KONICA MINOLTA BLACK & WHITE PRINTERS

A black and white multifunctional printer prints, copies and scans in crisp mono, and it does so at the lowest cost per page of any office machine. For the text-heavy daily load of South African offices, invoices, statements, school worksheets, internal documents, mono remains the rational default, and choosing the right one is mostly a volume exercise.

Work through these factors before comparing models:

• Monthly volume. Count a normal month of printing and copying. Volume is the single biggest input into the speed class you need.
• Users sharing the machine. One to five users suit the 20 to 30 ppm class; larger teams need 45 ppm and faster engines to keep queues down.
• Print speed. Quoted in pages per minute. Buy the class above your average month rather than one that only copes on a quiet day.
• Paper capacity. Two or more cassettes mean fewer refill walks and fewer interruptions at 08:00 when everyone arrives.
• Scanning workload. Even a mono office scans in colour where originals carry stamps or signatures. Check scan speed, double-sided document feeding and destinations.
• Finishing. Stapling and sorting earn their place in mailroom-style operations; skip them elsewhere.
• A3 capability. Most bizhub mono machines are A3. If your documents are invoices and letters only, an A4 model may save further.

Refurbished mono bizhubs are the value pick of the whole category: proven engines, checked and serviced per unit, at an estimated market range of R9,000 to R25,000 (2026 SA dealer listings; final quote per unit), comfortably below the colour band at every speed class.

Durability is the quiet advantage of the mono category. A mono bizhub engine built for a 45 or 65 ppm duty cycle will run for years past its first office, which is exactly why refurbished mono units are such sound buys: the engineering headroom outlives the first owner. Match the machine to your volume, buy it with a confirmed meter reading, and the running-cost advantage compounds quietly for years.

Mono machines win the running-cost argument structurally, not marginally. One toner cartridge instead of four, one imaging path instead of a colour one, and consumables that are inherently cheaper to remanufacture and stock. The same job printed on a colour machine set to mono still costs more than on a dedicated mono machine, because colour engines keep calibrating their colour systems whether or not you use them.

The hardware bands tell the entry story: an estimated R9,000 to R25,000 for a refurbished mono bizhub against R15,000 to R35,000 for the colour equivalent (2026 SA dealer listings; final quote per unit). Over a five-year hold, the combination of lower purchase price and lower per-page cost compounds into a saving most offices only notice once they have measured it.

Two settings widen the gap for free: duplex-by-default printing roughly halves paper consumption on ordinary documents, and a mono driver default keeps any colour-capable machine on the cheap path. If some of your output must reach clients in colour, the usual answer is a two-machine office: a mono workhorse carrying the volume, and a colour machine reserved for the work that needs it. Our colour multifunctional printers page covers that side.

Grouped by monthly workload, with estimated market ranges (2026 SA dealer listings; final quote per unit):

• Entry volume (22-30 ppm): the bizhub 227 (22 ppm, est. R9,000-R18,000), 287 (28 ppm, est. R10,000-R20,000) and 300i (30 ppm, est. R11,000-R21,000). Small offices, reception areas and satellite desks.
• Workgroup volume (36-40 ppm): the bizhub 360i (est. R12,000-R22,000), 367 (est. R9,000-R25,000), 4000i and 4020i (est. R9,000-R25,000). The heart of the mid-size office market.
• Busy workgroup (45-47 ppm): the bizhub 450i (est. R15,000-R25,000), 458e and 4700i (est. R9,000-R25,000). Faster duplex and larger feeds for ten to twenty users.
• Department volume (55-75 ppm): the bizhub 558e at 55 ppm, 658e at 65 ppm, and the 750i and 758 at 75 ppm (est. R9,000-R25,000). Print rooms and central reproduction.

Every unit is checked and serviced before listing, with the meter reading confirmed on the quote. If your volume sits between classes, size up: machines running at their ceiling every day wear faster and queue anyway.

Buying mono is half the saving; running it well is the other half. Set the driver to duplex by default and paper consumption drops by roughly half on ordinary documents. Keep a spare toner on the shelf once the machine settles in, because a mono office that runs dry mid-morning loses more in staff time than the cartridge costs. Have rollers and feed tyres serviced on schedule rather than waiting for the day they jam, and the machine stays fast and jam-free for longer, and ask for a cost-per-page figure with your quote so the running cost is a known number instead of a surprise. A service or click arrangement rolls toner, parts and labour into one predictable per-page amount, which is how schools, practices and busy offices keep their print spend flat through the year.

Answer these five questions and the machine choice usually makes itself:

• Do my clients see the output? Client-facing proposals and marketing push toward colour; internal paperwork does not.
• What share of a normal month genuinely needs colour? Under a tenth and mono wins on cost; over a third and colour earns its keep.
• Could occasional colour be outsourced instead? A local print shop a few times a month is often cheaper than owning a colour machine for the same pages.
• Who controls the settings? If you cannot enforce driver defaults, a colour machine will be used casually and expensively; a mono machine removes the risk entirely.
• What is the total over five years, purchase plus consumables plus service? Judge on that figure, never the purchase price alone.

Most offices that answer honestly land on a mono machine carrying the daily volume, with colour handled by a second machine or outsourced. Both halves of that answer are things we quote every week.

Is a refurbished black and white bizhub a safe buy?

Yes, when the seller documents the meter reading and the refurbishment scope. Mono bizhub engines are famously durable, and a serviced unit with a confirmed meter typically has years of economical life left. Ask for both numbers in writing with your quote.

What speed mono printer does my office need?

As a guide: up to about 3,000 pages a month, the 22 to 30 ppm class; 3,000 to 10,000, the 36 to 45 ppm class; beyond 10,000, the 55 to 75 ppm class with larger paper capacity.

How much does a black and white multifunctional cost in South Africa?

Refurbished A3 mono bizhubs carry an estimated market range of R9,000 to R25,000 (2026 SA dealer listings; final quote per unit), with speed class and condition deciding where a specific unit lands. New machines cost substantially more. Request a quote for the model that matches your volume.

Can I add a colour machine later?

Yes, and it is a common pattern: a mono workhorse carries the daily load and a colour machine, bought or rented later, handles client-facing work. We supply both lanes and can quote them together or separately, including a rental that pairs one of each.

Ready to match a machine to your monthly volume? Request a quote and we will confirm availability, meter readings and the estimated range for the class you need.

For current model costs across the bizhub range, see the bizhub price list for South Africa, or request a quote on any of the models above.