IBM, was making
\nprinters for IBM. It then became independent and was acquired by
\nprivate investment company Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. In the mid
\n1990s, Lexmark made a lot of breakthroughs in the laser printer
\narea. Its Optra line of laser printers was one of the first to
\noffer high resolution and networking capabilities.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., and many other parts of the world, Lexmark has
\njoined the group of the top printer manufacturers -- Hewlett-
\nPackard, Epson and Canon. Some of its ink jet printer products
\nhave even received awards, particularly because of their good
\nprice\/performance ratio.<\/p>\n
Lexmark also makes printer supplies for a wide range of
\nprinters, including printers under the IBM brand, after-market
\nsupplies for OEM products and even typewriters and typewriter
\nsupplies under the IBM trademark.<\/p>\n
As is the case elsewhere, Lexmark will be working with PC
\nmakers in Indonesia to bundle its printers with their PCs. So
\ndon't be surprised if the next time you shop at Gajah Mada Plaza
\nor Mangga Dua Mal you are offered a Lexmark printer at a
\ndiscounted price to go with your new, locally assembled PC. This
\ndoesn't mean though that the printer is a cheap one. Even some
\nbrand name PCs in the U.S. also come bundled with a Lexmark
\nprinter.<\/p>\n
Lexmark have brought three ink jet printer models into
\nIndonesia: the Lexmark 1100, 3200 and Z51 Color Jetprinters. The
\nLexmark 1100, which costs about US$99 on the Web, is targeted at
\nfamilies and students. Although it is at the bottom end of the
\nmarket, this 600 x 600 DPI printer is still capable of producing
\ndecent colors and even has the capacity to print long banners and
\nto print on T-shirts. One nice touch is the on-screen indicator
\nwhich warns its owner when the ink is running low.<\/p>\n
Although the text could be of a better standard, the $149
\nLexmark 3200 certainly produces better color printouts. To
\nproduce photo-quality printing, it uses six different colors. The
\nresolution is high at 1200 x 1200 DPI, and the printer speeds are
\n6 pages per minute (ppm) in black & white and 2.5 ppm in color.
\nThose who live in the U.S. will even get this printer for free if
\nthey sign up with the Juno Web Internet service provider.<\/p>\n
At the top end of the market is the $249 Lexmark Z51 Color
\nJetprinter. The rounded appearance of this printer -- it is shown
\nin the accompanying picture -- reminds us of a Porsche 911
\nCarerra. The print result on a special coated paper handed to me
\nduring a product demonstration last month was top quality. The
\nblack text was very black and stood out, while the color picture
\nwas very similar to a photograph taken with a conventional film-
\nbased camera. This printer can also use the USB connection to the
\nPC.<\/p>\n
If you have a digital camera, you may be interested in the
\n$299 Lexmark Photo Jetprinter 5770. You can print your photos
\nwithout having to boot up your PC. This versatile printer can
\naccept files from a Zip disk or the flash memory card that your
\ncamera uses for storing the image data. It can crop images and
\neven add frames all without the help of a PC.<\/p>\n
Those who live in the U.S. are eligible for a $50 rebate even
\nif they don't sign up with Juno Web. That means they can buy a
\nLexmark 1100 for just $49.00. Wow!<\/p>\n
With the arrival of these ink jet printers, we will have more
\nchoice. And who knows, we may also eventually be able to get
\nprinters for free too.<\/p>",
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