It’s not easy to figure out which printer brand or model to go with if you don’t have a firm understanding of what you’re looking for in a machine.
This is perhaps doubled in difficulty when talking about production printers, which is what we’ll be covering today.
Production-style printers meet very specific needs, and the truth is, most consumers will not need to invest in one.
As a long-time, local print vendor, we’ve gathered the requisite knowledge to know when a production-style machine is necessary and can adequately convey who would be a fit for one.
We maintain platinum status as a Xerox Agent Channel and are experts in the company’s production product family, which includes the PrimeLink printers that will be the topic of discussion in this blog.
It’s only natural to question our intentions when assessing the products that we sell. If we followed traditional norms, we would make this a piece over “Why the PrimeLink production printers are the best in the marketplace!”
But that’s not what you want to hear and it’s not completely accurate. Many brands sell solid production units that may better fit your needs.
With that out of the way, let’s get into the PrimeLink family, including its features, differences and cost to help you evaluate whether it could be an option for you.
What Printers Are in the Xerox PrimeLink Family?
There are two categories of PrimeLink production printers, with six machines total. They are:
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PrimeLink C9065 and C9070
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PrimeLink B9100, B9110, B9125 and B9136
The differences between the two categories will be discussed in detail later, but the main differentiator is the PrimeLink C9065 and C9070 are color production printers, while the PrimeLink B9100 series contains black-and-white production printers.
It should also be stated that both categories are entry-level production printing options.
If you would like a more in-depth look at the models in the PrimeLink family, read these review blogs:
The base model of a printer in the PrimeLink B9100 Series:
4 Xerox PrimeLink Features
Now that you know which models make up the PrimeLink family of printers, let’s look at four notable features of the machines:
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Advanced Color Technology and Image Quality
The fundamental feature of the PrimeLink machines is their print resolution and advanced color technology features.
Both the PrimeLink C9065/9070 and the B9100 Series have print resolutions of 2400 x 2400 dpi (dots per inch) and contain multiple image quality enhancement features.
The color printers in the PrimeLink Series (C9065/C9070) come standard with the Xerox Integrated Color Services and can be upgraded with EFI servers embedded with Pantone Goe and Pantone Plus technology that will help ensure you get the colors you desire in your prints.
You also have the option to include Xerox’s Adaptive CMYK Plus Technology, which includes Xerox Vivid Toner Kit (gold, silver, white and clear toner colors) and Xerox’s Fluorescent Toner Kit, which adds impact with fluorescent cyan, magenta and yellow.
Read our blog about how to print in fluorescents to learn more about how to use color technology.
Examples of Color Prints made on the C9065/C9070 printers:
The PrimeLink B9100 Series includes Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology, which contributes to image quality by using 32 lasers to provide consistent print densities and natural grays.
Other image quality enhancement features include Simple Image Quality Adjustment (SIQA), Digital Image Registration Control Technology (IReCT) and an optional Xerox EX B9100 Fiery Print Server that can provide performance-boosting features such as automation and advanced job setup.
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Specialty Prints and Finishing Options
Another defining feature of the PrimeLink machines is their ability to make specialty prints, such as booklets, pamphlets, manuals, posters and window clings, among others, with their range of finishing options.
The PrimeLink printers allow you to print on specialty stocks and heavyweight stocks up to 350 gsm (grams per square meter). There’s also an Extra Long Sheet capability feature that will increase the printing size aptitude of your prints to 26 inches and up to 220 gsm.
Some of the noteworthy finishing options you can have included with your PrimeLink machine include:
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Xerox Production Ready Finisher, which can handle additional various stapled sheet sizes and paper weights of 52-350 gsm uncoated (72-350 gsm coated) for both stacking and stapling.
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Xerox Production Ready Booklet Maker Finisher, which produces booklets of up to 200 pages and includes a 500-sheet top tray and 3,000-sheet stack tray.
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Xerox Squarefold Trimmer, which creates flat-edged finished booklets and allows for professional face trim up to 120 pages (30 sheets).
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GBC eWire, which combines printing, punching, collating and twin-loop binding into one integrated process. It also produces wire-bound applications such as calendars and books in letter and A4 sizes.
There is a host of finishing options you can have included upon purchase of a PrimeLink printer that can help you customize your machine in a way that best optimizes your investment.
To avoid overspending on finishing options you don’t need, talk to your print vendor and go over the types of prints you will be making. That will give you a roadmap to navigate which finishing options would be worth investing in.
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Xerox App Gallery
PrimeLink devices are equipped with the capability to enhance business processes by downloading various applications on the Xerox App Gallery, which is a part of Xerox’s ConnectKey technology.
This includes cloud connectivity apps that connect to applications such as Box, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft Office 365.
The App Gallery includes industry-specific applications for the education, legal and healthcare environment, while also having general applications like Xerox Translate and Print, Quick Link and Summarizer.
Xerox ConnectKey technology affords you the ability to keep the features of an office copy machine, like additional productivity apps and fax, while enabling you to print high-quality, production-level prints.
For more information on the Xerox App Gallery, read these blogs:
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Printer Security
Stringent security features are a central component of PrimeLink devices because of the increasing prevalence of cybercrimes, particularly in printers, which can be an afterthought cybersecurity threat.
A few of the PrimeLink security features include:
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Data encryption, access controls, disk overwrite and industry certifications.
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Audit Log, “which ensures an audit trail of operators’ key events”, according to Xerox. These logs can be used for troubleshooting, resource optimization and security audits.
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Secure Print, which holds documents for release until you’re ready to retrieve them.
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Secure scanning, which allows you to password-protect PDF documents and folders while also allowing for encryption for scanning to email.
PrimeLink printers adhere to industry standards, such as HIPAA and FIPS 140-2, which further exemplifies devotion to security protocols.
Read our blogs about Xerox’s approach to cybersecurity and four ways to prevent cyberattacks to learn more about printer security.
How Is PrimeLink Different from Xerox’s Other Product Families?
Xerox has five major product families that make up its primary family tree: personal desktop printers, VersaLink, AltaLink, PrimeLink and bigger production-style printers.
If you're interested in a PrimeLink production machine, you would be most concerned with the differences between those machines and the larger, more advanced, production presses that Xerox offers.
You also might wonder how PrimeLink devices differ from AltaLink machines since PrimeLink printers are a step up from AltaLink printers.
Because desktop printers and VersaLink machines don't relate to the more advanced machines in Xerox’s product arsenal, going over the differences between those printers and PrimeLink printers would be impractical.
With that being said, here are the major differences between PrimeLink devices and the other two product families that are worth comparing them to.
Difference Between Xerox PrimeLink and AltaLink
The main differentiator between PrimeLink and AltaLink devices is they each meet different workplace goals.
For instance, if you want the ability to consistently print calendars, manuals, training manuals or other specialty prints, PrimeLink production printers are specifically built to handle that demand at a high volume.
While AltaLink devices can meet the needs of large workgroups looking for a multifunction printer, they are not classified as production machines and can’t make all the specialty prints that PrimeLink devices make.
If you would like to learn more about the differences between AltaLink and VersaLink devices, read our blog about the Xerox AltaLink printer family.
An example of a machine in the AltaLink B8000 Series:
2 Differences Between Xerox PrimeLink and Advanced Production Printers
Here are two differences worth mentioning between the PrimeLink family of printers and the more robust production presses that Xerox offers:
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Print Speeds
Xerox has multiple other, more advanced production-style machines, including the Xerox Versant 280 Press, Xerox Versant 4100 Press, Xerox Iridesse Production Press and Xerox iGen 5 Press.
A key difference between the PrimeLink devices and the production presses is the advanced production options have higher print speeds.
For example, the PrimeLink C9065/C9070 prints at speeds of up to 70 pages per minute (ppm) in color. All the advanced options print at higher print speeds: The Versant 280 press prints up to 80 ppm, the Versant 4100 Press prints up to 100 ppm, the Iridesse Production Press prints up to 120 ppm and the Xerox iGen 5 Press prints up to 150 ppm.
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Print Volume
The same logic behind print speeds applies to print volume, as well. The more advanced production presses possess the capacity to print at a higher volume than the PrimeLink machines do.
The PrimeLink C9065/C9070 has a recommended monthly print volume of 50,000 pages. Each of the production printers listed in the last section has higher recommended monthly print volumes:
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Versant Press 280 – Up to 80,000 pages
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Versant Press 4100 – Up to 250,000 pages
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Iridesse Production Press - Up to 475,000 pages
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Xerox iGen 5 Press – Up to 1,000,000 pages
As evidenced by the increasing print volume, the more advanced options are for companies that print specialty prints at a significant volume.
That means PrimeLink devices aren’t an adequate fit for someone who’s looking for a production printer that can print over 50,000 pages in a month.
Example of Iridesse Production Press:
3 Differences Between Xerox PrimeLink Models
Now that we’ve rolled through the differences between the Xerox product families, let’s look at the main factors that differentiate the models within the PrimeLink product catalog:
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Color Printing Capability
This was mentioned previously, but the two PrimeLink Series differ in the type of prints they can make.
The PrimeLink C9065 and C9070 are the color printers in Xerox’s PrimeLink category, and the four machines that make up the B9100 Series are exclusively black-and-white printers and cannot print in color.
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Print Speed
Another fundamental difference between the PrimeLink color and black-and-white printers is that the efficiency of the printer will increase as the model gets more advanced in the series.
For example, the PrimeLink C9065 has a print speed of up to 65 pages per minute (ppm) in color and a print speed of up to 70 ppm in black-and-white.
The more advanced C9070 model has slightly more efficient print speeds of 70 ppm in color and 75 ppm in black-and-white.
The same logic applies to the PrimeLink B9100 Series, as well.
The B9100 model has print speeds of up to 100 ppm, the B9110 model has print speeds of up to 110 ppm, the B9125 has print speeds of up to 125 ppm and the B9136 model has print speeds of up to 136 ppm.
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Printer Cost
As you could likely guess, the more advanced models in the PrimeLink family will also be more expensive.
To show a representation of price, here are the estimated base costs of the six PrimeLink models:
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C9065 ($19,800) and C9070 ($21,000)
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B9100 ($18,700) B9110 ($22,000), B9125 ($26,000) and B9136 ($31,000)
As you can tell, PrimeLink production printers can be pricey, and the base cost doesn’t include any additional upgrades you might want or the Fiery Print Server ($5,900-$11,500) that will likely be necessary to execute production features.
However, if you’re already outsourcing marketing materials or other large-high-quality print jobs, bringing those jobs in-house will, in most cases, save you money.
It’s important to note that some vendors may offer trade-ins and there’s also the option to lease your printer, rather than purchase it outright. Leasing a printer will break up the total price of the machine into monthly payments, making it a more affordable option. For more printer cost information, read these blogs:
How Does Xerox PrimeLink Series Compare to Other Brands?
It would be unrealistic to offer a comprehensive comparison of production-style printers across different brands. That’s a different blog for a different day.
However, it should be noted that many brands in the industry have solid printers with their own unique qualities that can meet a wide array of printing needs.
Some other notable printers include the Canon imageRunner Advance DX 8705i, Konica Minolta’s bizhub C759 and Ricoh’s IM C8000.
For a look into the more advanced production options in Xerox’s catalog, as well as additional information on who’s a fit for a production machine, read our blog about whether a production printer is right for you.
Who Is a Fit for a Xerox PrimeLink Printer?
Now, let’s go over who would be a good fit for a PrimeLink device:
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Businesses that are interested in an entry-level production printer.
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Businesses that have a daily need to make specialty prints, like booklets and manuals, at a high volume (between 50,000-700,000 pages per month)
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Businesses that require special finishing options for booklets and other specialty prints.
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Businesses that desire advanced color technology and image quality enhancements in a production-style printer.
If you fit into these four categories, then you would likely be a candidate for a printer in the PrimeLink product catalog.
However, PrimeLink devices also require you to have specific electrical requirements and office space to install, and it’s important to consider if you have an ideal spot for a production-style machine in your workplace.
Read our blog about the difference between printer equipment requirements and space requirements to learn more.
Who Isn’t a Fit for a Xerox PrimeLink Printer?
Let’s now go through who would not be a fit for the PrimeLink family:
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You have a small-to-medium-sized office with a relatively small office equipment budget.
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You don’t need to make pamphlets, posters, manuals or any other specialty print.
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You don’t print at a significant volume and align more with a basic single-function or multifunction printer.
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You need a production printer that can print over 50,000 pages per month.
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You don’t have the space or electrical requirements to accommodate a production printer.
If you fall into one of these categories, then you are most likely not a candidate for a PrimeLink device and would need to look elsewhere.
If you’re looking for a basic single-function or multifunction printer, you would want to look into the VersaLink product catalog. If you need a step above the basic multifunction print options but don’t require the ability to make specialty prints, then the AltaLink product catalog would be the better option.
Finally, if you desire an advanced production machine, then models like the Iridesse Production Press and Versant 4100 Press would be the best fit for you.
Read our blog about how to choose a printer for your budget and business needs for more tips on how to choose the printer that best optimizes your printing processes.
Think a Xerox PrimeLink Printer Is Right for You?
As far as production printers go, the six PrimeLink models in Xerox’s arsenal represent a solid entry-level option in the production category.
The PrimeLink printers serve as a dual-option machine in that they combine features such as copy, fax and apps while allowing you to have production-level print quality.
PrimeLink devices are equipped with advanced color technology and image optimization features that enhance print quality and contain numerous customization options when it comes to finishers and accessories.
However, production-style printers will not be a fit for most people and meet the specific needs of companies that make special kinds of prints and need an entry-level production printer.
Our 35 years as a print vendor have taught us that seeking the help of experts in the industry is paramount when seeking a long-term printing solution, especially when it comes to production printers that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
If you are interested in a PrimeLink machine or would like to discuss other printing solutions, reach out to us and a business consultant will be there to assist you.
