Independent Consumer Guides to Document Imaging Equipment THE COLOR LASER PRINTER & BUSINESS INK JET PRINTER GUIDES www.betterbuys.
The Color Laser Printer Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS v Editor’s Choice Awards — page 2 The best values in each product category — as determined by our expert editorial staff v Vendor & Product Profiles — pages 3–56 A comprehensive list of every model on the market, provided in alphabetical order by manufacturer Brother — page 3 Dell — page 5 Gestetner — page 7 Hewlett-Packard — page 8 IBM — page 15 Konica Minolta — page 16 Kyocera — page 21 Lanier — page 24 Lexmark — page 25 OKI — page 30 Panasonic — page 35 R
Better Buys for Business EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS From the nation’s leading independent authority on office equipment About the Award What is an Editor’s Choice Award? This award signifies the best values in each product category, as determined independently by our expert editorial staff. How often are awards given? Our Editor’s Choice ratings are awarded once per year with each updated guide. What are the selection criteria? In each Better Buys guide, we evaluate models from all major manufacturers.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Vendor & Product Profiles This section provides an overview on each vendor (complete with contact details) followed by analysis on each model offered for sale in the color laser printer market. General information about the market, including discussions of technology as well as advice on how to buy a color laser printer, follows this section.
Better Buys for Business 4 Yield Full-color cost per page Black-and-white cost per page Brother HL-2700CN Consumables costs at-a-glance Price standard. These features are sometimes costly add-ons to otherwise inexpensive color printers — in a few cases, they are simply not available. Like many networkenabled printers these days, the HL-2700CN has an embedded Web server that allows for remote administration.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Black toner $62.99 9,000 $ 0.007 $ 0.007 Cyan toner $157.99 6,000 $ 0.026 N/A Magenta toner $157.99 6,000 $ 0.026 N/A Yellow toner $157.99 6,000 $ 0.026 N/A Print head cartridge $419.99 30,000 $ 0.014 $ 0.014 $57.99 25,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002 $241.99 100,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002 $ 0.1047 $ 0.0257 10.47 2.
Better Buys for Business features for the price. Even with many under-$500 color laser printers to choose from these days, the prices are eye-opening: the Color Laser Printer 3010cn goes for $379, while the Color Laser Printer 3110cn, with better features, is selling for $499. Despite their competitive pricing, these are not dumbed-down models. While the 3010cn prints at a pokey 5ppm in color, it runs at a decent 25ppm in black-andwhite.
The printer isn’t lacking in other features. Ethernet is standard as is automatic duplexing. The processor is a robust 400MHz, and PostScript and PCL are standard. The printer ships with 128MB of memory, and you can extend that to 1,152MB. We estimate the cost per page as excellent: 8.7¢ in color and around 1.0¢ in black-and-white. These are well below average and match the costs of far more expensive models from other vendors. The black page price is particularly attention-grabbing.
Better Buys for Business HEWLETTPACKARD Santa Clara, CA 800 752 0900 www.hp.com Vendor Profile Hewlett-Packard (HP) needs little introduction in any discussion of printers, a market in which it exercises commanding leadership. Its current generation of color laser models is based on Canon engines, as are its monochrome laser printers. HP is offering a variety of separate product families aimed at different segments of the market.
Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dtn 10ppm full color 12ppm black & white Yet, there’s a drawback, even though it may be a minor one to some users: the 2605 family’s 12ppm black-andwhite speed is slower than the 2550 models’ 20ppm. Both have PostScript 3 and standard Ethernet. On both models, the optional paper supply is limited to one 250-sheet tray. Both machines are well equipped with 300MHz processors and 64MB of standard memory.
requiring top-notch black-and-white performance. For the money, they’re definitely excellent values, although their limited features and high consumables costs may lead potential buyers to consider slightly more expensive models such as the OKI Printing Solutions C5800Ldn, which sells for $799 (street) and prints at 24ppm in color and 28 in black-and-white, or HP’s own Color LaserJet 3800, which also costs $799 (street) and prints at 22ppm in color and black-and-white.
Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000dtn 15ppm full color 30ppm black & white Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000 Consumables costs at-a-glance Price than most other printers starting at under $700. But you should look at the OKI Printing Solutions 5500 and Lexmark C522 machines.
Better Buys for Business Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800dtn 22ppm full color 22ppm black & white Sum-up: Capable small-workgroup printers with good features. The Color LaserJet 3800 family is a few steps above the Color LaserJet 3600 family in most features, including speed and, of course, price.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700 Consumables costs at-a-glance Black print cartridge $178.99 11,000 $ 0.016 $ 0.016 Cyan print cartridge $253.99 10,000 $ 0.025 N/A Magenta print cartridge $253.99 10,000 $ 0.025 N/A Yellow print cartridge $253.99 10,000 $ 0.025 N/A $ 0.0925 $ 0.0163 $ 9.25 $ 1.
Better Buys for Business Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550dtn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550hdn 27ppm full color 27ppm black & white Sum-up: Affordable ledger-size printers with good speed. The ledger-size Color LaserJet 5550 family runs at 27ppm in both black-and-white and color. These powerful machines are suited for large departments that need color printing.
starts with 160MB of memory, the 9500hdn comes with 288MB. Both printers can be upgraded to 384MB. These printers have good color tools, including automatic color calibration as well as color-matching software. It is on paper handling that the two machines really differ from each other. The less expensive 9500n starts with a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, along with two 500-sheet paper trays. That’s a total of 1,100 sheets, and there are no options.
Better Buys for Business We expect that IBM will come out with its own versions of the Lexmark C622/C624 families in the near future to replace this model.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles ers, these are solid competitors. But they’ve been eclipsed by low-end models from manufacturers like Lexmark and OKI Printing Solutions in terms of color speed. Chart entries — pages 85–86 Konica Minolta magicolor 2500 series Consumables costs at-a-glance Black-and-white cost per page $84.99 4,500 $ 0.019 $ 0.019 Cyan toner $129.99 4,500 $ 0.029 N/A Magenta toner $129.99 4,500 $ 0.029 N/A Yellow toner $129.99 4,500 $ 0.
Better Buys for Business workgroup office printer. Certainly this will not suit graphics and page-layout users, but it makes sense for the business market. Chart entries — page 87 Konica Minolta magicolor 5400 series Consumables costs at-a-glance Black-and-white cost per page $149.99 12,000 $ 0.012 $ 0.012 Cyan toner - high capacity $339.99 12,000 $ 0.028 N/A Magenta toner - high capacity $339.99 12,000 $ 0.028 N/A Yellow toner - high capacity $339.99 12,000 $ 0.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 24.5ppm full color 24.5ppm black & white Sum-up: A ledger model with high-resolution imaging. The new Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 ($2,999) is an Ethernet-ready ledger-size machine with solid 24.5ppm speed in both color and black-and-white. The model features software called ProArt that helps the printer obtain high (interpolated) resolution, which makes it usable for photo-quality printing.
Better Buys for Business l A booklet finisher ($3,000) with sorting, stapling, and saddlestitching of booklets up to 60 sheets. l A punch kit ($525) with 2-/3-hole punching that can be added to the booklet finisher Konica Minolta includes its PageScope utilities for managing the printer from an administrator’s PC, both in terms of administration and workflow. As a copier, the bizhub C250P holds up well. Its optional job separator tray enables users to separate individual copies like copier trays do.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Product Profiles Kyocera FS-C5015N 17ppm full color 17ppm black & white Kyocera FS-C5020N 17ppm full color 17ppm black & white Kyocera FS-C5025N 22ppm full color 22ppm black & white Kyocera FS-C5030N 26ppm full color 26ppm black & white Sum-up: Outstanding per-page costs make this a great choice for busy offices that output lots of pages. As we were going to press, we learned the FS-C5020N was being discontinued.
Better Buys for Business are not unusual in the black-and-white market. On the output side, There is a 100-sheet and a 500-sheet tray. You can also add a 250-sheet face-up tray. Like many other color printers, there’s an imbalance between a fairly large maximum input capacity and a much smaller output capacity, though these Kyocera models do better than most. Two-sided output (duplexing) is an option as well. No finishing is offered, but that is expected at this price level.
Kyocera believe that color printers should come with the same kinds of options as you would expect from monochrome departmental printers or, for that matter, color copiers. The FS-C8008 printers have some of the most extensive paper-handling capacities in the color laser printer market. Cost of consumables: This is an area where the Kyocera models really shine. Black-and-white pages cost around 0.8¢ per page, a remarkably low figure, even for a dedicated black-and-white machine.
Better Buys for Business Copier Guide, machines that have similar features and add copying and scanning to the printing capability. Chart entries — page 91 Black-and-white cost per page $99.00 25,000 $ 0.004 $ 0.004 Cyan toner $90.00 10,000 $ 0.009 N/A Magenta toner $90.00 10,000 $ 0.009 N/A Yellow toner $90.00 10,000 $ 0.009 N/A Drum/black $1,093.00 600,000 N/A $ 0.002 Drum/4-color $1,093.00 150,000 $ 0.007 N/A $288.00 300,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001 $1,020.00 300,000 $ 0.
Lexington, KY 800 358 5835 www.lexmark.com/us_home.html Vendor Profile Lexmark was formed when IBM spun off its typewriter and mainstream printer business back in 1991. The noncompete agreement between IBM and Lexmark expired in 1996. IBM, at that point, built up a full line of desktop printers in competition with Lexmark but a few years ago announced that it would relabel Lexmark’s black-andwhite and color models.
But as you would expect, the C500n is light on features, and users will have to accept some compromises in terms of performance. The C500n has relatively slow first-page-out times: 13 seconds for black-and-white and 19 seconds for color. It prints at 1,200 x 600dpi standard and has a 35,000-page monthly duty cycle. It comes with 64MB of (nonexpandable) memory standard, and has a decent 200MHz processor. It doesn’t run PostScript, instead utilizing Lexmark’s host-based system.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles The Lexmark C532n prints color at 22ppm speed at 1,200dpi resolution. The C530dn/C532n engine comes with a 375MHz processor, while the C534 models have a 625MHz processor. Along with a few other vendors, Lexmark has made sure that getting into color printing at the entry level no longer means making big sacrifices in speed. PostScript is a standard feature through the whole line, which is not always the case with low-priced color laser printers.
Better Buys for Business Lexmark C772n Lexmark C772dn Lexmark C772dtn 25ppm full color 25ppm black & white Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Lexmark C770 Consumables costs at-a-glance Sum-up: Capable color printers that offer serious production capacity at a moderate price. Black print cartridge $111.00 6,000 $ 0.019 $ 0.019 Cyan print cartridge $203.00 6,000 $ 0.034 N/A Magenta print cartridge $203.00 6,000 $ 0.034 N/A Yellow print cartridge $203.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Lexmark C920 Lexmark C920n Lexmark C920dn Lexmark C920dtn 32ppm full color 36ppm black & white Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Lexmark C772 Consumables costs at-a-glance Sum-up: Lexmark’s powerful high-speed entry in the color ledger-size printer market. Black print cartridge $170.00 15,000 $ 0.011 $ 0.011 Cyan print cartridge $374.00 15,000 $ 0.025 N/A Magenta print cartridge $374.00 15,000 $ 0.
Better Buys for Business OKI Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Lexmark C920 Consumables costs at-a-glance Mount Laurel, NJ 856 235 2600 www.okidata.com Vendor Profile Black print cartridge $220.00 15,000 $ 0.015 $ 0.015 Cyan print cartridge $302.00 14,000 $ 0.022 N/A Magenta print cartridge $302.00 14,000 $ 0.022 N/A Yellow print cartridge $302.00 14,000 $ 0.022 N/A Developer/black $54.00 28,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002 Developer/color $181.
well as over the Internet. OKI also sells its printers in special product bundles directly to specific niche markets, including marketing departments, real estate offices, insurance companies, and so on. Product Profiles OKI Printing Solutions C3400n 16ppm full color 20ppm black & white Sum-up: Extraordinarily low price, but features are predictably limited. The new C3400n breaks a new price barrier for OKI Printing Solutions, as it’s the company’s first under-$400 color printer offering.
5,000 $ 0.022 $ 0.022 $165.00 5,000 $ 0.033 N/A Magenta toner $165.00 5,000 $ 0.033 N/A Yellow toner $165.00 5,000 $ 0.033 N/A Drum/black $68.00 15,000 $ 0.005 $ 0.005 Drums (3)/3-color $222.00 15,000 $ 0.015 N/A Transfer belt $145.00 100,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001 Fuser kit $200.00 100,000 TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS $ 0.002 $ 0.002 $ 0.1434 $ 0.0296 14.34 2.96 Duplexing is optional on the C5500n (for $179) and comes standard on the C5800Ldn. Both printers can work with 110lb.
OKI Printing Solutions C6100n OKI Printing Solutions C6100dn OKI Printing Solutions C6100dtn OKI Printing Solutions C6100hdn 26ppm full color 32ppm black & white Sum-up: Speedy yet economical color laser family. These new models offer far better speed than most economy models, with a very strong 26ppm in color and 32ppm in black-and-white. The basic technology on the series is similar to that of other OKI Printing Solutions models. These models are ideal for small workgroups doing low-volume color printing.
Better Buys for Business Sum-up: A ledger-size color printer series with superior speed and good features. These ledger-size printers are the successors to OKI Printing Solutions’ excellent C9300 and C9500 printers, which had a strong track record. The models are faster, among the fastest printers we cover in this guide. In addition, they have a number of productivity-enhancing features that make them useful in office environments.
printers with more capacity, but we think that this is more than adequate for most offices. The drawers have built-in sensors that identify the size of paper loaded in them, a nice plus for busy offices. You can also feed 12" x 36" paper into this machine through the 100-sheet tray, so you can make signage or small posters, another nice plus. Output capacity is decent. These models have 600 sheets of standard output, but they also offer an optional finisher with stapling and hole punching.
Better Buys for Business RICOH Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Panasonic WORKiO KX-CL400/DP-CL18/DP-CL22 Consumables costs at-a-glance West Caldwell, NJ 800 955 3453 www.ricoh-usa.com Black toner $42.00 6,000 $ 0.007 $ 0.007 Cyan toner $109.00 6,000 $ 0.018 N/A Magenta toner $109.00 6,000 $ 0.018 N/A Yellow toner $109.00 6,000 $ 0.018 N/A Print cartridge/black $145.00 15,000 $ 0.010 $ 0.010 Print cartridges (3)/3-color $349.
Then you add the reasonable 8ppm color speed and you’ve got a very affordable mixed-use, network-ready machine. Other features are pretty good. First, the resolution is a good 1,200 x 600dpi. PostScript is a standard feature. Memory starts at 128MB and can be expanded to 384MB. An optional hard disk is available. A 300MHz processor offers decent performance. Duplexing is another option. Wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi) is optional as well.
Black toner $31.75 5,000 $ 0.006 $ 0.006 Cyan toner $85.75 5,000 $ 0.017 N/A Magenta toner $85.75 5,000 $ 0.017 N/A Yellow toner $85.75 5,000 $ 0.017 N/A Drum/black $83.25 13,000 N/A $ 0.006 Drum/4-color $320.25 13,000 $ 0.025 N/A Transfer unit $106.00 83,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001 $22.00 36,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001 $247.00 100,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002 $ 0.0868 $ 0.0171 8.68 1.71 Waste toner bottle Fuser unit TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS workgroups.
l The base model CL7200 ($3,495 list), which starts with 1,100 sheets of input. l The CL7200D ($3,795), which adds a duplex unit. l The CL7200DT1 ($4,995), which adds a third 500- sheet drawer for a total of 1,600 sheets. l The CL7200DT2 ($5,695), which adds a fourth 500- sheet drawer for a total of 2,100 sheets. l The CL7200DL (also $5,695), which adds a 2,000- sheet stacker (replacing two of the 500-sheet drawers) for a total of 3,100 sheets. All of the units are powered by a 733MHz processor.
Better Buys for Business How did Ricoh do it? GelSprint is an ink jet-based technology, but with its advanced permanent print head (guaranteed to last for the life of the unit), these machines can be competitive with today’s cutting-edge desktop color machines in terms of performance, quality, durability, and perhaps most importantly, consumables costs.
above, though they are (of course) faster. What is outstanding is the strong paper-handling capability, including paper weights up to 90lb. index. These models handle 12" x 18" paper, so that you can print two pages at a time, with room for trim marks and bleeds. All models have a monthly duty cycle of up to 200,000 pages.
Better Buys for Business Product Profiles Product Profiles RISO G752 20ppm full color 20ppm black & white Same Machine as the now-discontinued Lexmark C752dtn Note: That model is the predecessor to the current C762 family, and is slower and less powerful but has similar paper-handling features.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles NOIS,” which means, as the name implies, lowered operating noise. They also offer easy toner installation and what they call “4-click” installation for software drivers. Paper supplies start with a 100-sheet bypass and a 250sheet paper tray. You can add a 500-sheet tray, for a total capacity of 850 sheets. All of these models offer automatic duplexing as a standard feature, a nice plus.
Better Buys for Business The CLP-600N also lacks PostScript support, which comes standard on the CLP-650N. Both do, however, have standard Ethernet and USB interfaces, and wireless functionality is available as an option. Paper supply for these machines is acceptable for their price range. They have a 250-sheet tray standard and a 100-sheet bypass tray. An optional 500-sheet tray is available. Duplex isn’t available, even as an option, for either machine.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Sharp AR-C240P/AR-C260P/AR-C265P Consumables costs at-a-glance Price Sharp AR-C240P 24ppm color 26ppm black & white Sharp AR-C260P 26ppm color 32ppm black & white Sharp AR-C265P 26ppm color 32ppm black & white Sharp AR-C360P 36ppm color 40ppm black & white Black toner $130.00 15,000 $ 0.009 $ 0.009 Cyan toner $395.00 15,000 $ 0.026 N/A Magenta toner $395.00 15,000 $ 0.
Better Buys for Business supply as well as a 100-sheet bypass. You can add one 530-sheet tray for a total of 1,160 sheets. The AR-C260P has a 500-sheet standard paper supply and 250-sheet bypass, with options to add one-to-three 500-sheet trays, or one 3,000-sheet tray for a total paper capacity of 6,750 sheets. The AR-C265P has a 300-sheet standard supply and 100-sheet bypass with an option to add a 530-sheet tray.
Costs per page are quite good: 8.9¢ for a color page and 1.4¢ for black. Those costs are very impressive for a lowcost printer and makes this machine worthy of a second look. This is a decent printer, but while it would have been a strong competitor a year ago, it has now been outgunned by newer introductions. The consumables costs alone might make this a very good buy if you are interested in a small workgroup printer.
Better Buys for Business Toshiba e-STUDIO360 CP 32ppm full color 36ppm black & white Same Machine as the Lexmark C920 Chart entry — page 117 UNISYS Blue Bell, PA 800 874 8647 www.unisysdirect.com Vendor Profile Unisys is best known as a manufacturer of mainframe computers, especially for large institutions such as government, banking, and insurance companies. As such, it is IBM’s only real competitor, though definitely a distant second.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles XEROX Black-and-white cost per page Full-color cost per page Yield Price Xanté Ilumina Consumables costs at-a-glance Wilsonville, OR 503 682 7377 www.officeprinting.xerox.com Vendor Profile Black toner $99.99 15,000 $ 0.007 $ 0.007 Cyan toner $290.00 15,000 $ 0.019 N/A Magenta toner $290.00 15,000 $ 0.019 N/A Yellow toner $290.00 15,000 $ 0.019 N/A Drum/black $155.99 39,000 $ 0.004 $ 0.004 Drums (3)/3-color $573.
Better Buys for Business Product Profiles Xerox Phaser 6120N 5ppm full color 20ppm black & white Sum-up: An entry-level model with basic features and a very low price. The Phaser 6120N model, which replaces the Phaser 6100 family (though based on a different engine), allows Xerox to offer a low-cost color laser solution. The model offers unspectacular basic features, but it has a low base price of $499 ($299 after Xerox’s current $200 rebate). The 6120N prints at 5ppm in color and 20ppm in blackand-white.
with both USB and Ethernet ports. They are: l The Phaser 8500N (street price $899), which comes with 128MB of memory, upgradeable to 512MB. l The Phaser 8500DN (street price $1,099), which adds duplexing. l The Phaser 8550DP (at $1,299), a faster model that has 256MB of memory upgradeable to 1GB. It also offers an optional 20GB hard disk. l The Phaser 8550DT (at $1,599), which comes with a second 525-sheet paper tray standard.
Better Buys for Business Xerox Phaser 6300N Xerox Phaser 6300DN 26ppm full color 36ppm black & white Xerox Phaser 6350DP Xerox Phaser 6350DT Xerox Phaser 6350DX 36ppm full color 36ppm black & white Black-and-white cost per page Sum-up: Raw power makes this a very good family of workgroup printers. $ 0.015 $ 0.015 3,000 $ 0.030 N/A Magenta toner $88.99 3,000 $ 0.030 N/A Yellow toner $88.99 3,000 $ 0.030 N/A Maintenance kit $99.99 10,000 $ 0.010 $ 0.010 $ 0.1138 $ 0.0248 11.38 2.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles l The Phaser 6300DN ($1,499) adds automatic duplex- ing. l The Phaser 6350DP ($1,799) has a faster color speed and a higher monthly duty cycle (120,000). l The Phaser 6350DT ($2,549) adds a second 550-sheet paper tray for a total of 1,250 sheets of input. It also comes with 512MB of memory. l The Phaser 6350DX ($3,149) adds a third 550-sheet tray for a total of 1,800 sheets. It also adds a standard 20GB hard disk.
Better Buys for Business Xerox Phaser 7400 Consumables costs at-a-glance Price standard memory and a 40GB hard disk, and adds a second 550-sheet paper input drawer for a total of 1,350 sheets Yield l The Phaser 7400DT ($4,599), which has 512MB of l The Phaser 7400DX ($5,499), which adds a 1,650- sheet high-capacity paper feeder for a total of 2,450 sheets l The Phaser 7400DXF ($7,999), which adds an 1,100- sheet finisher All of these models have other strong features.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Xerox Phaser 7760DN Xerox Phaser 7760DX Xerox Phaser 7760GX 35ppm full color 45ppm black & white Sum-up: A leader in quality laser color reproduction and a fast ledger-size printer series to boot. The new Phaser 7760 is a ledger-size color printer series that is an upgrade to the Phaser 7750, a powerhouse that can meet very demanding requirements.
Better Buys for Business fice a little on text quality in this mode). These features suggest that the Phaser 7760 is well suited for use on graphic arts color printing and able to perform as an office printer as well. Operating costs: Operating costs on the Phaser 7760 are quite good. The cost for a black-and-white page is around 1.4¢, a little less than most color printers. The color price per page is around 5.5¢. That’s better than most models in the color printer market.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Industry Briefing Industry Briefing What We’re Covering This guide covers desktop printers that deliver full-color output using laser or laser-class technology. (We’ll explain in a minute what we mean by “laser-class.”) All the machines discussed are suitable for workgroups and can be connected to a network, often as a standard feature.
Better Buys for Business 4 Not long ago, no desktop color printer could perform automatic double-sided work. Now, however, almost all have at least an option to do so. 4 In the recent past, no desktop color printer offered fin- ishing (stapling and/or hole punching). Now a small but increasing number have them.
many people overlook — namely, the time it takes for computer users to apply color to documents in the first place. There is also an undeniable element of waste — the trivial, unnecessary, and often non-work-related uses to which color can be put once it is made available to everyone in the office. The second objection has been one of speed — no matter how fast vendors made color machines, black-andwhite ones were usually faster.
Better Buys for Business claim “breakthrough” image quality. The reality, however, is that image quality has reached something of a plateau, and the latest machines aren’t, as a rule, vastly different in this respect from those of a year or two earlier. Price, speed, and features, more than quality, are what have changed. We see the market in terms of three levels of color image quality.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Industry Briefing Color Fundamentals Let’s focus next on some of the main technical and performance issues that crop up in any discussion of color printers. Laser basics As with monochrome machines, color laser printers work by having a light source etch an image onto a photosensitive drum that then attracts toner; the toner is transferred to paper, heated, and fused; and an image is created.
Better Buys for Business example 600 x 600dpi (which we call 600dpi for short) means a grid with 360,000 individual elements that the printer can place toner on. Today, all color and black-only printers produce pages at a native resolution of at least 600dpi, and some work at 1,200dpi. It is widely felt that higher numbers mean better quality.
cent and that black is much more prevalent than the other three colors. It is important to keep in mind that estimating color operating costs is not an exact science. Other experts in the business differ from Xerox, and we tend to think that the real-life coverage may average more like 6 or 7 percent per color. Be aware that all vendor cost estimates are probably on the low side.
Better Buys for Business Some printers don’t employ the original Adobe PostScript but instead use a PostScript-compatible print language developed by a third party. This isn’t a big negative these days, though some people still feel more secure with the original. Most PostScript printers also offer PCL printing. This printer control language was designed originally by Hewlett-Packard and is generally used for everyday office work.
require special ones that cost more than the regular variety. Printing on transparencies always runs slower than on regular paper. Interfaces & network connectivity Older color printers come with parallel interfaces standard. This ensures that they are compatible with all Windows PCs. More common on newer machines is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, which is used for direct connection to a PC (or a Mac). USB interfaces, especially the now widely used Version 2.
Better Buys for Business A-Z Guide to Features & Technology All-in-one: 1. A multifunctional printer (usually an ink jet) that can scan, copy, and/or fax. 2. A consumables cartridge on a laser printer that has both toner and drum in a single unit. Bit: A piece of digital information consisting of a single binary digit (that is, a 1 or a 0). This is the number of bits a printer uses at each pixel to compose an image in scales of gray or in color.
at this level of the market, so you should avoid making this too much of a litmus test in your purchasing decision. Engine speed: This refers to the speed at which a printer can output pages. Speeds in the market we cover in this guide range up to 49ppm in black-and-white. While most printers run at or near rated speeds, allow for some warm-up time on the first page.
Better Buys for Business Megahertz (MHz): See Controller. Native resolution: The print resolution level at which an office machine is capable of functioning without the assistance of software interpolation. Sometimes referred to as “true resolution.” See also Interpolation, Resolution. Network card: Also known as an “Ethernet card” or an NIC (Network Interface Card), it’s the board that’s installed into a slot in certain printers that allows them to be connected to a computer network. See also Ethernet.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: A–Z Guide to Features and Technology nected computers connectivity to a printer over a local area network (LAN). IEEE 802.11b signals can go through walls, and transmissions can extend to a distance of 100 feet or more. 802.11g is a faster version than 802.11b, though all 802.11g devices can support 802.11b. A wireless option is available for the Samsung CLP-600N, which also has standard Ethernet and USB connectivity. dots.
Better Buys for Business Model Brother HL-2700CN Brother HL-4200CN Dell Color Laser Printer 3010cn List price $850 $2,900 None Street price (October 2006) $500 $1,300 $379 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 8ppm 26ppm 5ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 26ppm 25ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 19 seconds Black: 17 seconds Color: 17 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 17 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Dell Color Laser Printer 3110cn Dell Color Laser Printer 5110cn Gestetner P7431cn List price None None $899 Street price (October 2006) $499 $999 $699 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 17ppm 35ppm 8ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 40ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 17 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 17 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 20 seconds Printing technology La
Better Buys for Business Model Gestetner C7521n Gestetner C7526dn Gestetner C7528n List price $999 $1,199 $3,495 Street price (October 2006) $699 $999 $2,899 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 26ppm 28ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 26ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Ricoh Ric
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Gestetner C7528nD Gestetner C7531dn Gestetner C7535n List price $3,795 $1,599 $5,095 Street price (October 2006) $3,129 $1,399 $4,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 28ppm 31ppm 35ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 31ppm 35ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Las
Better Buys for Business Model Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 1600 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2600n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $299 $399 $499 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 8ppm 8ppm 10ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 8ppm 8ppm 12ppm First page out Black: 20 seconds Color: 20 seconds Black: 20 seconds Color: 20 seconds Black: 20 seconds Color: 20 seconds? Printing technology La
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dtn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000n List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $699 $999 $1,199 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 10ppm 15ppm 15ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 12ppm 30ppm 30ppm First page out Black: 20 seconds Color: 20 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 1
Better Buys for Business Model Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000dtn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600 List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,499 Price not available $599 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 15ppm 15ppm 17ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 30ppm 30ppm 17ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds P
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600dtn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $699 $999 $1,599 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 17ppm 17ppm 17ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 17ppm 17ppm 17ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color:
Better Buys for Business Model Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800dn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $799 $999 $1,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 22ppm 22ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 22ppm 22ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Printing technolog
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800dtn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700n List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,549 $1,799 $1,999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 31ppm 31ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 31ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Black: 10 seconds Colo
Better Buys for Business Model Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700dtn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700ph+ List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $2,499 $3,399 $4,999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 31ppm 31ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 31ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Printing
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550dtn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $3,549 $3,749 $4,999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 27ppm 27ppm 27ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 27ppm 27ppm 27ppm First page out Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 16 seconds Co
Better Buys for Business Model Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550hdn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 9500n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 9500hdn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $6,299 $6,799 $9,650 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 27ppm 24ppm 24ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 27ppm 24ppm 24ppm First page out Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 18 seconds Color: 18 seconds Black: 18 seconds Color: 18 seconds Printing t
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts IBM Infoprint Color 1334 IBM Infoprint Color 1534n IBM Infoprint Color 1534dn List price $922 Not available Not available Street price (October 2006) $813 $737 $1,054 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 8ppm 20ppm 20ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 30ppm 20ppm 20ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 19 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Printi
Better Buys for Business Model IBM Infoprint Color 1654n Express IBM Infoprint Color 1654dn Express IBM Infoprint Color 1664n List price Not available Not available Not available Street price (October 2006) Not available Not available Not available Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 25ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 25ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 13 seconds C
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts IBM Infoprint Color 1664dn IBM Infoprint Color 1567 Konica Minolta magicolor 2500W List price Not available $3,786 None Street price (October 2006) Not available $3,483 $299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 32ppm 5ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 36ppm 20ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 23 seconds
Better Buys for Business Model Konica Minolta magicolor 2530 DL Konica Minolta magicolor 2550 EN Konica Minolta magicolor 2550 DN List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $399 $499 $699 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 5ppm 5ppm 5ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 20ppm 20ppm 20ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 23 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 22 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 22 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Konica Minolta magicolor 5430 DL Konica Minolta magicolor 5440 DL Konica Minolta magicolor 5450 List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $600 $999 $1,499 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 21ppm 27ppm 27ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 21ppm 27ppm 27ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 14 seconds Print
Better Buys for Business Model Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 Konica Minolta bizhub C250P Konica Minolta bizhub C352P List price None $7,200 $10,150 Street price (October 2006) $2,999 Not available Not available Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 24.5ppm 25ppm 35ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 24.5ppm 25ppm 35ppm First page out Black: 8.2 seconds Color: 11.
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Kyocera FS-C5015N Kyocera FS-C5020N Kyocera FS-C5025N List price Not available $2,199 Not available Street price (October 2006) Not available $1,759 (estimated) Not available Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 17ppm 17ppm 22ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 17ppm 17ppm 22ppm First page out Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 second
Better Buys for Business Model Kyocera FS-C5030N Kyocera FS-C8008N Kyocera FS-C8008DN List price $2,625 $5,525 $5,795 Street price (October 2006) $2,099 (estimated) $4,420 (estimated) $4,636 (estimated) Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 8ppm 8ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 31ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 12 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 17 seconds Color: 28 seconds Black: 17 seconds Color: 28 seconds Printing technology LED Lase
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Kyocera FS-C8026N-A Kyocera FS-C8026N-B Lanier LP031c List price $9,498 $9,498 $899 Street price (October 2006) Not available Not available $699 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 26ppm 8ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 26ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 20 seconds Printing technology Laser Lase
Better Buys for Business Model Lanier LP222cn Lanier LP226CN Lanier LP231CN List price $999 $1,199 $1,599 Street price (October 2006) $699 $999 $1,399 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 26ppm 31ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 26ppm 31ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 16 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Ricoh Ricoh Ric
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Lanier LP332cdn Lanier LP332cdtn Lanier LP335cdn List price $3,795 $4,995 $5,095 Street price (October 2006) $3,129 $3,949 $4,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 28ppm 28ppm 35ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 32ppm 35ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser
Better Buys for Business Model Lanier LP335cdtn Lexmark C500n Lexmark C530dn List price $5,995 $399 $499 Street price (October 2006) $5,099 None None Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 8ppm 22ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 31ppm 24ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 19 seconds Black: 11seconds Color: 11 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Ricoh Lexmark Lexm
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Lexmark C532n Lexmark C532dn Lexmark C534n List price $499 $699 $699 Street price (October 2006) None None None Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 22ppm 22ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 24ppm 24ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 11 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacture
Better Buys for Business Model Lexmark C534dn Lexmark C534dtn Lexmark C770n List price $999 $1,299 Not available Street price (October 2006) None None $999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 22ppm 25ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 24ppm 25ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Lexmark Lex
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Lexmark C770dn Lexmark C770dtn Lexmark C772n List price Not available Not available Not available Street price (October 2006) $1,299 $1,549 $1,499 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 25ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 25ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Printing technology Lase
Better Buys for Business Model Lexmark C772dn Lexmark C772dtn Lexmark C920 List price Not available Not available None Street price (October 2006) $1,799 $2,099 $3,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 32ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 36ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser LED Engine manufacturer Le
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Lexmark C920n Lexmark C920dn Lexmark C920dtn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $3,549 $3,749 $4,999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 32ppm 32ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 36ppm 36ppm First page out Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Printing technology LED LED LED Engine manufactu
Better Buys for Business Model OKI Printing Solutions C3400n OKI Printing Solutions C5500n OKI Printing Solutions C5800Ldn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $399 $599 $799 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 16ppm 20ppm 24ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 20ppm 24ppm 28ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 11 seconds Printing technology LED LED LED Engi
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts OKI Printing Solutions C7350n OKI Printing Solutions C7350hdn OKI Printing Solutions C7550n List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,669 $1,669 $1,516 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 24ppm 24ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 26ppm 26ppm First page out Black: 8 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 8 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 8 seconds Color: 9 seconds Printing te
Better Buys for Business Model OKI Printing Solutions C7550hdn OKI Printing Solutions C6100n OKI Printing Solutions C6100dn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $2,029 $899 $1,049 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 26ppm 26ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 32ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 8 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Printing technology LED LED LED En
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts OKI Printing Solutions C6100dtn OKI Printing Solutions C6100hdn OKI Printing Solutions C9600n List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,249 $1,399 $3,399 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 26ppm 36ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 32ppm 40ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Printi
Better Buys for Business Model OKI Printing Solutions C9600hdn OKI Printing Solutions C9800hn OKI Printing Solutions C9800hdn List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $4,009 $6,889 $7,189 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 36ppm 36ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 40ppm 40ppm 40ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 11 seconds Printing technology LED LED LE
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Panasonic WORKiO KX-CL400 Panasonic WORKiO DP-CL18 Panasonic WORKiO DP-CL22 List price $1,149 $1,149 $1,499 Street price (October 2006) $899 $899 $1,199 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 18ppm 18ppm 22ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 18ppm 18ppm 22ppm First page out Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 15 seconds Printing technology
Better Buys for Business Model Ricoh Aficio CL1000N Ricoh Aficio CL3500N Ricoh Aficio SP C410DN List price $899 $999 $1,199 Street price (October 2006) $699 $699 $999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 8ppm 22ppm 26ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 22ppm 26ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 20 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 15 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Ri
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Ricoh Aficio SP C411DN Ricoh Aficio CL7200 Ricoh Aficio CL7200D List price $1,599 $3,495 $3,795 Street price (October 2006) $1,399 $2,899 $3,129 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 28ppm 28ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 31ppm 32ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 10 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser
Better Buys for Business Model Ricoh Aficio CL7200DT1 Ricoh Aficio CL7200DT2 Ricoh Aficio CL7200DL List price $4,995 $5,695 $5,695 Street price (October 2006) $3,949 $4,399 $4,399 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 28ppm 28ppm 28ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 32ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine ma
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Ricoh GX3000 Ricoh GX3050N Ricoh GX5050N List price Not available Not available Not available Street price (October 2006) $199 $279 $369 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 29ppm 29ppm 30ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 29ppm 29ppm 30ppm First page out Black: 9 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 9 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 6 seconds Color: 6 seconds Printing technology GelSprinter GelSpri
Better Buys for Business Model Ricoh Aficio CL7300D Ricoh Aficio CL7300DT1 Ricoh Aficio CL7300DT2 List price $5,095 $5,995 $6,740 Street price (October 2006) $4,299 $5,099 $5,699 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 35ppm 35ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 35ppm 35ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine man
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Ricoh Aficio CL7300DL RISO G752 RISO G912 List price $6,740 $3,299 $6,049 Street price (October 2006) $5,699 Set by dealer Set by dealer Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 20ppm 28ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 20ppm 28ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 15 seconds Color: 18 seconds Black: 15 seconds Color: 15 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser
Better Buys for Business Model Samsung CLP-510 Samsung CLP-510N Samsung CLP-550 List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $400 $500 $575 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 5ppm 5ppm 5ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 25ppm 21ppm First page out Black: 13 seconds Color: 21 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 21 seconds Black: 15 seconds Color: 24 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Samsung Samsung Sams
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Samsung CLP-550N Samsung CLP-600N Samsung CLP-650N List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $671 $499 $699 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 5ppm 21ppm 21ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 21ppm 21ppm 21ppm First page out Black: 15 seconds Color: 24 seconds Black: 16 seconds Color: 16 seconds Black: 20 seconds Color: 20 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manu
Better Buys for Business Model Savin CLP22 Savin CLP831 Savin CLP128 List price $999 $899 $3,495 Street price (October 2006) $699 $699 $2,899 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 8ppm 28ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 22ppm 31ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 14 seconds Color: 15 seconds Black: 14 seconds Color: 20 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Ricoh Ricoh Ricoh Maximu
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Savin CLP135 D Sharp AR-C240P Sharp AR-C260P List price $5,095 $2,999 $5,795 Street price (October 2006) $4,299 Set by dealer Set by dealer Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 24ppm 26ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 26ppm 32ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Not published Not published Printing technology Laser LED LED Engine manufacturer Ricoh OKI OKI
Better Buys for Business Model Sharp AR-C265P Sharp AR-C360P TallyGenicom 8008 List price Not available $13,995 $775 Street price (October 2006) Not available Set by dealer Set by dealer Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 36ppm 8ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 32ppm 40ppm 31ppm First page out Not published Not published Black: 13 seconds Color: 19 seconds Printing technology LED LED Laser Engine manufacturer OKI OKI Not available Maxim
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts TallyGenicom 8026 Toshiba e-STUDIO205CP Toshiba e-STUDIO360CP List price $1,099 $999 $3,549 Street price (October 2006) $999 Set by dealer Not available Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 20ppm 32ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 20ppm 36ppm First page out Black: 8 seconds Color: 8 seconds Black: 13 seconds Color: 13 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 14 seconds Printing technology
Better Buys for Business Model Unisys UDS 579-DN1 Xanté Ilumina Xerox Phaser 6120N List price $2,955 $6,495 None Street price (October 2005) None Set by dealer $299 (after instant rebate) Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 36ppm 5ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 25ppm 40ppm 20ppm First page out Black: 15 seconds Color: 15 seconds Not available Black: 13 seconds Color: 22 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Lex
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Xerox Phaser 8500N Xerox Phaser 8500DN Xerox Phaser 8550DP List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $899 $1,099 $1,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 24ppm 30ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 24ppm 24ppm 30ppm First page out Black: 6 seconds Color: 6 seconds Black: 6 seconds Color: 6 seconds Black: 5 seconds Color: 5 seconds Printing technology Solid ink Solid ink Sol
Better Buys for Business Model Xerox Phaser 8550DT Xerox Phaser 8550DX Xerox Phaser 6300N List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,599 $2,399 $1,299 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 30ppm 30ppm 26ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 30ppm 30ppm 36ppm First page out Black: 5 seconds Color: 5 seconds Black: 5 seconds Color: 5 seconds Black: 12 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Solid ink Solid ink Laser Engine manufacturer
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Xerox Phaser 6300DN Xerox Phaser 6350DP Xerox Phaser 6350DT List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $1,499 $1,799 $2,549 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 26ppm 36ppm 36ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 36ppm 36ppm First page out Black: 12 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser La
Better Buys for Business Model Xerox Phaser 6350DX Xerox Phaser 7400N Xerox Phaser 7400DN List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $3,149 $2,999 $3,349 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 36ppm 36ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 40ppm 40ppm First page out Black: 10 seconds Color: 10 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology Laser LED LED Engine manufacturer Xerox
The Color Laser Printer Guide: Specification & Price Charts Xerox Phaser 7400DT Xerox Phaser 7400DX Xerox Phaser 7400DXF List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $4,599 $5,499 $7,999 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 36ppm 36ppm 36ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 40ppm 40ppm 40ppm First page out Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Black: 11 seconds Color: 12 seconds Printing technology LED LED LED
Better Buys for Business Model Xerox Phaser 7760DN Xerox Phaser 7760DX Xerox Phaser 7760GX List price None None None Street price (October 2006) $6,299 $7,699 $7,399 Full-color print engine speed (pages per minute) 35ppm 35ppm 35ppm Black-only print engine speed (pages per minute) 45ppm 45ppm 45ppm First page out Black: 6 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 6 seconds Color: 9 seconds Black: 6 seconds Color: 9 seconds Printing technology Laser Laser Laser Engine manufacturer Xerox X
The Business Ink Jet Printer Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS v Editor’s Choice Awards — page 126 The best values in each product category — as determined by our expert editorial staff v Vendor & Product Profiles — pages 127–130 A comprehensive list of every model on the market, provided in alphabetical order by manufacturer Epson — page 127 Hewlett-Packard — page 127 v Value-Added Content Industry Briefing — pages 131–135 Guide Number: 188. Press Date: November 2006.
Better Buys for Business EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS From the nation’s leading independent authority on office equipment About the Award What is an Editor’s Choice Award? This award signifies the best values in each product category, as determined independently by our expert editorial staff. How often are awards given? Our Editor’s Choice ratings are awarded once per year with each updated guide. What are the selection criteria? In each Better Buys guide, we evaluate models from all major manufacturers.
The Business Ink Jet Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles Vendor & Product Profiles This section provides an overview on each vendor (complete with contact details) followed by analysis on each model offered for sale in the business ink jet printer market. General information about the market, including discussions of technology as well as advice on how to buy a business ink jet printer, follows this section. EPSON Long Beach, CA 569 981 3840 www.epson.
Better Buys for Business become the vendor of choice. In printing, HP still reigns supreme. HP sells a confusing variety of choices in the businessclass ink jet market, an area where it is now the only serious player. Some of the current models seem to have very similar specifications, though they are based on somewhat different architectures. All of these printers have at least PCL capability, something many competitors do not offer. HP claims to own over 85 percent of the business ink jet market.
sells for $299, while the Deskjet 9800d sells for $399. They can print on pages up to 13" x 19". However, they print slowly and hold little paper. The 9800d comes with automatic duplexing standard. Pros: PCL, poster printing. Cons: Meager paper handling (150 sheets input, 50 output), slow speed. Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 6940 Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 6940dt Up to 6ppm full color (600dpi, normal mode) Up to 10ppm black & white (600dpi, normal mode) Sum-up: Good paper input and decent speed for a low price.
Better Buys for Business These machines print at 10ppm in what HP calls “laser quality” color, which would appear to be at 1,200dpi. HP has come up with a technique involving large arrays of color printheads built into a single chip that allows these printers to print quickly with minimum movement from side to side. There are three models in this family: reshape the larger workgroup market as well. Pros: Everything, including price, design, running costs, and features.
The Business Ink Jet Printer Guide: Industry Briefing Industry Briefing Introduction Traditionally, manufacturers of ink jet printers have focused on the small-office/home-office (SOHO) market. These low-cost machines feature speeds, operating costs, connectivity features, and duty cycles appropriate for low-volume users, making them less suitable for users in demanding workgroup environments. For the most part, users in workgroups have had to buy a laser machine to handle their color printing needs.
Better Buys for Business Ink Jet Technology Vendors have done well in overcoming the two major problems that used to plague ink jet printing: consistency and quality. Older models used to suffer from uneven ink flow, along with clogging of heads from dried ink. They required a lot of maintenance to keep them from producing occasional “accidents” on the page. But major vendors have invested in improved ink chemistry and delivery technology and have engineered more nozzles into a smaller area.
using these printer languages is twofold: it frees up the sending computer faster (you don’t have to wait around until the print job is fully interpreted), and it allows you to print more sophisticated jobs, especially those with enhanced graphics capabilities such as large or small type, complex diagrams, and documents created in a page layout program like Quark XPress or Adobe’s PageMaker and InDesign. Note that PostScript printing, especially, profits from added memory and processor speed.
Better Buys for Business experience, however, we find that it is hard to get users to select printing modes in a real office situation. You may find it difficult to train users to work this way, and therefore draft mode may rarely get used. Photo mode is available on most of these printers. Often that means resolution of up to 2,400 x 600dpi or even higher, and this involves some image enhancement software.
ter/receiver). This can be in the form of built-in electronics, an add-on computer card, or an external unit plugged into the device via a USB or some other port. HP has both printers and print servers that can accept 802.11b signals. Bluetooth The simplest form of wireless communication uses beams of light in the infrared spectrum to communicate between components. Infrared communications is “line of sight” technology.
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Independent Consumer Guides to Document Imaging Equipment The Low-Volume Copier & Multifunctional Guide Black-and-white copiers below 22 pages per minute or less than $1,000, for volumes between several hundred and 10,000 copies per month. Includes multifunctional models with full platen copier functions.
