xerox workcentre 4250 vs. sharp mx-b401 competitive · pdf filevs. sharp mx-b401 competitive...

Xerox® WorkCentre® 4250 vs. Sharp MX-B401Competitive Assessment

Xerox WorkCentre® 4250 Multifunction PrinterCompetitive Assessment

This document has been prepared from internal analysis as well as data prepared by Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI), the imaging industry’s leading source of unbiased and reliable competitive intelligence. Data was collected in BLI’s 10,000 square-foot lab in Hackensack, New Jersey and has been published in BLI’s Lab Test Reports, Environmental Test Reports, and BLI Side-By-Side Comparison publications, among others.

2 Xerox WorkCentre 4250 vs. Sharp MX-B401

Summary: WorkCentre 4250 advantages

Compared to the MX-B401, the WorkCentre 4250 has the following advantages:Productivity

Better print drivers• Higher toner yield• Higher image drum and fuser roller yields• “Print-Around” feature avoids bottlenecks at the printer• Faster tested overall print speed • Faster tested overall copy speed• Faster simplex printing (multiple sets)• Faster duplex printing (color and black modes tested)• Faster simplex copying (10 and 20 sets)• Faster duplex copying • Faster warm-up time• Faster scan-to-e-mail speed (one- and two-sided originals; •black mode) Faster scan-to-e-mail speed (two-sided originals; color mode)• Higher visible halftone range•

Cost Control Lower IT overhead: easier installation• Lower IT overhead: configuration management• Lower IT overhead: lower help desk costs• Better accounting/tracking•

Security Standard audit log with encryption• Standard hard drive encryption • Standard hard drive overwrite• More department/user I.D. codes• Follow-You Printing•

Environmental considerations Lower energy usage in idle mode• Lower energy usage in energy-save mode• Lower energy consumption to warm up from overnight •sleep mode Higher consumables yield generates less waste• Xerox-funded recycling of all CRUs•

The WorkCentre 4250’s innovative print drivers were recognized with a BLI “Pick” award for “Outstanding Achievement,” Fall 2008The WorkCentre 4250 supports the Global Print Driver and the Mobile Express Print Driver, which received a BLI “Outstanding Achievement Award” in Fall 2008.

“In our lab trial using the Xerox Global and Mobile Print Drivers, we were able to print documents on non-Xerox devices, including copier-based and printer-based models, on our test network,” said Tony Maceri, BLI’s Senior Test Technician. This flexibility lets workers print anywhere in their office, even on non-Xerox printers and copiers, with a single interface, instead of having to keep numerous print drivers installed (which is time-consuming for IT workers as well as confusing to end users).

Xerox WorkCentre 4250 vs. Sharp MX-B401 3

Table of contents

ProductivityProductivity analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Consumables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Speed comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Cost controlDevice management comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

SecuritySecurity features comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Environmental considerationsEnvironmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Environmental awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Key positioning strengthsList . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

SpecificationsComparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Test conditions:

The device(s) to be tested, lab test equipment and paper are tested with daily conditions maintained between 20 and 25.6 degrees Celsius/68 and 78 degrees Farenheit and 35% to 65% RH. A4/Letter-size 80 gsm/20-lb. bond paper is used for all testing. Electricity is automatically regulated to <1% variation at 115 VAC using a Powerstat voltage regulator. Energy measurements used in Environmental Test Reports are recorded using a Yokogawa WT210 digital power meter. Devices with multiple energy level settings are set to use the lowest amount of energy for energy-save mode and/or sleep mode and to go into each mode at the shortest interval possible. The Job Stream Test conducted for BLI Environmental Reports is started from sleep mode after overnight dormancy and the running mode tests are started from idle mode.

This document is intended for internal use and is provided for self training purposes. All testing and observations recorded in this document are subject to change.


Productivity

Productivity analysisProductivity is influenced by a variety of factors, ranging from the obvi-ous (rated engine speed, rated scan speed) to the subtle (streamlined administrative procedures, for example, and overall ease of use). We will examine numerous factors that contribute to the overall productivity advantages of the WorkCentre 4250 in this section.

Ease of use is a critical factor in determining productivity. If users have to spend time figuring out how to use a function properly, they’re not doing the jobs they’re paid to do and their productivity suffers dramatically. The WorkCentre 4250’s advantages in ease of use include…

Better print drivers that keep workers more productive

WorkCentre 4250 MX-B401

Toner gauge in print driver with information on remaining toner in one-percent increments

Toner gauge in print driver with information on remaining toner in increments of 25 percent

Award-winning mobile print driver No universal or mobile print driver

Follow-You printing No Follow-You printing

Select collate through the print driver to save time and click less

“Although collate is available in the drivers, it did not function properly during testing.”*

* From BLI’s Lab Test Report on the Sharp MX-B401

Enhancing worker productivity

Higher toner yield means workers spend less time replacing suppliesRated toner yield (in impressions)


25,000 10,000

Higher image drum and fuser roller yields minimize servicing Rated image drum yield (in impressions)


80,000 72,000

Rated fuser roller yield (in impressions)


250,000 120,000

“Print-Around” feature avoids bottlenecks at the printerThanks to the WorkCentre 4250’s unique “Print Around” feature, one problem job (such as a print job calling for a kind of paper that isn’t currently loaded) won’t hold up the queue behind it. Instead, the problem job is simply held in the queue until the right paper is loaded to print it. Other jobs in the queue simply print around it in the meantime.

There is no comparable capability for the MX-B401.

BLI productivity analysis: Faster overall print speedTested overall speeds (in ppm)*

Overall print speeds WorkCentre 4250 MX-B401

Simplex mode 37.3 35.8

Duplex mode 28.5 27.5

Overall copy speeds WorkCentre 4250 MX-B401

1:1 simplex mode 35.3 34.6

1:2 duplex mode 32.9 21.8

2:2 duplex mode 34.3 19.5* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

BLI productivity analysis: Faster simplex printing (multiple sets)Tested simplex print speeds (in ppm)*


One set 24.7 27.3

Five sets 38.6 31.2

10 sets 41.9 39.2

20 sets 43.8 31.5* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

BLI productivity analysis: Faster duplex printing (all modes tested)Tested duplex print speeds (in ppm)*


One set 20.9 18.8

Five sets 29.9 24.1

10 sets 30.8 25.2

20 sets 32.5 25.1* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports


* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

Faster warm-up time means less time spent waiting Rated Warm-Up Time (in seconds)


32 90

BLI productivity analysis: Faster scan to e-mail (black mode)Tested scan to e-mail speed (in ipm)*


Single-sided originals 35.9 30.4

Two-sided originals 18.4 12.4* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

BLI productivity analysis: Faster scan to e-mail (color mode; two-sided originals)Tested scan to e-mail speed (in ipm)*


Single-sided originals: 22.2 30.5

Two-sided originals: 14.7 12.4* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

Higher visible halftone range results in better printed output.Measured printed halftone range:


1% to 100% 4% to 100%* Data from BLI Lab Test Reports

MX-B401WorkCentre 4250

Faster duplex copying* (cpm)1:2 duplex mode

One set

Five sets

10 sets

20 sets

2:2 duplex mode

One set

Five sets

10 sets

20 sets

17.419.2

11.621.6

22.938.4

22.339.1

23.6

20.9

23.2

23.3

34.4

35.7

39.3

40.4

Faster simplex copying* (cpm)

39.1

10 sets

20 sets 42.7

38.039.9


Cost Control

Cost control is influenced by factors including actual toner and supplies cost as well as energy usage and – most often overlooked – the amount of time workers spend installing, tracking and maintaining the device on the network. In this section, we’ll examine the WorkCentre 4250’s advan-tages over the MX-B401 in all of these key areas.

Advantages for a Company’s CTOEasier setup means less hours needed for installation


12 clicks to install all print drivers. 16 clicks to install all print drivers.

Auto-detects configured accesso-ries. No additional clicks required.

Auto-detects configured accesso-ries, but users must manually con-firm each. Doing so adds 11 clicks to the process for each driver.

Ease of Network Setup rated “Very Good” (BLI Lab Test Report)

Ease of Network Setup rated “Good” (BLI Lab Test Report)

Comparing Xerox CentreWare Web with Sharp Printer Administration Utility

CentreWare Web

Sharp Printer Administration Utility

Standard discovery of locally connected devices?

Yes No

Active directory? Yes No

Report generation? Standard None

Standard report templates? 11 Not applicable

Customizable report templates?

Yes Not applicable

Maximum number of possible attributes that

can be monitored? 107 11

Ability to change alerts so that short alerts can be

used for mobile devices? Yes No

Mobile print driver? Yes No

Global print driver? Yes No

According to BLI’s Lab Test Reports…

“CentreWare Web (CWW), the fleet management tool for the WorkCentre 4250, can be downloaded for free from Xerox’s Web site. BLI has tested the utility and found it to be powerful and flexible.”

“The MX-B401’s Web utility is not as graphical or as easy to use as those of some competitive MFPs. For example, the extensive menu structure can make finding a particular task/setting for first-time users somewhat difficult, as they may have to check a number of headings and subhead-ings in the menu tree before finding the appropriate submenu.”

Easier day-to-day administrationDoes the MFP offer…

CentreWare Web

Sharp Printer Administration Utility

Ability to configure asset and printer settings, including printer location, device clock information, meter informa-tion, device UI and MIB language?

Yes No

Automated toner requests? Yes No

Ability to remotely create and delete print queues?

Yes No

Printing with Xerox Global Print DriverThe Xerox Global Print Driver (X-GPD) reduces the burden of network printer support for IT administrators by providing broad device support in a convenient, single driver package. It works with virtually all Xerox-branded printers and multifunction printers (MFPs), and also supports non-Xerox devices that implement print features using compliant PostScript® and PCL. X-GPD greatly reduces the time and effort required to deploy and upgrade print drivers on a network.


Security

OSFax Card

Disk

Controller

Others’ Full System Certified

Xerox Full System Certified

PostScript

Local IU

Scanner

Full system Common Criteria Certification•Mostrigoroustestingintheworld

•Xeroxhasmoredevicescertifiedthananycompetitor

The WorkCentre 4250 offers better standard security features.Does the MFP offer…


Standard audit log with encryption?

Yes No

Hard drive encryption?

Standard Optional

Hard drive overwrite? Standard Optional

Number of dept./user ID codes?

2,000 1,000

Follow You printing feature?*

Standard No

* Xerox’s Follow You printing feature allows users to submit jobs to a secure print queue for printing on any available networked device after user authentication.

Safeguard against attacksExternal device:

The WorkCentre 4250 leverages port blocking and fax security functions to ensure product safety.

Internal device:

With scan security and rate-based access along with CAC or SMARTcard access restrictions, the WorkCentre 4250 defends against any breach attempts.

Xerox has gained full product Common Criteria Certification to ensure product security. On the WorkCentre 4250, the administrator can set security levels to meet specific requirements. Xerox allows setting hard disk overwrite and encryption as needed. Hard disk overwrite can be ad hoc now or can be set to occur after every print or scheduled daily, weekly, or monthly.


Environmental considerations

Lower Energy Consumption = Lower Cost The WorkCentre 4250 uses less energy than the MX-B401 in idle mode:*


Energy used (in watts) 0.105 0.137* Data from BLI Environmental Test Reports

The WorkCentre 4250 uses less energy than the MX-B401 in energy-save mode:*


Energy used (in watts) 0.046 0.086

* Data from BLI Environmental Test Reports

The WorkCentre 4250 uses less energy than the MX-B401 when warm-ing up from overnight sleep mode:*


Energy used (in watts) 0.013 0.044

* Data from BLI Environmental Test Reports

Higher consumables yield means fewer spent toner cartridges and photoconductors in the waste stream


Photoconductor yield 80,000 impressions 72,000 impressions

Toner yield 25,000 impressions 10,000 impressions

Xerox’s Recent Environmental Awards:•CorporateLeaderbyUSEPA

•ClimateProtectionAward

•FTSE4GoodIndex

•World’sMostEthicalCompaniesList

Supplies Recycling ProgramConsumables for the WorkCentre 4250 Series are part of the Xerox Green World Alliance Supplies Recycling Program. For more information, please visit the Green World Alliance website at www.xerox.com/gwa.


Key positioning strengths of the MX-B401 and how to combat them with prospective customers

New Remote Front Panel capability What the Sharp sales rep could say:

“The MX-B401’s Remote Front Panel capability lets administrators easily configure or troubleshoot the MFP. The administrator can take control of the MX-B401’s control panel remotely, seeing exactly what the user sees.”

How to respond:

But first you have to install the device on the network. And the MX-B401 requires far more clicks than the WorkCentre 4250 to install (configured accessories have to be manually confirmed at each MFP). Plus, Xerox’s CentreWare administrative utility suite makes it a snap for administrators to change settings, configure devices, and even track up to 107 different attributes (versus only 11 attributes that can be tracked by the Sharp solution). Also, take into consideration that accounting capability is stan-dard for the WorkCentre 4250, while it requires an additional purchase for users of the MX-B401.

Better securityWhat the Sharp sales rep could say:

“The MX-B401’s security features include MAC address filtering (not avail-able for the WorkCentre 4250) and the Sharp security kit can overwrite information on the hard disk drive up to seven times, versus only three times for the WorkCentre 4250.”

How to respond

With the array of standard security features for the WorkCentre 4250 (including IPv6; secure fax; secure LDAP; and even optional secure access card readers) users can rest assured that their data is being protected by Common Criteria-certified technology. Administrators can also set up to 2,000 different user authentication codes – twice the number allowed by the MX-B401. It’s also important to remember that users have to pay additional money for Sharp’s hard disk drive overwrite and hard disk drive encryption capabilities, while the WorkCentre 4250 includes these critical functions as part of its standard feature set.

Advanced USB functionality including device cloningWhat the Sharp sales rep could say:

“With the MX-B401’s USB cloning capability, administrators can clone settings just by plugging a USB card into the MFP.”

How to respond:

With the WorkCentre 4250’s CentreWare Internet Services, administra-tors can clone settings without leaving their desks.

For more information, call 1-800-ASK-XEROX or visit us at www.xerox.com/office © 2010 XEROX Corporation. All rights reserved. XEROX® and XEROX and Design®, CentreWare® and WorkCentre® are trademarks of Xerox Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Product information and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. 6/10 610P730077 W60CA-03UA

Specifications at a glance

Xerox WorkCentre 4250XF Sharp MX-B401

Engine Speed 45 ppm 40 ppm

Warm-Up Time 32 seconds 90 seconds

Standard Paper Capacity 1,000 sheets 500 sheets

Standard Paper Sources Four One

Max. Paper Capacity 2,100 sheets 2,100 sheets

RADF Capacity 100 originals 50 originals

RADF Speed 50 opm 35 opm

Rated Scanning Speed 55 ipm black/25 ipm color 35 ipm

Standard RAM 256 MB 512 MB

Hard Drive Encryption Standard Optional

Hard Drive Overwrite Standard Optional

Rated Toner Yield 25,000 impressions 10,000 impressions

Rated Photoconductor Yield 80,000 impressions 72,000 impressions

Rated Fuser Roller Yield 250,000 impressions 120,000 impressions

PostScript/PCL Standard Standard

Fax Standard (XF configuration) Optional

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