delphaxinkjet.com

The most concrete published result comes from a direct mail service operation that replaced two unreliable tabletop inkjet envelope systems with a Delphax Elan 170. According to Delphax, that customer doubled output versus the previous dual-tabletop setup, cut running costs to one-tenth of the old configuration, and saved roughly $130,000 in ink alone over five years — with reported gains in speed, reliability, and overall economy. These figures describe one customer's experience as presented by the manufacturer, not a guaranteed outcome; your own results will depend on your current equipment, volume, and job mix.

The customer problem

The operation was a direct mail service provider running high-volume envelope production. Its two tabletop inkjet envelope systems were:

• Frequently breaking down
• Incurring what Delphax describes as exorbitant costs for ink and printheads
• Limiting efficiency and profitability as a result

This is a common profile for mail shops: desktop-class envelope printers are cheap to buy but can become expensive and disruptive once volume climbs and downtime starts eating into deadlines.

The reported outcome

The headline number — $130,000 in ink savings over five years — is the one most worth scrutinizing in your own evaluation, because ink and printhead consumption is where tabletop envelope systems often lose their cost advantage at volume.

Why the Elan 170 is positioned for this kind of swap

Delphax presents the Elan 170 as an envelope-and-more production press rather than a desktop device:

• Production speed of 150 ft/min, equivalent to 18,000 #10 envelopes per hour
• Advanced pigment inkjet technology with water-fast CMYK inks that resist smudging from water or handling
• Resolution up to 1600 x 1600 dpi with a 2.1 picoliter drop size
• Targeted at commercial printers and mail shops handling envelopes, direct mail, packaging, and more

The speed and duty profile is what makes a single press a plausible replacement for two tabletop units — the doubling in output in the case above is consistent with that positioning.

How to check whether similar results are realistic for you

Delphax's stated onboarding path is built around comparing real production data rather than spec sheets. The three starting points it offers are:

1. Print samples — see output quality firsthand on your own stock
2. Ink cost analysis — compare ink consumption against your current device
3. TCO & ROI analysis — a total-cost-of-ownership and return assessment built around your printing operations

Delphax says its team helps compare real production data — labor, setup, and waste — to your current device. That is the right frame for testing the $130,000-style claim: gather your own ink and printhead spend, your labor and setup time, and your waste rate, then run the same comparison.

Caveats before you treat these numbers as a forecast

• The savings figure is a single customer's five-year ink result as published by Delphax; it is not an average or a promise.
• "Running costs to 1/10th" depends heavily on what the old systems were costing you — a shop with newer or better-maintained tabletop units may see a smaller gap.
• The case describes replacing two systems with one press. If you are replacing one, the output and cost math changes.
• No pricing, lease terms, or availability details are published in the source material, so factor acquisition and service costs into any TCO comparison yourself.

The practical takeaway: the Elan 170's published case shows a mail operation roughly doubling throughput while collapsing running costs, driven mainly by ink and printhead economics. Whether you see anything close to that depends on your current cost baseline — which is exactly what the ink cost and TCO/ROI analyses are meant to establish before you commit.

Delphax Inkjet offers three ways to start evaluating its inkjet presses: free print samples, an ink cost analysis, and a TCO/ROI assessment. You request any of them through the corresponding buttons on delphaxinkjet.com — the site presents these as the "3 steps to get started." They are aimed at commercial printers and mail shops that are considering an inkjet investment and want to compare real production data against their current device.

The Three Starting Points

Delphax frames the evaluation process around three requests, each available as its own button on the site:

The site describes these as "free print samples, ink cost analysis, and a clear TCO/ROI assessment built around your printing operations." All three are presented as ways to see the equipment and the numbers before making a decision.

How the Assessment Works

The comparison is not generic. According to Delphax, its team helps you compare real production data — labor, setup and waste — to your current device. That means the useful input on your side is information about how you print today: what you run, how long setup takes, how much labor is involved, and how much waste you generate.

If you want the analysis to be meaningful, come prepared with:

• Your current press or envelope system and its running costs
• Ink and printhead costs you are paying now
• Production volume (for example, envelopes per hour or per month)
• Labor, setup time, and waste figures from your existing workflow

Delphax positions its expertise in "quality, speed and cost," and the stated goal is to simplify the decision rather than complicate it.

What the Elan 170 Can Do

The main product referenced on the site is the Elan 170, described as an envelope + printer. Relevant specifications from the site:

• Production speed of 150 ft/min, equivalent to 18,000 #10 envelopes per hour
• Advanced pigment inkjet technology with water-fast CMYK inks that resist smudging from water or handling
• Resolution up to 1600 x 1600 dpi with a 2.1 picoliter drop size
• Handles envelopes, direct mail, packaging, and more
• Targeted at commercial printers and mail shops

What Customers Have Reported

Delphax shares a customer example on the site. A direct mail service operation was replacing two unreliable tabletop inkjet envelope systems that broke down frequently and carried high ink and printhead costs. After moving to the Elan 170, the customer reportedly:

• Doubled the output of the previous dual tabletop systems
• Cut running costs to 1/10th of the old setup
• Saved $130,000 in ink alone over five years

These are the manufacturer's own customer snippets, so treat them as vendor-reported results rather than independently verified figures. They are still useful as a sense of the scale of savings Delphax is claiming, and as a prompt to ask for comparable data for your own volumes during the TCO/ROI assessment.

Who This Is For

The three-step process fits you if you are:

• A commercial printer or mail shop evaluating a move to color inkjet
• Running high-volume envelope or direct mail production
• Currently on tabletop or older systems with high ink and printhead costs
• Looking for a decision backed by your own production numbers rather than a spec sheet alone

If you are only casually researching inkjet technology, the print sample request is the lightest way to start. If you are close to a purchase decision, the ink cost and TCO/ROI analyses are the more relevant requests.

Getting Started

1. Go to delphaxinkjet.com.
2. Find the "3 steps to get started" section with the Print Samples, Ink Cost Analysis, and TCO & ROI Analysis buttons.
3. Select the request that matches your stage — sample output, ink costs, or full cost/return picture.
4. Submit the request through the corresponding button.

Delphax is a Toronto-based designer and manufacturer of digital inkjet presses. The site does not publish pricing for the Elan 170 or the analyses, so any cost figures will come through the request process rather than from the website itself.

The Delphax Elan 170 is a high-speed color inkjet press built for envelope and direct mail production, and it can also handle packaging and other applications. According to Delphax, it runs at 150 ft/min — equivalent to 18,000 #10 envelopes per hour — and uses pigment inkjet technology with water-fast CMYK inks that resist smudging from water or handling. It is aimed at commercial printers and mail shops that need both productivity and material flexibility.

Core specifications

The combination of 1600 x 1600 dpi resolution and a 2.1 picoliter drop size is what Delphax points to for image quality — smaller drops generally mean finer detail and smoother gradients, which matters for color-heavy direct mail and branded envelopes.

What it can print

Delphax lists the Elan 170's applications as:

• Envelopes — its primary design focus, sized around high-volume #10 production
• Direct mail — color output suited to personalized and promotional mailpieces
• Packaging — part of the press's stated versatility
• "And more" — Delphax positions it as a flexible press rather than a single-application machine

The water-fast pigment inks are relevant here: mailpieces get handled by postal equipment and can be exposed to moisture, so smudge resistance is a practical requirement rather than a marketing extra.

Who it's for

Delphax names two audiences directly: commercial printers and mail shops. The fit is strongest if your workload is high-volume envelope or direct mail production where speed and ink cost both affect margin.

A documented customer outcome

Delphax shares a case example of a direct mail service operation that replaced two unreliable tabletop inkjet envelope systems. Per Delphax's account, the Elan 170:

• Doubled the output of the previous dual tabletop setup
• Cut running costs to 1/10th of the old setup
• Produced $130,000 in ink savings alone over five years

The stated problems with the old systems were frequent breakdowns and high costs for ink and printheads. Treat these figures as the vendor's reported results from one customer — useful as a reference point, but your own numbers will depend on volume, coverage, and current equipment.

How to evaluate it for your operation

Delphax offers three starting points rather than a self-serve spec sheet:

1. Print samples — see actual output quality firsthand
2. Ink cost analysis — compare ink economics against your current device
3. TCO & ROI analysis — a total-cost-of-ownership and return assessment built around your printing operations

Delphax states its team helps you compare real production data — labor, setup, and waste — against your current device. If you are weighing a replacement, that comparison is the practical next step: gather your own labor, setup, waste, and ink figures first so the assessment is grounded in your actual costs rather than general benchmarks.

What the page does not specify

The Delphax material does not list pricing, substrate width limits, finishing options, or physical footprint for the Elan 170. If any of those are decision-critical for you, they need to be confirmed directly with Delphax rather than assumed from the published specifications.

Delphax simplifies the inkjet selection process by replacing guesswork with your own production data. Instead of asking you to compare spec sheets, the company walks you through a three-step evaluation — free print samples, an ink cost analysis, and a TCO/ROI assessment — built around how your shop actually runs. This approach suits commercial printers and mail operations that already have a device in place and want to know whether switching would pay off, rather than buyers shopping on price alone.

The Three-Step Evaluation Process

Delphax frames the decision as three concrete steps, each producing something you can hold or read rather than a sales pitch.

1. Print Samples

You request physical samples printed on Delphax equipment, so you can judge image quality and ink behavior on your own stock instead of a brochure. This matters most for envelopes, direct mail, and packaging, where substrate and handling vary widely.

2. Ink Cost Analysis

Delphax compares ink consumption and cost against your current setup. The company's own customer story illustrates why this step exists: a direct mail operation replaced two unreliable tabletop inkjet envelope systems with a Delphax Elan 170, and running costs dropped to roughly one-tenth of the old setup — about $130,000 in ink savings over five years, according to Delphax. Your numbers will differ, but the analysis is designed to surface that gap before you commit.

3. TCO & ROI Analysis

The final step builds a total-cost-of-ownership and return-on-investment picture around your operations. Delphax states that its team helps you compare real production data — labor, setup, and waste — against your current device, so the comparison reflects your workflow rather than a generic benchmark.

What Data You Bring to the Conversation

The evaluation only works if it uses your real numbers. Based on what Delphax describes, expect to supply or discuss:

If you run a mail shop or commercial print operation with recurring envelope, direct mail, or packaging work, this data-driven route is the intended fit. If you're a low-volume or occasional printer, the same three steps still apply, but the ROI case will be thinner — the analysis will show you that too.

What the Elan 170 Tells You About Fit

The Elan 170 is the product Delphax positions for envelope and direct mail work, and its published specs give you a concrete reference point for the evaluation:

• Speed: 150 ft/min, equivalent to 18,000 #10 envelopes per hour
• Resolution: up to 1600 x 1600 dpi with a 2.1 picoliter drop size
• Ink: water-fast CMYK pigment inks that resist smudging from water or handling
• Applications: envelopes, direct mail, packaging, and more

Delphax targets commercial printers and mail shops with this device. Use these figures as the yardstick when you compare your current output and quality — if your existing systems already match them, the ROI case rests on cost and reliability instead.

How to Start

Delphax lists three entry points — Print Samples, Ink Cost Analysis, and TCO & ROI Analysis — as the way to begin. Pick the one that answers your most pressing question first: samples if quality is the doubt, ink analysis if consumables are the pain point, TCO/ROI if you need a business case for ownership. The company's stated goal is to make the choice uncomplicated by grounding it in your production data, so the more accurate the numbers you bring, the more useful the result.

Delphax Inkjet is a Toronto-based designer and manufacturer of digital inkjet presses, built for commercial printers and mail operations that need high-speed color output. Its stated brand promise is "Print Better. Get Better Results." — and its flagship product, the Elan 170, is aimed at envelope, direct mail, and packaging work where speed, ink cost, and reliability drive the buying decision.

What Delphax Inkjet makes

The company's core product line is color digital inkjet presses. Its featured model is the Elan 170, an envelope and printer solution. According to the company, it is designed for:

• Commercial printers
• Mail shops and direct mail service operations
• Envelope, direct mail, and packaging production

The pitch is straightforward: replace slower or less reliable envelope printing setups with a single high-speed inkjet press.

Elan 170: key specifications

These are the figures Delphax publishes on its site. If you need current pricing, configuration options, or availability, that isn't listed in the source material — you'd need to contact the company directly.

Who it's for

Delphax positions the Elan 170 for operations running high-volume envelope and direct mail production, especially those currently using tabletop inkjet envelope systems. The company's own case example describes a direct mail customer that replaced two unreliable tabletop systems with an Elan 170 — reportedly doubling output while cutting running costs to one-tenth of the old setup, which the company translates to $130,000 in ink savings over five years.

That's a vendor-reported outcome, so treat it as a directional claim rather than an independently verified benchmark. The useful takeaway is the type of buyer Delphax targets: operations where ink and printhead costs, downtime, and throughput are the main pain points.

How Delphax says the evaluation process works

Rather than asking buyers to commit blind, Delphax offers three starting points:

1. Print samples — see output quality firsthand
2. Ink cost analysis — compare ink economics against your current device
3. TCO & ROI analysis — a total-cost-of-ownership and return assessment built around your printing operations

The company says its team helps compare real production data — labor, setup, and waste — against your existing equipment. If you're evaluating a press, these three items are the practical questions to bring to any vendor, Delphax included: what does a sample actually look like on my stock, what will ink cost per piece, and what's the full cost picture over several years.

When Delphax is worth a look

Consider Delphax Inkjet if you:

• Run high-volume envelope or direct mail production
• Are replacing aging or unreliable tabletop inkjet systems
• Care about water-fast, smudge-resistant color output
• Want a vendor willing to run cost and ROI comparisons before you buy

Look elsewhere if you need a small-format or low-volume solution, or if you require published pricing before making contact — the site doesn't provide it.