Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) White Paper

The TCO list is updated on an ongoing basis, including new model additions and old model pricing updates. Please keep in mind that updates do not mean that every model in the list has been updated. Even though the TCO Printers tab displays all models, it may be only a portion of those models that have been updated.

Updates will be released as follows:

Country	Estimate Frequency
Australia	Every other month & as needed
United Kingdom	Every other month & as needed
United States	Once per month & as needed
Canada	Every other month & as needed

If you feel that your list is missing several new models or pricing seems very off, please update your list in the TCO Printers tab before requesting these models. Instructions for using the TCO Printers tab are in the following section. If your list is up-to-date and you still can’t find the model you’re looking for, you can request a model in the same place you update your list: under Administration→Control Panel→TCO Printers→Request Model.

The TCO Researcher will review model requests and respond within 1-5 days, informing the requester of:

1. Whether or not the model will be added. o If the model will be added, they will inform you of the name.

If the model will not be added, they will explain why or provide you with an existing model name.

2. When to download the model using the TCO Updater (if not immediately).

In some cases, the TCO Researcher may tell the requester that the model has been approved, but that an update is not ready yet and the requester will be informed when the model is available for download. This could be due to technical difficulties with releasing an update. Please be patient in this situation.

 

TCO Updater

To update your TCO list with the most recently researched data, use the TCO Printers tab. You can update your list by following the steps below:

1. Open SHERPA.
2. Click on the Administration tab.
3. Select “Control Panel.”
4. Click on the “TCO Printers” tab.
5. Click the flashing “Download Models” button. This may take several minutes to process, please be patient.
6. When the list is done downloading, the boxes will be filled in.
7. If you want to import all data, including new models, select “Update Sherpa model list with data from Lists 3 and 6” under “Options” and click “Apply.” If you want to just add new devices, select “Only add new devices” under “Options” and click “Apply.”
8. The appropriate data depending on your selection in step 5 will appear in the list under “Data to Import.” Click “Update” to update your list. This may take several minutes to update. You can view the progress underneath the “Data to Import” box where it says “Total Count.”

Equipment Types

Category	Also known as…
Bundled Contract	Compass does not research bundled contracts.
Continuous Feed	Compass does not research continuous feed machines.
Copier – B & W	B/W standing digital or analog copiers, usually over $1,000.
Copier – Color	Color standing digital or analog copiers, usually over $1,000.
Dot Matrix	Compass does not research dot matrix/line printers.
Duplicator	Duplicators
Fax Machine	Fax machines, Facsimiles, Faxphones, Faxes, MFP Fax Machines
Other	Digital Presses
Outsourcing	Compass does not research outsourcing items.
Printer – B & W Laser	B/W Laser Printers, non-MFP
Printer – Color Laser	Color Laser Printers, non-MFP
Printer – Inkjet	B/W or Color Inkjet Printers, MFP Inkjets
Wide Format	Compass does not research wide format/large format machines.
Point-of-Sale Printers	Compass does not research Point-of-Sale printers, including check printers, receipt printers, label printers, etc.

 

Manufacturer Exceptions

For some manufacturers, we always gather consumables, regardless of whether they are considered “MFPs” by the manufacturer. They are as follows:

• Brother
• Dell
• Epson
• HP

WHAT IS A COPIER? 

We do not gather consumables for copiers (except those manufacturers listed above). We differentiate between MFPs, copiers, and printers as follows:

• An inkjet that is also multifunctional will be called a “Printer – Inkjet.” Consumables gathered.
• A multifunction laser machine that sits on a desk will be called either a “Printer – B & W Laser” or a “Printer – Color Laser.” Consumables gathered.
• A multifunction laser machine that stands up on the floor will be called either a “Copier – B & W” or a “Copier – Color.” No consumables will be gathered.
• A fax machine that is also multifunctional will be called a “Fax Machine.” Consumables gathered.

DATA GATHERED

Descriptions and Guidelines

We also gather MPNs for most consumables and machines. These are available by request.

Adding Printers

Both newly released and existing machines are constantly being added to our list. We discover these two types of models in different ways, as described below.

NEW MODELS/ONGOING ADDITIONS 

We keep up with newly released models through following:

1. Subscribe to the RSS feeds of both manufacturers and well-renowned review sites. Any new models revealed in these feeds are added right away.
2. Receive daily alerts from Google on search terms related to the industry. Any new models revealed in these alerts are added right away.
3. Receive real-time alerts via website monitoring software anytime a manufacturer page changes.
4. Check the manufacturer websites periodically for new models.
5. If at any time during the research process we find a machine we don’t have, we add it.
6. Cross-check with partners on manufacturer price sheets.
7. Receive requests from customers.

OLDER MODELS/MASS ADDITIONS 

The TCO researcher does periodically dedicate time solely to adding new and existing models. This results in some large additions of models occasionally. Some methods for discovering these models are:

1. Check the manufacturer website for models currently being sold.
2. Check the manufacturer archived or retired printer lists.
3. Check the manufacturer supply sites.
4. Check manufacturer news feeds.
5. Check manufacturer award lists.
6. Check Buyer’s Laboratory “picks.”
7. Check common local retailer websites (such as Office Depot).
8. Check large online retailer websites (such as www.bluedogink.com).
9. Check reputable online review sites (such as Cnet).

PRICES 

CATEGORIES 

Type	Description
Manufacturer	The MSRP at release or the current MSRP.
Major Brand	Stores such as Staples, Office Depot, and Office Max.
Reputable Source	A source that is highly reputable and gathers data regarding printers.
Online Review	Websites such as Cnet, PCNation, Top4Office, and Cnet Australia.
Informational	Websites that perhaps host old public information like Google “Books.”
Major Online Retail	Websites such as BlueDogInk, which are well-established with a large offering.
Minor Online Retail	Reputable websites that are not as established with a smaller offering.
Estimate	Prices gained from various sources that may not be exact but can provide an estimate.
Previous Data	Prices that couldn’t be updated this release for some reason, so the old price was left.
None	Prices that couldn’t be found (usually because they are older than 10 years or TBA).

 

GUIDELINES 

• Prices we never use:
• Amazon or Ebay
• Other consumer-to-consumer sites
• Price conversions (i.e. USD price converted to AUD price) unless the website itself provides such a service because they sell the machines in both countries.
• We always aim to have at least the MSRP for printers, as well as a low and a medium price.
• No seasonal or sales prices.
• When both pigmented and dye-based inks are offered, we take the one with a higher price.

PROCESS 

In general, when adding both printer and consumable prices, we do the following:

1. Check the manufacturer website for MSRP.
2. Search online for manufacturer press releases containing the MSRP at release.
3. Check major brands, such as Office Depot and Staples.
4. Check reputable online review sites containing the MSRP, such as Cnet.
5. Check large online retailers, such as BlueDogInk.
6. Do a general search for smaller online retailers.
7. If all else fails, we may try Google “Shopping” or similar sites that collect pricing from many websites.

DATA SOURCES 

Listed below are some of the sites we use often to gather data and pricing for the Australia TCO list.

MANUFACTURERS 

Name	Website
Brother	brother.com.au
Epson	epson.com.au
Canon	au.canon.com
Apple	apple.com.au
Dell	dell.com.au
Fuji Xerox	fujixerox.com.au
HP	www8.hp.com/au/en/support-drivers.html
Konica Minolta	konicaminolta.com.au
Kyocera Mita	kyoceramita.com.au
Lexmark	lexmark.com.au
OKI	oki.com.au
Ricoh	ricoh.com.au
Samsung	samsung.com/au
Lanier	lanier.com.au

OTHERS 

Equipment Sites	Consumable Sites
cnet.com.au pcworld.idg.com.au	myshopping.com.au megabuy.com.au
productreview.com.au	shopbot.com.au
officeworks.com.au myshopping.com.au	inkjetonline.com.au inkdepot.com.au
hot.com.au staples.com.au	tonerpak.com.au cartridgemate.com.au
pressreleasepoint.com/australia	streetwise.com.au hot.com.au

 

CANADA 

CURRENT STATUS 

The Canada list includes machines from ACOM, Brother, Canon, Copystar, Dell, Duplo, Epson, Gestetner, Hitachi, HP

IBM, IKON, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lanier, Lexmark, Muratec, Nashuatec, NEC, Oce, OKI Olympia,

Panasonic, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh, RISO, Samsung, Savin, Sharp, Standard, Toshiba, TROY, Unisys, Xeikon, and Xerox. The Canada list has 8,534 models as of August 2018.

 

PROCESS 

See “Adding Printers” for how we find new models to add to the TCO list.

See “Prices” for how we find printer and consumable prices and the categories.

 

DATA SOURCES 

Listed below are some of the sites we use often to gather data and pricing for the Canada TCO list.

Equipment Sites	Consumable Sites
futureshop.ca	www.amazon.ca
Walmart.ca	futureshop.ca
Canadacomputers.com	Walmart.ca
Shop.ca	Shop.ca CDW Canada Bestbuy.ca 123inkcartridges.ca Island Inkjet Direct Dial

 

MANUFACTURERS 

Name	Website
Brother	brother.com.ca
Epson	www.epson.ca
Canon	www.canon.ca
Dell	www.dell.ca
Xerox	www.xerox.ca
HP	www8.hp.com/ca/en/home.html
Konica Minolta	konicaminolta.ca
Kyocera Mita	www.kyoceramita.ca
Lexmark	www.lexmark.com/en_CA
OKI	www.okidata.com/canada
Ricoh	www.ricoh.ca
Samsung	www.samsung.com/ca

 

OTHERS 

---

DATA SOURCES 

Listed below are some of the sites we use often to gather data and pricing for the United States TCO list.

MANUFACTURERS 

Name	Website
Konica Minolta	kmbs.konicaminolta.us
Brother Solutions	welcome.solutions.brother.com
Brother	brother-usa.com
Canon	usa.canon.com/cusa/home
Canon Supplies	shop.usa.canon.com
Sharp	sharp-cart.com
InfoPrint	infoprint.com
Oce’	mediaguide.oce.com/printer.php
Pitney Bowes	ptineybowestoner.com
Xerox	office.xerox.com
TROY	troygroup.com
Samsung	shop.us.samsung.com

 

OTHERS 

Equipment Sites	Consumable Sites
Google shopping bluedogink.com	bluedogink.com tonermonkey.com
thefreelibrary.com liquida.com	4inkjets.com precisionroller.com
loyalbm.com/encop.html executivecolor.com	ecoprintsupply.com worldclassink.com
accessmylibrary.com	iomcomputers.com
copiersprintersfaxes.com	printerworks.com
qisvonline.com	partshere.com
platen.com facsimile.com amatteroffax.com shopper.cnet.com	toner-ink.com loyalbm.com/encop.html arcservicesco.com executivecolor.com
a14electronics.com jtfbus.com	concordsupplies.com sparepartswarehouse.com
dealtime.com	fax-parts.com
dfa.arkansas.gov teachmefinance.com	superwarehouse.com provantage.com tonsoftoner.com gmsparts.com copiersupplystore.com

 

UNITED KINGDOM 

MOST RECENT STATUS 

The UK list includes printers from Agfa, Alps, Apple, Brother, BT, Canon, Dell, Epson, Gestetner, HP, IBM, Imagistics,

Infotec, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lanier, Lexmark, Muirhead, Muratec, Nashuatec, NEC, Oce, OKI, Olivetti,

Panasonic, Philips, Pitney Bowes, Rex Rotary, Ricoh, Sagem, Samsung, Sharp, Tally, Tektronix, Toshiba, and Xerox. The UK list has 5,447 printers as of August 2018.

PROCESS 

See “Adding Printers” for how we find new models to add to the TCO list.

See “Prices” for how we find printer and consumable prices and the categories.

CURRENT PRICE CHARTS 

Below are some details about the prices in the most recent release.

DATA SOURCES 

Listed below are some of the sites we use often to gather data and pricing for the United Kingdom TCO list.

MANUFACTURERS 

Name	Website
Brother	brother.uk.com
Konica Minolta	konicaminolta.co.uk
Olivetti	olivetti-offers.co.uk
Epson	epsonprintershop.com
HP	www8.hp.com/uk/en/home.html
Canon	canon.co.uk
Dell	dell.co.uk
Kyocera	kyocera.co.uk

 

OTHERS 

Equipment Sites	Consumable Sites
Pricerunner.co.uk pcadvisor.co.uk pcpro.co.uk expertreviews.co.uk techradar.com mindmachine.co.uk	euroffice.co.uk inkntoneruk.co.uk expresspartstore.com psaspares.com applemacparts.co.uk theconsumabledepot.co.uk
lambda-tek.com pcworld.co.uk printware.co.uk printerland.co.uk	officemagic.co.uk blueboxone.co.uk misco.co.uk cartcon.co.uk
zdnet.co.uk pcreview.co.uk top4office.co.uk	officethingy.co.uk hdcolour.co.uk tonerprintercopier.co.uk
photocopiers-online.co.uk	skinflint.co.uk
photocopiersdirect.co.uk printerbase.co.uk ephotozine.com digipro.co.uk thefuturesolutionsgroup.com futurformblog.org.uk	toner-ink-cartridge.co.uk hp-printerrepairs.co.uk Staples UK

 

LIFE CYCLE OF A PRICE 

Machine prices tend to go through a predictable life cycle. When a printer is first released, it is usually primarily available from the manufacturer. The price may be given in a press release. Then the machine is available from major brands like Staples, Office Depot, etc. Soon the product will be found all over the web from minor online retailers. Eventually, the product will be sold used from consumer to consumer on eBay and such. Finally, the printer may be nearly impossible to find even on consumer to consumer websites and rarely even refurbished.