Xerox WorkCentre 5865i / 5875i / 5890i — Features, Specs, Performance & Business Use

The Xerox WorkCentre 5865i, 5875i and 5890i form a closely related family of black-and-white (mono) A3 multifunction printers (MFPs) aimed at mid-to-large workgroups and light production environments. They share a common design language, user interface and software ecosystem while offering graduated print speeds, finishing options and duty-cycle headroom so organisations can pick the model that best matches throughput and budget. Below I break down the hardware and software features, core specifications, real-world performance characteristics and the ways businesses typically use (and get the most value from) these machines.

Quick summary (what each model buys you)

WorkCentre 5865i — entry point in the series, around 65 ppm black-and-white output; balanced for busy office workgroups.
WorkCentre 5875i — mid tier, roughly 75 ppm, higher monthly volumes and extra finishing/throughput options for heavier departmental use.
WorkCentre 5890i — top of the line in this trio with about 90 ppm, built for the heaviest office or light production loads where page throughput matters most.

Design & user experience

The 5800i series uses Xerox’s contemporary industrial chassis with a large, tilt-and-touch colour user interface (UI) that can be customised by role or workflow. The touchscreen layout simplifies access to copying, scanning, faxing and app-based workflows; Xerox’s Unified Address Book and workflow apps (for scan-to-email, network folders, and cloud repositories) are usually included or available as options. The devices support a wide range of finishing options — stapling, hole punch, booklet making and folding — which turns them into small in-house production hubs for manuals, proposals and brochures.

Core hardware & print engine

Speed and output quality

Print speeds: 65/75/90 pages per minute (ppm) respectively for the 5865i / 5875i / 5890i. Speeds refer to black-and-white pages on A4/letter (tabloid/A3 capability available). These speeds position the series for high-volume departmental use rather than light desktop printing.
Resolution: The engine supports up to a high effective print resolution (marketing-stated up to 4800 × 600 dpi photo-enhanced rendering while copy/scan modes operate at 600 × 600 dpi), producing crisp mono text and halftone graphics suitable for professional documents.

Paper handling & capacity

The machines accept a full range of media sizes up to A3 / 11×17 and offer modular paper feeding — multiple 500-sheet trays, large capacity cassettes and optional high capacity feeders so maximum paper capacity can scale into the thousands. Standard and optional feeders handle common office weights and heavier stocks for covers and inserts; duplex printing is standard. These flexibility options let teams set up different trays for different media (pre-printed forms, letterhead, heavy cover stock) to keep large jobs moving without manual intervention.

Scanning subsystem

A notable strength is fast, robust scanning: the series supports high-speed duplex scanning (Xerox documents reference very fast image-per-minute rates) and optical character recognition (OCR) via onboard or server-side workflow tools. This makes the fleet useful as a capture gateway — convert paper workflows to searchable PDF, route invoices into accounting systems, or enable high-volume digitisation projects.

Software, connectivity and security

Xerox equipped these MFPs with a full stack of connectivity and security features expected for enterprise devices:

Network connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, USB direct print, and optional Wi-Fi (via adapter) so the devices integrate with diverse network setups.
Fleet/software integrations: Support for Xerox CentreWare, driver packages for Windows/Mac and common print languages (PCL/PS emulation). The devices also host workflow apps and can be extended with Xerox workflow solutions for indexing, routing and cloud storage.
Security: Secure boot, hard-drive encryption and optional data-overwrite features on the internal HDD; user authentication, network protocol protections and audit logging are available to help meet corporate security policies and regulatory needs. These controls are crucial for offices that handle sensitive customer or financial information.

Performance — what to expect daily

In real-world deployments you should expect:

Fast warm-up and ‘first-page-out’ times that minimise delay on short print jobs and boost user satisfaction for heavy queue environments. Datasheets report single-digit second times to first copy in many configurations.
Sustained throughput: When configured with sufficient paper capacity and high-yield toner, the 5875i/5890i will handle continuous print runs with fewer interruptions than smaller office printers. If you plan continuous high-volume production, pair the device with high-capacity paper trays and review monthly duty cycles to align expectations with warranty/service plans.
Toner yields & running costs: These are best managed with XL or high-yield consumables; per-page costs will be lower than smaller office B/W lasers, but total cost depends on duty cycle, duplex usage and policy on staple/finish jobs.

Finishing & advanced capabilities

What distinguishes an MFP for many businesses is finishing. The WorkCentre 58xx series offers modular finishers that can staple, staple and hole-punch, saddle-stitch booklets and fold Z/C-fold brochures. For marketing collateral, training manuals or client proposals, these capabilities reduce outsourcing and speed turnaround. Add the optional high-capacity inserter or booklet maker and the MFP acts as an in-house short-run production line.

Where these units fit in a business ecosystem

Ideal environments

Large departments and corporate print rooms — teams that need high mono throughput for reports, proposals, legal documents and internal mailings.
Finance / accounting / HR — heavy scanning plus secure print/scan features suit departments that ingest and archive many paper invoices, contracts and personnel records.
Legal and education — need for fast, reliable black-and-white output and finishing for case files, course materials and handouts.

Not ideal if…

Your primary need is color graphics printing — these are monochrome devices, so organizations needing colour output should consider a colour MFP or complement this unit with a colour device.
You require very high-end digital press features such as extended colour gamut, special colour management, or extremely high dpi photo printing — while the 5890i is fast, it is optimised for crisp mono text and document graphics rather than photo-quality colour reproduction.

Deployment considerations & tips

Match the model to monthly volume — choose the 5865i for steady but moderate loads, 5875i for busy workgroups and 5890i where peak throughput or burst printing is routine. Datasheets list maximum monthly volumes and recommended duty cycles; use those numbers when building service and consumable plans.
Invest in paper handling — adding extra trays or a high-capacity feeder reduces operator time and keeps long jobs flowing.
Plan finishing early — if you rely on booklets or stapled manuals, order the appropriate finisher at purchase time to avoid later downtime and integration friction.
Secure the device — enable HDD data overwrite, require user authentication for release of sensitive jobs and keep firmware updated as part of IT security hygiene.

Service, lifecycle & support notes

Xerox’s official pages indicate the WorkCentre 5800i series is no longer sold new in many markets; however, parts, supplies and refurbished units are still common through authorised channels and third-party dealers. For businesses buying used/refurbished units, confirm included HDD, memory, firmware level and whether finishing modules are covered by warranty or service contracts. Also verify availability of replacement parts and high-yield consumables to ensure predictable running costs.

Final verdict — who should buy one?

If your organisation needs dependable, high-speed black-and-white output with professional finishing, robust scanning and enterprise security — and you want to internalise short-run production (manuals, proposals, booklets) — the WorkCentre 5865i / 5875i / 5890i family is a strong candidate. Choose the specific model based on the balance of monthly volume, peak throughput and finishing requirements. For mixed colour/mono environments, the mono-only nature of these machines means they pair best alongside a colour MFP for documents that require charts, images or branded colour output.

Sources & further reading

I used Xerox product literature and datasheets plus vendor spec pages to compile this overview and verify the core specifications and feature set. For model-specific brochures, detailed configuration sheets and consumable/finishing part numbers consult Xerox’s official PDF datasheets and your authorised Xerox reseller.

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