IBM introduced their InfoPrint P12 in September 2000 as a replacement for their four-year-old Network Printer 12. At $399 it was, at the time, the lowest-priced printer in IBM's workgroup printer lineup. Targeted primarily at small workgroups and individual corporate desktop users, it could be expanded for network use with an optional Fast Ethernet print server. The P12's print speed was rated at 12 pages per minute (ppm), with a first-page-out time of 14 seconds.
NEC, Samsung, TallyGenicom and Xerox all introduced their own branded models using the same print engine as that in IBM's P12. Print speeds for those models ranged from 12ppm to 17ppm.
Although the P12 shipped with a 3,000 page yield starter cartridge, only a 6,000 page yield replacement cartridge is available. Some of the branded models also offer low yield replacement cartridges, and yields vary among OEMs.