Kyocera 2160 User Manual

Independent Consumer Guides to Document Imaging Equipment

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THE COLOR LASER PRINTER & BUSINESS INK JET PRINTER GUIDES

• Color laser-class printers for the office from $499

• Color ink jet printers for the office from $99

• Updated for 2007

• Editor’s Choice Awards

x Phaser 7760

Xero

Guide Number

188

The Color Laser Printer Guide

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 Lanier — page 24 Savin — page 44 Dell — page 5 Lexmark — page 25 Sharp — page 44 Gestetner — page 7 OKI — page 30 TallyGenicom — page 46 Hewlett-Packard — page 8 Panasonic — page 35 Toshiba — page 47 IBM — page 15 Ricoh — page 36 Unisys — page 48 Konica Minolta — page 16 RISO — page 41 Xanté — page 48 Kyocera — page 21 Samsung — page 42 Xerox — page 49

v Specification & Price Charts — pages 70–124

Easy-to-read, side-by-side specs and prices so you can compare all models covered in this guide

v Value-Added Content

Buying Tips — page 3 Industry Briefing — pages 57–65

A–Z Guide to Features and Technology — pages 66–69

The Business Ink Jet Printer Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS appears on page 125

Guide Number: 188. Press Date: November 2006.

Replaces: The Color Laser Printer & Business Ink Jet Printer Guides — Guide Number 178

e Business Pub

ice:

iption pr

Subscr

Reproduction of any part of this guide by any means is expressly prohibited. Periodical postage is paid at Malvern, PA, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

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ressiv

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lications/Better Buys f

or Business.

etter 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. Machines are rigorously analyzed to determine (1) the strength of their features and specifications and (2) how they stack up against competitors. Our independent Editor’s Choice Awards go to those models that we believe will deliver the highest levels of performance and offer the greatest value for consumers in a given price range.

What categories are judged?

There are four awards categories: economy models, workgroup models/letter-size (priced under $1,000), workgroup models/letter-size (priced over $1,000), and workgroup models/ledger-size.

Where can I find information about each

brand and model?

e references at the right show where to turn for

he pa

T write-ups in the Vendor & Product Profiles section and

or entries in the Specifica

f ple

“Ricoh

Aficio CL3500N — pages 36 & 106” means

tion & Price c

har

or exam-

that the product profile appears on page 36 and the spec-

he models in

tions and price a

ifica

entheses ar

par

e 106.

ppear on pa

e relabeled versions of the ones immediate-

ly above them and share our Editor’s Choice rating.

or the Editor’

Look f

lem inside the guide

emb

s Choice

Editor’s Choice Award Winners

COLOR LASER PRINTER

Economy Models/Letter-size ($499 and under)

Lexmark C530/C532 family — pages 26 and 94–96

OKI Printing Solutions C3400n — pages 31 and 100

Ricoh GX3000/GX3050N/GX5050N — pages 39 and 109

Samsung CLP-600N — pages 43 and 113

Workgroup Models/Letter-size ($500 to $999)

Lexmark C534 family — pages 26 and 94–96

OKI Printing Solutions C5500n/C5800Ldn — pages 31 and 100

Ricoh Aficio CL3500N — pages 37 and 106

(Gestetner C7521n — pages 7 and 72)

(Lanier LP222cn — pages 24 and 92)

(Savin CLP22 — pages 44 and 114)

Samsung CLP-650N — pages 43 and 113

Workgroup Models/Letter-size ($1,000 and over)

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700 family —

pages 12 and 79–80

ocera FS-C5015N/FS-C5025N — pages 21 and 89–90

xmark C770/C772 famil

(IBM Infoprint Color 1654 family — pages 16 and 84)

(IBM Inf

oprint Color 1664 family — pages 16 and 84–85)

(Unisys UDS 579-DN1 — pa

Workgroup Models/Ledger-size

Hewlett-Pac

Lexmark C920 family — pages 29 and 98–99

(IBM Infoprint Color 1567 — pages 16 and 85)

oshiba e-STUDIO360 CP — pag

Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 — pages 19 and 88

Ricoh Aficio CL7200 — pages 39 and 107–108

(Gestetner C7528n/nD — pa

(Lanier LP332cdn/cdtn — pages 25 and 93)

Xerox Phaser 7760 family — pages 55 and 124

kard Color LaserJet 5550 family —

(Savin CLP128 — pages 44 and 114)

y — pag

es 14 and 81–82

es 27 and 96–97

es 48 and 118)

es 48 and 117)

es 7 and 72–73)

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

nalysis on each model offered for sale in the color laser printer market. General information about

a the market, including discussions of technology as well as advice on how to buy a color laser printer, follows this section.

Buying Tips

BROTHER

Color Laser Printers

Bridgewater, NJ

908 704 1700

4 Resolution is not an issue for the majority of offices; it

should not determine your choice.

4 Take monthly duty cycles with a grain of salt. Use them

for comparison purposes only, but don’t expect to get the full page count month in and month out.

4 The street price of a printer is usually in inverse pro-

portion to the price of toner. The cheaper the machine, the more expensive per page.

4 Cost per page is based on an industry standard cov-

erage of 5%. If you use lots of graphics, shaded boxes, and/or small type, your costs will be higher.

4 List prices are what the dealer starts negotiating with;

you should be able to settle for one-third off that price.

ou use Illustration or page lay-

ipt is a m

ostScr

4 P

out programs. For other office uses, PCL or hostbased pr

4 Extra memory is a big plus if you use PostScript; good

if y lation); it adds nothing to host-based printing.

4 Most users don’t need hard disks on their printers. An

xception is for high-secur

e forms, or truly enormous electronically collated jobs.

inting is fine

ou run multipage and multicopy jobs (electronic col-

ust if y

inting, often-used

ity pr

Brother International — the US subsidiary of Brother Industries, Ltd., of Nagoya, Japan — has created a reputation for v office-oriented equipment. A solid presence in the monochrome laser printer market, ing to mak

The company’s color models are respectable, but breakthrough of has to play catch-up to stay viable in this market.

Brother sells its color laser printers through the traditional tw distributors and value-added resellers (VARs). While

other makes its own engines for most of the laser prod-

Br ucts it sells — including monochrome printers, faxes, and multifunctional machines — it uses other companies’ engines in its two current color laser products.

Brother HL-2700CN

8ppm full color 31ppm black & white

alue by selling low-cost small- and home-

e its way into the color market.

ferings from other vendors mean that Brother

o-tiered computer equipment channel: national

www.brother.com

Vendor Profile

the company has been try-

Product Pr

ofiles

4 It’s great to have thousands of pages of input, but not

if you have only a 250-sheet exit tray.

oner sa

4 T

savers — but only if you get people to use them.

ver and automatic duplexing can be money

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 3

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ood bar

Sum-up:

The HL-2700CN can print up to 8ppm in color and 31ppm in black-and-white. That’s acceptable for a printer that costs $500. It is notable that the HL-2700CN is Ether Netw

A g

ead

net-r

orked”) and offers PostScript 3 (as well as PCL 6)

gain with strong standard features.

y (the CN suf

fix stands f

or “Color,

Better Buys for Business

standard. These features are sometimes costly add-ons to otherwise inexpensive color printers — in a few cases, t

hey are simply not available. Like many networkenabled printers these days, the HL-2700CN has an embedded Web server that allows for remote administration.

On the other hand, an automatic duplex unit is available as an option, but at $999 list, it is no bargain. Instead of a hard drive, you can use CompactFlash cards in a built-in slot, which gives you a little extra memory for handling some of the software extras outlined below. The HL-2700CN starts with 64MB of memory but can be extended to a quite good 576MB. The standard paper supply is based on a 250-sheet paper tray, and you can add another 530-sheet paper tray for $549, list.

Brother includes some nice software features, especially for an economy model. The machine has secure print capability, so that you can send jobs and have them held at the printer until you enter a password. This helps keep sensitive material away from prying eyes. It also allows you to r

eprint the last job without reprocessing the print data, a handy time-saver when there is a paper jam or the toner has run out in the middle of your job. You can store frequently run jobs (like forms) and print them directly

e’s also a stop job button on the

om the printer

. Ther

unit. Toner-saver mode is available as well.

The engine images at 600dpi resolution and supports up

to 2,400dpi thr

ough image enhancement,

a respectable number in the “highest-dpi” resolution game in which many vendors engage.

Costs per pa

ge (well above average) and 14.3¢ for color (also above

ge ar

ound 3.5¢ per black-and-white

e ar

average), but these are list prices. You can get a better deal on supplies if

you look.

The 8ppm color speed looks rather slow compared with the latest generation of single-pass printers that print at 16–28ppm. However, the black printing speed of 31ppm is excellent.

One big competitor of this printer is the Lexmark

hich also is Ethernet-ready and has PostScript

C532n,

standard.

ou might also w

ant to tak

e a look a

t the OKI Printing Solutions C5500n, which sells for $599, and is faster in color at 20ppm (24ppm in black-and-white). That printer

ostScript, which may or may not be important for

ks P

lac

our office.

If you were going to crank out color pages all day long, you probably wouldn’t consider this model. But for the small office or workgroup that has a mix of color pages and a steady stream of black-and-white work, this is a solid c

hoice.

Chart entry — page 70

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Brother HL-2700CN Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black toner $173.99 10,000 $0.017 $0.017

Cyan toner $178.99 6,600 $0.027 N/A

Magenta toner $178.99 6,600 $0.027 N/A

Yellow toner $178.99 6,600 $0.027 N/A

OPC belt/black $503.99 60,000 N/A $0.008

OPC belt/4-color $503.99 15,000 $0.034 N/A

Waste toner bottle $12.99 12,000 $0.001 $0.001

Fuser unit $577.99 60,000 $0.010 $0.010

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$0.1431 $0.0365

14.31 3.65

Black-and-white cost per page

Brother HL-4200CN

26ppm full color 26ppm black & white

Sum-up: Good features and speed, but the price is too high.

This color printer offers both 1,200dpi resolution and 26ppm speed in color and black-and-white. The model’s street price is $1,300.

Among the HL-4200CN’

s fea

tures ar

e 64MB of

stan dard memory (expandable to 320MB) and an optional 20GB hard drive — an important option for a color printer that may be called upon to handle complex files and make collated sets. Note that when you print in color at 1,200dpi, you take a speed hit down to 13ppm. However, 600dpi is suf

hat’s also noteworthy about this printer are the stan-

ficient f

or most color jobs

dard features that sometimes are extras on other models. Ethernet comes standard, a big plus, as does PostScript 3. Finally, automatic duplex is included in the basic package as well.

per capacity starts at 600 sheets, and

he standar

d pa the maximum capacity is 2,100 sheets. A 400MHz controller and up to 320MB memory capacity ensure consistent machine performance. Brother also touts its highly interactive control panel, with excellent animated help

es. The printer is rated for a solid monthly duty

tur

ycle of 60,000 pages.

Per-page operating costs are a mixed bag. A black-and-

h is no bar

hic

hite pa

e costs ar

ound 2.5¢ to print,

gain. The color page cost is around 10.4¢, near average.

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

Brother HL-4200CN Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

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

ellow toner

rint head cartridge

Transfer Roller $57.99 25,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

Fuser unit $241.99 100,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$157.99 6,000 $ 0.026 N/A

419.99 30,000 $ 0.014 $ 0.014

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.1047 $ 0.0257

10.47 2.57

Black-and-white cost per page

While a few years ago the Brother HL-4200CN would be considered a competitive choice, it is now at the higher end (price-wise) of general color laser printers. Its features are respectable, but other models offer more for a lower price. Check out the Konica Minolta magicolor 5400 famil

y, which is considerably less expensive for roughly similar features. This Brother model needs an upgrade or a price reduction to compete.

y — page 70

t entr

Char

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

easonable consumables costs. These are straightforward models, intended for small-office use. They are so low priced that they have set off a series of price reductions by rivals.

Note that Dell printers are set up to work with Windows PC computers only, natural enough in that Dell is primarily a computer maker supplying printers for its clients. Remember also that unlike most of its competitors, printers are a sideline for Dell. Furthermore, note that Dell’s support ratings have been slipping badly, something that should enter into your considerations. That may not make as much difference with printers, since they are far simpler than the combination of hardware and software that Dell must support in its personal computers.

Product Profiles

Dell Color Laser Printer 3010cn

5ppm color 25ppm black & white

Dell Color Laser Printer 3110cn

17ppm color 31ppm black & white

Sum-up: Low-cost color printers, yet with reasonable costs per page.

These new color laser machines (based on the discontinued Color Laser Printer 3000cn and Color Laser Printer

ble performance and

3100cn,

respectivel

y) ha

ve remar

DELL

Round Rock, TX

800 999 3355

www.dell.com

Vendor Profile

Dell Computer, the number one computer retailer in the US, is now putting its name on a growing set of printers.

go, it entered the color laser printer mar-

s a

ear

w y

ust a f

x engines.

y lo

eet prices and

w str

et with thr

ee models based on Fuji Xer

Dell sells its printers both online and through catalogs. The company, through its catalogs and Website, also sells printers under other vendors’ brands, but it is moving more and more toward selling its own brands.

e distinguished b

Dell printer

s ar

Dell Color Laser Printer 3010cn Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black toner $40.00 2,000 $ 0.020 $ 0.020

an toner

enta toner

Yellow toner $70.00 2,000 $ 0.035 N/A

Drum/black $169.99 42,000 N/A $ 0.004

Drum/4-color $169.99 10,500 $ 0.016 N/A

OTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$70.00 2,000 $ 0.035 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.1412 $ 0.0240

14.12 2.40

Black-and-white cost per page

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 5

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Better Buys for Business

features for the price. Even with many under-$500 color l

aser printers to choose from these days, the prices are

ye-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 3110cn ups those figures to a respectable 17ppm in color and 31ppm in black-and-white. Both come with Ethernet standard, and they have adequate memory: 64MB on the 3010cn, upgradeable to 576MB; and 128MB on the 3110cn, upgradeable to 1,152MB. And they have reasonably powerful processors: 300MHz on the 3010cn, and 400MHz on the 3110cn.

The 3010cn does not have PostScript, while the 3110cn does. And while the 3010cn starts with a 150-sheet paper tray, the 3110cn supplements this with another 250-sheet

ay. You can add a third, 500-sheet paper tray to the

tr 3010cn for a total of 900 sheets, or add a 550-sheet tray to the 3110cn for a total of 950 sheets. Output is limited to 250 sheets on both models

Cost per color page is 14.1¢ in color (rather high) for the 3010cn, and 9.4¢ (not bad) f

or color for the 3110cn. The black-and-white per-page cost for both models is 2.4¢ (very reasonable for low-end color lasers). Output is limited to 250 sheets

ou would expect,

As y

, with no option for expansion.

these are pretty basic models

. But

the low prices make them very desirable small-

Dell Color Laser Printer 3110cn Consumables costs at-a-glance

office/home-office laser machines. The toner prices aren’t bad for the low end of the market. On the other h

and, you now have the option, for a little more money, to get machines that print far faster in color. Look at the $499 Lexmark C532n, which has PostScript, Ethernet, and 20ppm color printing. The $599 OKI Printing Solutions C5500n costs a bit more, but is similarly impressive. Also note the Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600n, which at $699 delivers 17ppm color.

Dell is the rock-bottom choice for price. But given the low prices of color laser printers in general, you might find a little bit more value without breaking the budget by looking elsewhere.

Chart entries — pages 70–71

Dell Color Laser Printer 5110cn

35ppm color 40ppm black & white

Sum-up: Excellent performance for the price.

Dell stole a march on other printer vendors by offering this impressive platform before anyone else and at a price that challenged big name competitors to reduce prices faster than they may have wanted to. At just under $1,000,

the 35ppm (color) and 40ppm (b

lack-and-white) Color Laser Printer 5110cn offers very good performance at a low price. That was amazing a year ago, though other vendors ha

ve managed to get back in the race more

recently.

Dell Color Laser Printer 5110cn Consumables costs at-a-glance

e g

k-and-white cost per pa

Price

k toner

Blac

Cyan toner $215.00 8,000 $ 0.027 N/A

Magenta toner $215.00 8,000 $ 0.027 N/A

Yellow toner $215.00 8,000 $ 0.027 N/A

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$110.00 8,000 $ 0.01

Yield

ressiv

Full-color cost per pa

$ 0.0944 $ 0.0138

9.44 1.38

e Business Pub

Blac

$ 0.01

lications

Price

Black toner $90.00 18,000 $ 0.005 $ 0.005

an toner

Magenta toner $230.00 12,000 $ 0.019 N/A

Yellow toner $230.00 12,000 $ 0.019 N/A

lac

Drum/b

Drum/4-color $169.99 35,000 $ 0.020 N/A

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

$230.00 12,000 $ 0.019 N/A

$169.99 35,000 N/A $ 0.005

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0825 $ 0.0099

8.25 0.99

Black-and-white cost per page

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.

Paper supplies consist of a 150-sheet bypass and a 500sheet paper tray. You can buy either a 500-sheet or a 1,000-sheet add-on as well. One limitation, and it is common in this market segment, is its small 250-sheet output tray.

But the low prices and good speed make this a very desirable small-office/home-office laser machine. Based on toner prices, it looks to be reasonable in terms of operating costs.

You should also look at the Lexmark C770n, which is slower in black-and-white and color, but comes with Lexmark’s more extensive software offerings.

This is a pretty basic workgroup printer, but its price and speed ar gain and has ignited a rush by other vendors to lower prices.

Chart entry — page 71

e real selling points. This machine is a bar-

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

Product Profiles

Gestetner P7431cn

8ppm full color 31ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio CL1000N

Chart entry — page 71

Gestetner C7521n

22ppm full color 22ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio CL3500N

Chart entry — page 72

Gestetner C7526dn

26ppm full color 26ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio SP C410DN

Chart entry — page 72

Gestetner C7528n Gestetner C7528nD

28ppm full color 32ppm black & white

y as the Ricoh Aficio CL7200

amil

Same f

Chart entries — pages 72–73

GESTETNER

Greenwich, CT

203 967 5000

www.gestetner.com

endor Profile

A while back, Gestetner was merged into Savin, which is a subsidiary of Ricoh. Gestetner was best known as a vendor of digital duplicators, especially in the school,

ch, and government markets. Nowadays it also sells

hur

elabeled Ricoh printers, copiers, and fax machines under

r the Gestetner brand through a network of dealers. It previously used a series of direct-sales branches as well, but these have been merged into Ricoh’s direct organization.

Note tha printer the GX3000, the GX3050N, and the GX5050N. These correspond to the similarly named Ricoh products on page 39.

t Gestetner announced the names of

s based on the Ricoh GelSprinter series. These are

its thr

Gestetner C7531dn

31ppm full color

k & white

31ppm b Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio SP C411DN

Gestetner C7535n

35ppm full color 35ppm b Same Mac This model has been discontinued Chart entry — page 73

lac

Chart entry— page 73

hite

k & w

lac

hine as the Ricoh Aficio CL7300D

Get the latest information

on the World Wide Web:

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Better Buys for Business

HEWLETT-

ACKARD

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 mono-

ome laser printers. HP is offering a variety of separate

chr product families aimed at different segments of the market.

Up until recently, HP’s models were the undisputed industry standard simpl all the competition. But the competition, especially Lexmark, Dell, OKI, Konica Minolta, and Xerox, keeps forging ahead. HP has responded with lo higher speeds.

HP has become a leader in connectivity for its printers, offering a v options. In addition to a variety of servers, many that are Web-ready, HP is putting increasing emphasis on wireless connecti

i-Fi) and Bluetooth wir

(W company offers the widest variety of connectivity options in the business.

Image quality: When it comes to image quality, we

aren’t going to engage in specification-driven debates

bout w

ou should be swayed by these types of arguments either.

y Most of able image quality for mainstream documents — and if you’re interested in professional-level presentations or

phics printing, a good number of these models offer

g higher r

HP has implemented laser-modulation technology that it claims boosts the quality to 2,400dpi, even 3,200dpi levels. HP calls this “ImageREt 2400” and “ImageREt 3200” — the “REt” standing for “resolution enhancement tec referring to the dpi quality level to which this supposedly

ariety of

vity. Many of the models offer IEEE 802.11b

ho has the highest r

the printer

esolutions for that kind of work, too.

hnology” and the “2400” or “3200” loosely

y because the

internal and external connectivity

eless pr

esolution, and we don’t think

s in this guide deliver perfectly accept-

y sold far better than

wer prices and

otocols. In general, the

e Business Pub

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lications

equates. However, the number 2400 or 3200 is not a measure of dpi — instead of being a specification, it is merely a four-digit number selected by HP on account of the positive connotations it carries.

Either way, ImageREt is by no means the only HP technology at work under the hood to optimize image quality. HP also stresses its automatic color calibration process, which ensures consistent quality between machines and, over time, on the same machine under varying environmental conditions.

Hewlett-Packard has come up with a number of features that enhance the usability of its color printers. The newest models use a newly improved toner called ColorSphere. This product gives more accurate particle diffusion and better toner particle distribution, resulting in higher gloss and a wider color gamut. In other words, the color pages are much more vivid, which is especially useful for printing photographic images.

Second, tration utility, already the best-known in the industry.

sion 8.0 comes with excellent tools for color access

Ver control and color usage costs.

Finally, a recently introduced universal driver for HP printers means that you can have a single up-to-date driver for all your HP printers, rather than a tangle of different drivers. Aside from saving software clutter, this will mean that HP printer users will get the same basic dialog box no ma

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 1600 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2600n

8ppm full color 8ppm black & white

Sum-up: Decent color speed for a low price, but black speed is slo

These new models appear to be HP’s entry into the ongoing race to put out the cheapest color printer on the market. The $299 (street) Color LaserJet 1600 and $399 (street) Color LaserJet 2600n are certainly inexpensive. And for those prices, their 8ppm color printing speed stacks up well against competing bargain-priced models

h as the 5ppm Xer

suc $299 Konica Minolta magicolor 2500W, and the 5ppm Konica Minolta magicolor 2530 DL ($399). But the HP printer could be a concern for potential users.

Aside from that issue, these machines hold up well as basic desktop color printer the base model, printing at 600dpi resolution. It comes

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

HP updated its Web Jetadmin remote adminis-

tter what model the

Product Profiles

x Phaser 6120N ($299),

s also print at 8ppm in black-and-white, and that

y print to

he Color LaserJ

the 5ppm

et 1600 is

ith 16MB of nonexpandable memory and, as you’d expect, uses host-based printing instead of PostScript. It h

as a 250-sheet standard paper tray, and you can add another 250-sheet tray for a total of 500 sheets of input. Standard output is a modest 125 sheets with no options for expansion. This machine has a 20,000-page monthly duty cycle.

The Color LaserJet 2600n adds Ethernet and has a 35,000-page duty cycle. Otherwise, these machines are identical.

Consumable costs are high for these machines, with color toner running 15.4¢ a page and black-and-white costing 3.9¢ a page. That’s based on HP’s list prices; we expect moderate discounts from street prices for toner.

These printers have HP’s two-line LCD control panel which provides status info and alerts of printing problems.

These machines are pretty typical low-end color laser printers. Their color printing speed is decent, but the slow black printing concerns us, since typical business users would do most of their printing in black-and-white. In the $300 – $400 price range, they could get better black printing speed. But in terms of low-priced color printing, these are impr

essive. The Color LaserJet 2600n suffers, however, in comparison to OKI Printing Solutions C3400n ($399), which prints at 16ppm in color and 20ppm in black-and-w the same price

hite with comparable features for

Chart entries — page 74

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 2605dtn

10ppm full color 12ppm black & white

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

et, 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.

Like other recent color laser printers from HP, these models utilize the company’s ColorSphere toner. They also have HP’s ImageREt 2400 color technology, which interpolates the printers’ maximum 600dpi color resolution to 2,400dpi print quality.

These are compact units designed to fit comfortably on desktops in busy, cramped workspaces.

Output is limited to a skimpy 125 sheets, which is standard for HP’s low-end color laser line.

The printers are designed with HP’s customary focus on ease of use. The front-panel two-line display enables users to monitor print job status and consumables supplies, and toner cartridges are accessible through a single

door

As one would expect, consumables prices run high for this family, with color toner running 15.4¢ a page and black-and-white costing 3.9¢ a page. That’s based on HP’s list prices; we expect moderate discounts from street prices for toner.

These models seem to be aimed at the user who wants a decent-quality desktop color laser printer and is not

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 1600/2600n/2605 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Sum-up: Improved color speed at very reasonable price points.

If nothing else, Hewlett-Packard’s new Color LaserJet 2605 family indicates the company is listening to its cus-

tomer

he Color LaserJet 2605 models seem to be a response

to w

hat was most likely the major gripe about the Color LaserJet 2550 models: their slow 4ppm color printing speed.

he Color LaserJ

ough in ter

thr

ms of

et 2550 f

price: they were HP’s entry into the

amil

epresented a break-

y r

under-$500 color laser printer market.

Now come the $500 Color LaserJet 2605dn and $700 Color LaserJet 2605dtn, which more than double the Color LaserJet 2550’s 4ppm color speed, printing at

That’s remarkable performance at this

10ppm in color price le

vel.

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 9

ressiv

e g

k-and-white cost per pa

Price

Black print cartridge $75.00 2,500 $ 0.030 $ 0.030

Cyan print cartridge $83.00 2,000 $ 0.042 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $83.00 2,000 $ 0.042 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $83.00 12,000 $ 0.007 N/A

Drum/black $173.99 20,000 N/A $ 0.009

Drum/4-color $173.99 5,000 $ 0.035 N/A

OTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Yield

Full-color cost per pa

$ 0.1547 $ 0.0390

15.47 3.90

Blac

Better Buys for Business

requiring top-notch black-and-white performance. For the money, they’re definitely excellent values, although t

heir 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.

Still, the Color LaserJet 2605dn and 2605dtn models represent a step in the right direction by HP of upping the quality of lower-level color laser printers while keeping costs low.

Chart entries — pages 74–75

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600dn Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600dtn

17ppm full color 17ppm blac

k & white

Sum-up: This small-workgroup printer series offers hostbased printing only but good color speed.

The Color LaserJ

et 3600 models are HP’s lowest-cost printers that offer the same speed in black-and-white and color. They start at $599. At 17ppm, they replace the 16ppm Color LaserJet 3550 printers, and they add a little more in the way of standard pa

per input. The 360MHz processor is quite good for a desktop/small workgroup printer under the ma

. These printers are reasonably priced, starting well

gic $1,000 level.

, however, that unlike the slower Color LaserJet

Note 2550 models, these printers do not offer PostScript or PCL. If you want PostScript, you’ll want to look at other HP models.

e are four models in this family:

her

PostScript. HP calls its own printing language JetReady, and it works basically like GDI. These machines are also Mac- and Linux-compatible. HP rates them for a maximum monthly duty cycle of 50,000 pages, but recommends a much lower volume, of up to 3,000 pages.

The models have a sleek curved design, simple and elegant and suitable for desktop use. Connectivity is via USB and Ethernet (optional on the 3600). Wi-Fi is available as an option on all four models.

Paper supplies include a 100-sheet bypass (which can handle heavier stock, including envelopes and transparencies). All of the models have a 250-sheet standard paper tray. You can also add an optional 500-sheet paper tray, for a total of 850 sheets. (That 500-sheet tray is standard on the dtn model.) On the output side, there’s a 250sheet standard output tray.

Like other recently rolled-out HP printer series, this one comes with ColorSphere toner, which is designed to show very good color gloss and consistency (useful in printing photos or marketing materials). It also comes with preinstalled cartridges, so the printer is ready to go out of the box. These starter cartridges can print 5,000 black-and-white pages, 4,000 color pages. That’s a nice head start before you have to worry about installing supplies

Consumables costs are at 2.2 cents for black-and-white and 12 cents for color. These are moderate prices.

This is a formida

ble, speedy printer family at a low price. It has the HP administrative tools and a good-looking toner technology. The base model is far faster in color

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3600/3800 Consumab

les costs at-a-glance

l The base-level Color LaserJet 3600 ($599)

l The network-capable Color LaserJet 3600n ($699)

l The 3600dn, which has automatic duplexing ($999)

h adds more paper

hic

he Color LaserJ

l T

et 3600dtn,

capacity ($1,599)

he 3600 and 3600n mac

hile the 3600dn and 3600dtn come with 128MB. The

hines ha

ve 64MB of memory,

3600dtn also adds a 500-sheet tray. There is no option for memory expansion. That’s no big issue, given the lack of

e Business Pub

ressiv

lications

Price

Black print cartridge $132.99 6,000 $ 0.022 $ 0.022

Cyan print cartridge $129.99 4,000 $ 0.032 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $129.99 4,000 $ 0.032 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $129.99 4,000 $ 0.032 N/A

GE COSTS

AL PER-P

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$0.120 $0.022

11.97 2.22

Black-and-white cost per page

han most other printers starting at under $700. But you should look at the OKI Printing Solutions 5500 and L

exmark C522 machines. They offer comparable color

speeds, and the Lexmark adds on PostScript as well.

If you want a solid HP model and a moderate sticker

price, this is the family to check out.

Chart entries — pages 76–77

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

Sum-up: A workgroup printer series with superior black-andwhite speeds and the ability to control color use.

This printer family features fast speeds in black-andwhite and pretty g

ood speed in color. Unlike some other HP models, this one is more suited for an environment where standard black-and-white office printing is required and color printing is more occasional. That’s a description that fits many offices.

These printers come with a powerful 533MHz processor. The printer series supports both PCL and PostScript printing, whether from Windows PCs, Macs, or various flavors of UNIX systems. As with other newer HP printers, the color functions can be blocked for some users or for certain hours so you can have some control over the cost of color printing in a mixed-use environment. That

es especiall

mak

y good sense with this printer f

amily, which you can use as your standard office printer most of the time, with color as an added feature.

There are four configurations:

l The base model, the Color LaserJet 3000 ($999),

h features 64MB of memory and 350 sheets of

hic

w standard input.

l The Color LaserJet 3000n ($1,199), which features

128MB of memory plus a built-in Ethernet port.

hich adds stan-

he Color LaserJ

l T

et 3000dn ($1,499),

dard automatic duplexing.

he Color LaserJet 3000dtn (its price was not avail-

l T

able as we went to press), which adds an extra 500sheet tr

ay as a standard feature.

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3000 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black print cartridge $134.99 6,500 $ 0.02 $ 0.02

Cyan print cartridge $127.99 3,500 $ 0.04 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $127.99 3,500 $ 0.04 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $127.99 3,500 $ 0.04 N/A

Drum/black $173.99 20,000 N/A $ 0.01

Drum/4-color $173.99 5,000 $ 0.03 N/A

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.17 $ 0.03

16.53 2.95

Black-and-white cost per page

A 100-sheet multipurpose tray handles transparencies

and envelopes

. A 250-sheet tray is standard on all models, and a 500-sheet input drawer is optional. (It is standard on the 3000dtn.) HP recommends a volume of up to 5,000 pa

ges per month, but its maximum duty cycle is 50,000 on the 3000n and 3000dn, and a full 60,000 pages on the 3000 and 3000dtn.

Preinstalled toner cartridges have capacity for 6,500

k-and-white and 3,500 color pa

blac

ges

Consumables costs for this family come in at 16.5¢ per color page and 2.9¢ a page for black-and-white — both on the high side.

This is a very practical series for offices where color is a desired, but not constantly used, feature. The price is reasonable enough. What would make it more useful is more paper capacity: the 850-sheet total input limits the

e of the workgroup that can use it. There are other

siz models in this price range that offer more than twice the

y the Xerox Phaser 6300 family and

nota

pacity

per ca

pa the Panasonic WORKiO DP-CL22. But those models are similarly limited in output to a 250-sheet tray, so the

per capacity is less of an issue.

The Color LaserJet 3000 family offers good features for a fair price. It also offers the HP name and the upgraded

ved color toner that come

administr

e tools and impr

with the brand.

Chart entries — pages 75–76

All of the models have USB connectivity. Wi-Fi wire-

e also options.

bit Ether

less and gig

net connecti

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 11

ressiv

vity ar

www.BetterBuys.com

Better Buys for Business

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800n H

ewlett-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. But the most significant difference between the two families is that the 3800 models come with PCL and PostScript, which are lacking in the 3600 models. In addition, the 3800 family supports direct PDF printing.

The 3800 series replaces the discontinued Color LaserJet 3700, upgrading the speed from 16ppm to 22ppm in both color and black-and-white. These mac

hines ar

e aimed at small-to-mid-size offices.

There are four models in the Color LaserJet 3800 family. They are:

is a 250-sheet output tray. Heavy index stock can be run through the bypass.

These models come with ColorSphere toner, which is a nice improvement in color quality. It also comes with preinstalled cartridges, so the printer is ready to go out of the box. These starter cartridges can print 6,000 black-andwhite pages, 6,000 color pages. We like this trend, especially since the first set-up of a printer can be a real headache.

HP hadn’t determined all the consumables costs before we went to press. We have seen preliminary toner prices, and they are in line with those of similar models.

HP has flooded the small workgroup color printer market with well-featured, reasonably priced models that are all strong contenders in terms of price and features. The Color LaserJet 3800 family starts under the magical $1,000 point. Its features are straightforward but adequate for most offices. It stands up well with similarly priced printer families, such as the Lexmark C770 and OKI Printing Solutions C6100 models. Add to that the HP name and the excellent admin tools, and for many offices this might be the preferred color laser solution.

t entries — pa

Char

ges 78–79

l The Color LaserJet 3800 ($799), which is the base

model with 96MB of

memory and 350 sheets of paper

capacity standard.

l The Color LaserJet 3800n ($999), which is Ethernet-

ready and comes with 160MB of memory.

l The Color LaserJ

et 3800dn ($1,299), which adds

duplexing and comes with 288MB of memory.

l The Color LaserJet 3800dtn ($1,549), which adds a

500-sheet paper tray.

All of

these models ha

e a 350MHz pr

ocessor. They max out at 544MB of memory. A 20GB disk drive is available.

As noted already, PostScript and PCL are standard features, so the added memory and even the disk drive may be w

ms of

ter

elcome f

connecti

un long

or those w

ho r

vity, parallel, USB, and Ethernet

, complex jobs. In

(optional on the 3800) are available, and Wi-Fi connectivity is as well. These machines also offer gigabit Ethernet connectivity. Mac and a variety of UNIX (Linux, AIX, Citrix) drivers are included.

per supplies ar

he pa

et 3600 printers. They include a 100-sheet bypass

LaserJ

e the same as those for the Color

(multipurpose tray), a 250-sheet paper tray, and an optional 500-sheet tray (standard on the 3800dtn). There

e Business Pub

ressiv

lications

wlett-P

ackard Color LaserJ

et 4700 Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700dn

wlett-Packar

d Color LaserJet 4700dtn

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700ph+

31ppm full color 31ppm b

lack & white

Sum-up: A departmental color printer series that is an

vely fast upgrade to an already good product line.

essi

impr

The Color LaserJet 4700 family offers few frills, but it is a reliable, fast color printer series at a moderate price. At 31ppm, it’s a major speed upgrade from the popular 22ppm Color LaserJet 4650 family, though it otherwise

tures and prices. The Color LaserJet 4700

has similar f

ea has a street price of $1,799 for the basic non-networked v

It is the least e

sion.

xpensi

e model in its c

lass (tha printers that print at about 30ppm in both color and black). The network version, the 4700n, has a street price of

$1,999.

A network version with duplexing, the 4700dn, goes for $2,499. The 4700dtn adds two extra standard paper trays and goes for $3,399, while the 4700ph+ ($4,999) adds a finisher, even more paper capacity, more memory, and a hard disk.

The Color LaserJet 4700 series is based on a Canon

engine tha

t produces both full-color and black-and-white

pages at 31ppm. That makes it considerably faster in

kard print-

wlett-P

color than ear

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

lier g

tions of

ener

t is

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4700 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

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

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0925 $ 0.0163

$ 9.25 $ 1.63

Black-and-white cost per page

ers and among the faster color laser printers on the

ket.

mar

The Color LaserJet 4700, 4700n, and 4700dn come standard with a 100-sheet multipurpose tray and a 500sheet paper tray capacity. The 4700dtn comes with three 500-sheet trays standar

d, for a standar

d capacity of 1,600 sheets. The 4700ph+ comes with a total of 2,600 sheets of input standard.

Output capacity is 500 sheets

, whic

h is better than some, but still low for heavy-duty workgroup use. The finisher on the 4700ph+ has single-position stapling of up to 30 sheets at a time, and its output tray holds up to 750

. That’s more limited than more robust multiposi-

sheets tion sta

pling solutions found on other machines in this guide, but is suitable for simple office work. The finisher is available as an option for the other models in the family.

e a variety of features that enhance the 4700

e ar

her

y’s attractiveness. The printers are powered by a

amil

f 533MHz processor; that is quite competitive. Processing power has become more important as the files that users print have grown in complexity.

y has outstanding base memor

amil

he f

T the 4700 and 4700n, and 544MB f

or the 4700ph+. This memory can be

288MB f

or the 4700dn and 4700dtn,

y of 160MB for

expanded to 544MB, which is excellent.

A 40GB hard drive (along with the added memory) allows the machine to process multipage, multi-set jobs in

ther than processing each set separately. This

one shot r is kno

wn as multiple original printing, and its presence

makes the printer a credible choice for handling a work-

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 13

ressiv

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

roup’s printing needs. (The hard drive is optional on all

4700 models except the 4700ph+, where it is standard.)

There is an embedded Web server through which an IT manager or other user can oversee the printer remotely using a standard browser. These models also have job retention features. These include proof and hold (which allows you to send a job to the printer, print only the first copy for proofing, and then either release the job from the printer control panel or delete it if you find mistakes in the proof) and private (or secure) printing (which allows you to send a confidential job to the printer and hold it for release at the control panel to avoid it being seen by prying eyes). HP has been gradually introducing these features to all its laser printers, after first introducing them on its upscale monochrome models. (To activate these features, you need the hard drive.)

In terms of connectivity, aside from USB and Ethernet, there is optional IEEE 802.11b or g connectivity that allows you to print to the machine from a PC over a wireless (Wi-Fi) network. Gigabit Ethernet is supported as well. Mac and a variety of UNIX drivers are available as well.

As with other newer HP models, these printers feature HP’s ColorSphere toner for superior color, especially for photographic images.

The consumables costs for the Color LaserJet 4700, at around 9.2¢ in color and about 1.6¢ in black and white,

etty much in line with industry averages. The high-

are pr capacity cartridges, though very convenient in the long run, will involve a major initial cash outlay once the starter cartridges run out, however the color cartridges have a street cost of over $250!

The Color LaserJet 4700 is a capable printer family. If you need a color printer that will serve a department, then the e is definitel

a $1,000 y

xtr

th the price. Similarly priced models with

y w

ou’ll spend over the slower models

somewhat slower speeds include the OKI Printing Solutions C7550 family and the Kyocera FS-C5030N.

The Color LaserJet 4700 series offers a menu of useful features and is solid in the areas where a color printer should be though some

what limited in capacity, is a real rarity in

ge quality and speed. The finisher,

e ima

lik

the color laser printer world, especially at this segment of the market. It’s rare that HP needs to be the price/performance leader in any segment, given its brand name

. But, at least for now, it has set a standard in its

anta

gment with the Color LaserJet 4700 family.

et se

mar

HP’s other newer color laser printers (the LaserJet 3600 and 3800) are quite well done and you can’t go wrong buying them. The 4700 family is, however, a real standout that gets our Editor’s Choice Award.

es 79–80

t entries — pa

Char

www.betterbuys.com

Better Buys for Business

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550n Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550dn H

ewlett-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.

There are four members in this family:

l The Color LaserJet 5550n ($3,549) comes with

ostScript and PCL, along with Ethernet connectivi-

P ty. It starts with 160MB of memory, a 100-sheet bypass unit, and a 500-sheet paper tray.

l The Color LaserJet 5550dn ($3,749) adds automatic

duplexing.

l The Color LaserJet 5550dtn ($4,999) adds more mem-

ay.

ory (288MB) and a second 500-sheet pa

l The Color LaserJet 5550hdn ($6,299) adds a 20GB

per tr

hard disk (optional on the other models). It also comes with four 500-sheet pa

per trays

, for a total of 2,100 sheets of input. While the printer series can handle paper stocks up to 53lbs., it cannot handle

which might be a concern for some

110lb. card stoc

users.

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 5550 Consumables costs at-a-glance

e g

k-and-white cost per pa

Price

k print cartridge

Blac

Cyan print cartridge $315.99 12,000 $ 0.026 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $315.99 12,000 $ 0.026 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $315.99 12,000 $ 0.026 N/A

er kit

e transf

Ima

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$225.99 13,000 $ 0.017 $ 0.017

$200.00 120,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

Yield

ressiv

Full-color cost per pa

$ 0.0980 $ 0.0194

9.80 1.94

e Business Pub

Blac

lications

All of these models are driven by a 533MHz processor, and they can be expanded to a maximum of 544MB of memory. All of the models can be upgraded to the full 2,100 sheets of input that comes standard with the 5550hdn. HP claims that its ImageREt 3600 image enhancement is even better than the ImageREt 2400 software available on most of its other color printers.

Like other HP printer products, this series has nice management features, including an embedded Web server that works with HP’s Web Jetadmin program. There’s a four-line interactive display that allows you to check supply levels and diagnose and fix problems. The supplies consist of four all-in-one cartridges that are easy to replace through a front door. Consumables costs of 1.9¢ in black and 9.8¢ in color are moderate.

This is a strong ledger printer family. It does, however, lack finishing equipment, even as an option. If you want finishing, you should look at the Ricoh Aficio CL7200, a less expensive ledger printer with both a finisher and a booklet maker as options. Another strong competitor is the Lexmark C920 family, which also has a finisher. Or you can look at HP’s own Color LaserJet 9500hdn. If you don’t need finishing but do need ledger-size printing, the Color LaserJet 5550 series looks like a solid buy. It’s

ned our Editor’

ear

s Choice Award.

Chart entries — pages 81–82

wlett-Packar

d Color LaserJet 9500n

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 9500hdn

24ppm full color 24ppm b

lack & white

Sum-up: Ledger-size printers with good finishing options (9500hdn onl

y).

The Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 9500 is a family of ledger-size color printers. They are durable machines with solid f

eatures and, at least on the high-end model,

excellent output capabilities. Note that this is no desktop

eet tall.

our f

hines r

it is f

t 24ppm both in color and

un a

model.

Full

hese laser mac

y equipped,

black-and-white. That speed is supported by a fast 500MHz processor. Note that they are bested in speed by HP’s newer 27ppm Color LaserJet 5550 family. Both are rated by HP for an impressive 200,000 pages a month.

ostScript is a standar

d f

e, as is Ethernet support

tur

ea through an internal server. These models do not, however, offer a USB interface, though parallel connectivity is standard.

In other ways, the two members of the family, the 9500n and 9500hdn, are quite distinct. As you might suspect fr

om the hdn suf

the 9500hdn of

fix,

fers a standard

hard disk and automatic duplexing. While the 9500n

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

tarts with 160MB of memory, the 9500hdn comes with 288MB. Both printers can be upgraded to 384MB. These p

rinters 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. On the output side, there is a 100-sheet faceup (bypass) tray and a 500-sheet face-down tray. Duplexing is optional.

The 9500hdn, on the other hand, has far more capacity. In addition to the basic 1,100 sheets, you get a 2,000sheet high-capacity feeder (not available even as an option for the 9500n). That’s a total of 3,100 sheets. Duplexing, as we have noted, is standard.

It’s on the output side, however, that it gets even more interesting for the 9500hdn. In addition to the basic 600sheet output capacity, there are three strong upgrades. One is a 3,000-sheet offset catch tray. The second is a 3,000-sheet finisher with 50-sheet stapling. The third option is a booklet maker with saddlestitcher, one of the few models with booklet makers in this guide. That’s an impressi

ve trio, making the 9500hdn the only model in this guide that can hold its own in a corporate repro and publishing center alongside more expensive color copiers.

Cost per page is moder

ate, at 9.0¢ in color, 1.8¢ in

black-and-white.

As far as competition goes, we have to differentiate

between the tw

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 9500 Consumables costs at-a-glance

o models. The Color LaserJet 9500n has a

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

igher price and inferior features compared to excellent machines from Lexmark, Ricoh, Xerox, and others. It is not competitive mostly because of its high price. At a street price of $6,799, we have the same concerns regarding the Color LaserJet 9500hdn, except that its booklet maker and 3,000-sheet offset catch tray are options that give you capabilities you can’t get from many other printers in this guide.

The bottom line is the models have excellent image quality and an impressive duty cycle, but the price you pay for these seems out of line with the current market.

Chart entries — page 82

IBM

Boulder

800 358 6661

www.printers.ibm.com

Vendor Profile

IBM isn’t a major player in the desktop color laser printer market, although it’s worth saying that Big Blue does sell large, expensive production color machines that we don’t cover in this guide.

Several years ago, IBM upgraded its monochrome laser printer line by adopting machines made by Lexmark. It has also adopted a n

s. Unlike Lexmark, IBM does not sell each variation in

umber of ne

the family as a separate product. Instead, it normally sells a base model and treats the variations as options. IBM sells its versions at a small premium over the Lexmark originals

There is usually a time lag between Lexmark releases and those of IBM.

, CO

wer Le

k color print-

xmar

Black print cartridge $152.99 25,000 $ 0.006 $ 0.006

Cyan print cartridge $309.99 25,000 $ 0.012 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $309.99 25,000 $ 0.012 N/A

lac

er kit

tridge

w print car

ello

Drum/b

Drum/c

Drum/magenta $463.99 40,000 $ 0.012 N/A

Drum/yellow $463.99 40,000 $ 0.012 N/A

Cleaning kit $48.99 50,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001

Fuser kit $279.99 200,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001

ransf

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Price

$309.99 25,000 $ 0.012 N/A

$297.99 40,000 $ 0.007 $ 0.007

$463.99 40,000 $ 0.012 N/A

$378.99 200,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

ressiv

Yield

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 15

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0898 $ 0.0178

8.98 1.78

Black-and-white cost per page

Product Profiles

IBM Infoprint Color 1334

8ppm full color 30ppm b

lac

hite

k & w

Note: Same Machine as the Lexmark C510n, which is now discontinued. This machine prints at 8ppm color,

k-and-white. It comes with PostScript

and 30ppm b

lac and Ethernet standard. There are 250 sheets of standard paper input, with a 530-sheet drawer available. The street price is $813.

www

.betterbuys.com

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 r

eplace this model.

Chart entry — page 83

IBM Infoprint Color 1534n IBM Infoprint Color 1534dn

20ppm full color 20ppm black & white Same Machines as the discontinued Lexmark C524 family

Chart entries — page 83

IBM Infoprint Color 1654n Express IBM Infoprint Color 1654dn Express

25ppm full color 25ppm black & white Same Machines as the Lexmark C770 family

Chart entries — page 84

IBM Infoprint Color 1664n IBM Infoprint Color 1664dn

25ppm full color

k & white

25ppm b Same Machines as the Lexmark C772 family

Char

lac

t entries — pa

ges 84–85

Konica Minolta is the company that resulted from the merger of two Japanese imaging companies, Konica and Minolta. The main thrust of the company is copiers and cameras, but the company does sell office laser printers, both black-and-white and color. These printers were developed by the Minolta division known until recently as Minolta QMS, a business that was formed in 1999 when Minolta acquired Alabama-based QMS, an American vendor of laser printers.

Konica Minolta’s printer group is housed at the former QMS headquarters in Alabama. The company is starting to distribute printers through Konica Minolta office equipment dealers, where they also sell copiers, faxes, and multifunctional machines. For at least some of their models, the company has also started to move into catalog sales and Internet retailing. Konica Minolta sells its printers through computer-industry channels. In the US market for color laser printers, Konica Minolta is now a presence to be reckoned with.

Note that, in an unusual move, Konica Minolta’s main copier division has also released a copier-based printer, the C250P, which is sold through a different part of the company.

Product Profiles

IBM Infoprint Color 1567

32ppm full color 36ppm black & white Same Machine as the Lexmark C920

t entry — pa

Char

ge 85

KONICA

MINOLTA

Mobile, AL

800 523 2696

www.printer.konicaminolta.net

Vendor Profile

Konica Minolta’s printer division has made its mark by selling affordable color printers to small businesses and home users through major retail chains.

e Business Pub

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lications

Konica Minolta magicolor 2500W Konica Minolta magicolor 2530 DL Konica Minolta magicolor 2550 EN Konica Minolta magicolor 2550 DN

5ppm full color 20ppm black & white

Sum-up:

The new magicolor 2500 printers are replacements for the discontinued magicolor 2400 models. They print at the same speeds as their pr and-white and 5ppm in color. In fact, they are very similar to the 2400 mac pricing $100 cheaper than the printers they replaced.

Blazing speed is not what these machines are about. However, they do offer black-and-white printing with a little bit of color for an affordable price.

T add features progressively, justifying the differences in price. All have an estimated monthly duty cycle of 35,000 pages. They all use the same consumables, with black pages costing about 2.3¢, color pages 12.3¢. These are not cheap, but they aren’t bad at the low end of the market.

T has 200 sheets of input only and 200 sheets of output,

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

Low-cost printers with basic functions.

edecessors — 20ppm in black-

the major dif

hines

h in the cases of

hic

hough essentiall

he $299 ma

gicolor 2500W is a v

y the same printer

the 2500W and 2530 DL is

ence being their

these thr

y basic printer. It

ee models

Konica Minolta magicolor 2500 series Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black toner $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 $ 0.029 N/A

PC drum/color

OPC drum/black $149.00 45,000 N/A $ 0.003

Waste toner box $19.00 25,000 $ 0.119 $ 0.001

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

149.00 11,250 $ 0.013 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0189 $ 0.0230

1.89 2.30

Black-and-white cost per page

and that’s it. USB connectivity is standard, while

net is an option. Print resolution is 2,400 x 600dpi

Ether interpolated. A 130MHz processor is supported with 32MB of memory. You cannot add extra memory. This printer is Windows only, and uses host-based GDI printing.

The $399 magicolor 2530 DL gives you a little more than the minimum. It offers an optional 500-sheet tray for added input.

It has Ether

net standard.

Output resolution is 2,400dpi interpolated. It too has a 130MHz processor, and while it starts with a better 64MB of memory, you can increase that to an expansive 576MB. A duplex unit is a $229 option. While it supports only host-based printing, it does have drivers for Macintosh and Linux

hines

mac

he magicolor 2550 machines add even more. The $499

T magicolor 2550 EN has 128MB of memory and optional ($229) duplexing. The $699 magicolor 2550 DN doubles the memory to 256MB and has standard duplexing. Memory can be upgraded to 640MB on both machines.

ted up to 9,600 x 600dpi.

Print quality can be inter

pola

Most important, they are PostScript printers. That gives them more f

lexibility in use, especially in a page layout

environment.

Ethernet and USB are standard on these models, which

ven with a 300MHz processor. There’s also an

e dri

ar optional ($349) 40GB hard disk. Like the magicolor 2530 DL, they have options for another paper tray (500 sheets).

In the growing number of inexpensive color laser print-

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

rs, 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 5430 DL

21ppm full color 21ppm black & white

Konica Minolta magicolor 5440 DL

27ppm full color 27ppm black & white

Sum-up: A friendly design and a good price make these models appealing choices.

The two-toned design sets off the Konica Minolta magicolor 5430 DL and 5440 DL from most other desktop models. But that’s not the only selling point: the 5430 DL is one of the fastest color lasers in the $600 range, while the 5440 DL (at $999) of

fers outstanding performance for

such a low price.

The 5430 DL prints at 21ppm in both color and black-

hite. The 5440 DL prints at the very solid speed of

and-w

k and color pages. That

27ppm,

again with both b

lac means you sacrifice nothing in color speed, while getting a fast enough small-workgroup black-and-white printer.

Konica Minolta is aiming this product a

t small businesses that want a single printer for both color and blackand-white printing. Coming at such affordable prices

ood speed and easy use makes it a tempting offer-

with g ing for those who are tired of ink jet printers or who have never used color at all. It’s also an upgrade for those who

ed of very slow color laser printer speeds of four to

e tir

ar six pages a minute.

Both printers have solid but basic features for low-cost machines. They have a 200MHz processor and start with 64MB of memory (expandable to 576MB). They print at up to 2,400 x 600dpi interpolated resolution.

they come network-ready. They also

On the plus side

e rated by Konica Minolta for a reasonably robust

ar 60,000 pa

ges per month.

But the limitations are there as well. These are among the most expensive printers in this guide that offer neither

en as options. They support host-

PCL nor P

ostScript,

based printing both in

Windows (GDI) and Macintosh environments. Konica Minolta believes that these are not critical for business users, explaining that the vast majority of users originate jobs from Microsoft Office, emails, or Internet Explorer rather than Adobe Illustrator or

ess.

k XPr

Quar

The magicolor 5430 DL starts off with a scanty 250-

sheet pa

per tr

hile the ma

gicolor 5440 DL has a bet

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 17

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Better Buys for Business

Konica Minolta magicolor 5400 series Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black toner - high capacity $149.99 12,000 $ 0.012 $ 0.012

Cyan toner - high capacity $339.99 12,000 $ 0.028 N/A

enta toner - high capacity

ellow toner - high capacity

Transfer belt/black $299.00 120,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

2nd transfer roller $39.00 120,000 $ 0.000 $ 0.000

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$339.99 12,000 $ 0.028 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.100 $ 0.015

10.03 1.50

Black-and-white cost per page

ter 500-sheet standard supply. You can, however, add up to two mor

e 500-sheet paper trays for both, for a morethan-respectable total of 1,250 or 1,600 sheets, respectively. The output tray holds the usual 250 sheets. The basic tray is letter-size only, but the add-on trays support legal-

e paper. Automatic duple

siz

xing is an option. These printers support 110lb. index stock, and you can print on a variety of specialty stocks (transparencies, labels, and envelopes).

Konica Minolta is proud of the ergonomic design of these printers. The series has easy-to-replace toner cartridges, and the starter cartridges (half the capacity of the normal ones) come pre-installed. It has nice controls for checking toner and paper levels from the front panel.

they have a Web-based administrative

e most printer

Lik

ver, in this case called PageScope. They also come

ser

with several color-matching and management systems.

Per-page costs are acceptable for low-cost printers. Color pages cost about 10¢, and black-and-white pages around 1.5¢. Those aren’t great bargains. Our prices are based on the “toner v

alue kit”

option,

which reduces

prices if you buy all three color cartridges at once.

ou should c

k out competitor

hec

s lik

e the Le

xmar C770n, Xerox Phaser 6300 family, Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 3800 family, and the OKI Printing

fer comparable

Solutions C5500n to see models tha

t of

speeds plus a few more features.

This is an elegant design for Konica Minolta, and a

ood deal in price

he question is w

hether user

s will be

willing to forego PostScript in a high-capacity, high-speed

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 5450

27ppm full color 27ppm black & white

Sum-up: Expanded features built on a fast and reliable platform.

While similar to the magicolor 5430 DL and 5440 DL (documented above), this model, the magicolor 5450, is more capable. The speed of the machine (27ppm) is the same as that of the 5440 DL, but this $1,499 printer comes fully equipped for serious work.

First of all, it adds PostScript to the mix. That was the one notable lacking feature with the other models, at least for some users. To handle more complex jobs, such as

ostScript-generating programs like Quark

those fr

om P XPress, this model has a much more powerful processor, at 667MHz. In ad

dition, memory is much more robust, at 256MB to begin with and expandable to a full gigabyte (1,024MB). Furthermore, there is a 40GB hard drive available as an option.

Connectivity, as with the other models in this series, consists of both USB and Ethernet ports. PCL and PostScript are included.

Paper handling is mor

e extensive than with the 5430 DL and 5440 DL models. There is a 100-sheet bypass tray and a 500-sheet standard tray to start with. Then you can ad

d one or two optional trays for a total of up to 1,600 sheets. Unfortunately, there is only a 250-sheet output tray, somewhat limiting the usefulness of all this input capacity. Heavy-duty card stock can be handled by the printer.

age costs are the same as the other 5400 series printers.

P That is, color pages run at about 10¢ and black printing costs ar

ound 1.5¢.

and this e

xpensi

s quite high f

t’

or printer

s this fast

While this is a fine printer, we think that there are others than can compete with it at a significantly lower price. You might want to consider, for example, the Xerox Phaser 6300N or Lexmark C770n, which offer similar

es a

tur

t a lo

wer cost.

Chart entry — page 87

Got a suggestion, comment, or (gulp!)

a correction? Send them via e-mail

to info@betterbuys.com. We love to

hear from our readers.

e Business Pub

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lications

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

onica Minolta magicolor 7450

24.5ppm full color 2

4.5ppm 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. It also has built-in automatic calibration that is used to keep color quality consistent.

The printer can produce a full-bleed ledger image, extending to 12.25" x 18". That makes it suitable for page proofs for jobs going on press, among other things. You can also manually feed pages up to 11" x 35" through a single-sheet feed tray that comes with the duplexer.

Based on a Fuji Xerox engine

, the 7450 comes with 256MB of RAM and can be upgraded to 1,024MB. That’s not bad, but you might consider upgrading the memory from the start, because ledger page size and PostScript support eat up memory fast.

The printer can directly handle PDF files, though you need to buy the optional 40GB hard disk to enable this feature.

There’s a 250-sheet multi-purpose tray and a 100-sheet standard paper tr

ay that come with the mac

hine. You can

add three additional 500-sheet paper trays, for a total of

Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 Consumables costs at-a-glance

e g

k-and-white cost per pa

Price

Black toner $169.00 15,000 $ 0.011 $ 0.011

Cyan toner $219.00 12,000 $ 0.018 N/A

genta toner

Yellow toner $219.00 12,000 $ 0.018 N/A

k drum

Blac

Cyan drum $189.00 30,000 $ 0.006 N/A

enta drum

Yellow drum $189.00 30,000 $ 0.006 N/A

Waste toner box $29.00 18,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

AGE COSTS

AL PER-P

$219.00 12,000 $ 0.018 N/A

$199.00 50,000 $ 0.004 $ 0.004

$189.00 30,000 $ 0.006 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per pa

$ 0.0905 $ 0.0170

9.05 1.70

Blac

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

,850 sheets. Output, however, is only 350 sheets. An

optional duplexer is available.

Cost per page (letter-size) is not very exciting, but it’s not far out of line from competitors. Our estimated blackand-white page cost is around 1.7¢, while color pages, using standard yields for comparison, run at 9.0¢.

Other ledger printers in this price range include Xerox’s Phaser 7400 family (36ppm in color), which offers much faster speed and optional finishing. The Ricoh Aficio CL7200 family also deserves a close look.

This is a reasonably priced ledger machine with decent speed and passable features. Many other machines that boast high-end color quality cost far more. On the whole this is a decent buy, but note that it is not the least expensive ledger model in the color laser market and that there is no finishing available and only a very small output tray. Still, for its many benefits, it gets our Editor’s Choice Award.

Chart entry — page 88

Konica Minolta bizhub C250P

25ppm full color 25ppm black & white

Sum-up: A copier-deri paper-handling ca

ved ledger-size printer with good

pacity.

Unlike other Konica Minolta printer models, the $7,200 bizhub C250P is based on a copier original, namely the bizhub C250.

As a printer, this model has quite good basic features, including its ability to print ledger-size pages. The 466MHz pr

ocessor is ma

tched with standard PostScript, PCL, and Ethernet connectivity. Both USB and parallel connectivity are optional features. It also comes with an expansive 512MB of memory, but that is also the maximum available. An optional 40GB hard disk is available. The model has a 75,000 page-per-month duty cycle.

per handling

In pa sequence of suppl

y is 850 sheets, including a 100-sheet bypass and a

, however, this machine shines, a con-

its copier background. The standard paper

multipurpose 250-sheet paper tray for special stock and a regular 500-sheet tray. There’s also a 2,500-sheet large-

vailable as an option. That’s a maximum

y a

pacity tr

ca input ca

pacity of 3,350 pages. Duplexing is optional. The bizhub C250P can handle a wide variety of media, including heavy stock (up to 140lb. card stock) and transparencies.

Output options include:

l A multi-position stapling finisher ($1,580) with sort,

group, and corner staple functions

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 19

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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. With its optional duplex unit, the machine can produce two-sided copies. And its substantial paper supply supports big copy runs.

The bizhub C250P isn’t cheap, but that’s not surprising considering its copying capability and impressive performance levels. It’s a hybrid of a strong copier and a

st-rate laser printer. It stacks up well against its more

fir powerful sibling, the bizhub C352P (see below), offering similar features for nearly $3,000 less, with the major concession being slower (b

ut still decent) print speed. If that extra 10ppm the bizhub C352P offers isn’t essential, the bizhub C250P is an impressive value for those look-

or color printing and copying in one package.

ing f

Chart entry — page 88

Konica Minolta bizhub C352P

35ppm full color

k & white

35ppm b

lac

Sum-up: Innovative color model offering solid value and performance.

This new product strengthens Konica Minolta’s position as a key player in the fast-growing high-end color laser

he $10,150 bizhub C352P outputs at

printer field.

T 35ppm in color and black-and-white. It prints at 600dpi resolution. It’s based on the company’s popular bizhub color copier line — hence the “P” to indicate it’s a printfocused machine.

he bizhub C352P is intended to be a workhorse. It has

T an impressive monthly duty cycle of 100,000 pages. It has 512MB of built-in memory, which, rather surprisingly, isn’t expandable.

Like its slower sibling, the bizhub C250P (see above), the bizhub C352P can also be used as a copier and scan ner. Its standard duplexing unit (optional on the C250P) supports double-sided copying, and with the optional 40GB hard drive, it can store scanned jobs for printing at a later point.

he mac

oller, which features the company’s OP architecture.

hine has K

onica Minolta’s Emperon con-

(The OP stands for Open Platform.) This controller runs the print, copy, and scan functionality of the printer using a common operating system.

The bizhub OP architecture also makes possible the company’s bizhub Open API capability, which allows third-party software vendors to develop software for use with bizhub machines. Examples of such software include PageScope Data Administrator, which manages device user lists, enables account tracking, and manages password and security functions; and Web Connection, which establishes an online status monitoring site.

This printer runs PostScript and PCL printer languages. Finishing options include:

l A multi-position stapling finisher ($1,580) with sort,

group, and corner staple functions

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

The bizhub C352P has standard duplexing and can handle up to 140lb. inde

x paper. It can also print on envelopes or coated paper, and print 11" x 17" images on up to 12" x 18" paper to preserve crop marks, color bars, and mar

gins.

The machine has a dual-tray 750-sheet standard paper supply and 100-sheet bypass. It offers users the choice of adding a 2,500-sheet tr

ay, resulting in a maximum paper

capacity of 3,350 sheets.

Konica Minolta doesn’t publish consumables costs for this printer, but we estimate they’re very reasonable.

Security functions include job encryption, hard drive locking, secure printing, address filtering, user authentication, and scan encryption. Those features will go a long way toward protecting sensitive information.

his is a solid mac

y, good features, and reasonable pricing. Its limit on

hine that offers innovative technolo-

memory expansion is a little troubling, since a workhorse

especiall

e this could use all the memor

lik

y it can g

et, it’s used to run high-volume multiple-user jobs. But it still rates highly based on its abundant strengths.

t entry — page 88

Char

Log on to www.betterbuys.com

for update information and more.

y if

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KYOCERA

Fairfield, NJ

800 222 6482

www.kyoceramita.com

Vendor Profile

Kyocera Mita America, which now brands its printers under the Kyocera name, has built a reputation in the market as a manufacturer of rugged high-volume departmental printers with low operating costs. These are sturdy units with excellent features, but they tend to cost a little more than the competition. In a tough market, Kyocera is holding its own, but it is under the gun to keep improving its models and lowering its prices to keep up with the competition.

Kyocera models offer excellent value when it comes to

y costs

suppl The reason for this is the durability of the drums offered with the printers, drums that are built to last three or four times longer than those of rivals. That durability translates into lower operating costs.

Kyocera products are sold through the company’s copi-

er dealer network as well as through value-added resellers

ARs).

Kyocera FS-C5015N

17ppm full color 17ppm black & white

Kyocera FS-C5020N

17ppm full color 17ppm b

ocera FS-C5025N

22ppm full color 22ppm black & white

Kyocera FS-C5030N

26ppm full color 26ppm b

Sum-up: for busy offices that output lots of pages.

e w

As w discontin

These models are Kyocera’s second-generation entries

, an important advantage for heavy users.

Product Profiles

hite

k & w

lac

k & white

lac

hoice

t c

Outstanding per

e costs mak

-pa

e this a g

ere going to press, we learned the FS-C5020N was being

ued.

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

nto the LED color printer arena, replacing the FSC5016N. The $1,759 (estimated street price) FS-C5020N runs at 17ppm in both black-and-white and color and is powered by a 400MHz processor, while the $2,099 FSC5030N runs at 26ppm in both modes and has a 600MHz processor. Prices were not available at press time for the new FS-C5015N (which appears to be an enhanced version of the FS-C5020N, and like that model runs at 17ppm in color and black-and-white) or the FSC5025N (which runs at 22ppm in color and black-andwhite). We estimate street prices for the FS-C5015N and FS-C5025N to be around $1,400 and $1,600, respectively.

Otherwise these models are identical. They all come Ethernet-ready, and PostScript and PCL are standard as well. That makes them both serious workgroup machines. Memory starts at a very generous 128MB, and it can be increased to a total of 1GB (640MB on the FSC5015N and FS-C5025N), making these units capable of the most complex, multi-copy print jobs we can imagine.

These models have quite respectable paper-handling

bilities. The

capa

y support letter- and legal-size output and come with a 500-sheet paper tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, suitable for printing on transparencies and heavier stock.

You can add up to three 500-sheet trays for a total of 2,100 sheets (except on the FSC5015N, which only allows for one additional 500-sheet tray). Kyocera also offers an optional envelope feeder with a capacity of 70 envelopes for the C5015, C5025,

e are few other models with dedicated

and C5030N

. Ther

envelope feeders in the color printer market, though they

Kyocera FS-C5030N Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black toner $72.00 8,000 $ 0.009 $ 0.009

Cyan toner $109.00 8,000 $ 0.014 N/A

Magenta toner $109.00 8,000 $ 0.014 N/A

w toner

ello

Maintenance kit (includes drums, developers, rollers)

GE COSTS

AL PER-P

$109.00 8,000 $ 0.014 N/A

$618.00 200,000 $ 0.003 $ 0.003

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0530 $ 0.012

5.30 1.21

Black-and-white cost per page

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 21

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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

ray. 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 products typically feature impressive consumables costs, and these machines are no exceptions. The black-and-white cost per page is very good for a color printer, at 1.2¢ a page. That’s not nearly as good as with some black-and-white-only printers, but among color printers, it’s very good indeed. The color per-page costs are even better, at 5.3¢ a page (around 8¢ on the FSC2015). At almost half the industry average for color printing cost, that alone makes this printer a standout.

There are considerably faster printers in the price range of the Kyocera FS-C5020N, but none with as good paper

-handling f

eatures. Above all, no other color printers (other than other Kyocera models) can match its price per page.

Likewise, the FS-C5030N is not the fastest at its price vel (that honor might go to the 31ppm HP Color

le LaserJet 4700n), but it still has stronger paper handling than some rivals and a lower cost per page.

you plan to use the printer extensi

vely, and if you plan to produce lots of color pages, this is by far the most cost-effective letter/legal-size printer on the market. While the FS-C5020N is a fine machine

, we think the faster FS-C5030N is a true standout. The new FSC5015N and FS-C5025N appear to be fine additions to

y that gets our Editor’s Choice Award.

amil

this f

Chart entries — pages 89–90

Kyocera FS-C8008N Kyocera FS-C8008DN

8ppm full color

k & white

31ppm b

Sum-up:

lac

A fine ledg

e color laser series with outstanding

-siz

operating costs.

l The FS-C8008N ($5,525 list), which offers Ethernet

connectivity standard

l The FS-C8008DN ($5,795 list), which adds standard

automatic duplex and a standard hard disk

In most other ways, the two models are identical in features. The FS-C8008 family’s basic specs are pretty strong. The processor runs at 400MHz, which is a respectable speed. The 128MB standard memory, which can be expanded to 640MB, is quite good as well. PostScript is standard, and wireless Ethernet is available as an option, in addition to the standard 10/100BaseT.

Speed and resolution: As noted earlier, the FS-C8008

models print at a rate of 8ppm in color and 31ppm in black-and-white. The color speed is below average in the current market, but not painfully so. On the other hand, the monochrome speed is outstanding. That and the low consumables costs make this series an interesting candidate for a mixed-use departmental printer. If you need a laser printer that will do color pages occasionally, and black-and-white frequently, this can be a good choice.

One slight disadvantage — the FS-C8008 models print at 600dpi, while some rivals print at 1,200dpi. On the other hand, it must be said that 1,200dpi resolution, while a nice feature, is not an absolute requirement. In spite of the jump in resolution, the difference in appearance between color documents printed at these resolutions can be har

d to detect.

(You might, however, look at some test pages and compare them with output from one or two competitors.)

Paper handling: The FS-C8008 family, like other

Kyocera products, offers excellent paper-handling options. The FS-C8008N supports 1,150 sheets of paper capacity standard, an above-average total. This figure can be increased to 3,150 sheets by adding four optional

ers. Note that the duplexing unit fits into one

per dr

pa of the standard drawer spaces, so the FS-C8008DN offers only 650 sheets out of the box, with a total capacity of 2,650 sheets.

The output side gets even more interesting. The default

650-sheet output ca

erent options:

dif

pacity can be supplemented using tw

The FS-C8008 family offers low-cost ledger-size color laser printing

he speed in color is belo

w a

age

v (8ppm), but the speed in black-and-white is excellent (31ppm). The FS-C8008 printers also shine in two areas

t Kyocera printers generally do well in: operating costs

tha and paper handling. These features make them a viable choice in what is an increasingly competitive market.

ersions:

he FS-C8008 f

y comes in tw

amil

o v

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l A 3,000-sheet offset catch tray, or

l A 2,000-sheet finisher with 20-sheet stapling and three

output bins

ou’ll need to buy

der to use the finisher

Note tha

t in or

both optional 500-sheet pa

per dr

ers.

Traditionally, color printers have offered very little in

terms of output options. Clearly, manufacturers like

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

yocera believe that color printers should come with the same kinds of options as you would expect from monoc

hrome 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. For many other color printers, the per-page cost for black-and-white output is around 2¢. This truly makes the FS-C8008-series printers candidates for everyday departmental printing.

But the FS-C8008’s color per-page cost is even more exciting. At around 4.5¢ a page, it’s far lower than most competitors’. Color printing doesn’t get more affordable than this, and it makes the FS-C8008 series very attractive. The payback over the life of a heavily used printer can be considerable.

Kyocera explains that one of the main reasons behind its low consumables costs is the company’s long-life amorphous silicon drum technology, which makes the intervals between drum replacements exceptionally long. In addition,

Kyocer

a’s toner costs are very reasonable.

We think this is a strong printer series. It does have a higher sticker price than some of the competition (calculating from its list price). printing speed.

On the other hand, it offers excellent out-

It also has a relatively slow color

put options. But the main feature is that it’s economical to run.

Kyocera FS-C8008 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

k toner

Blac

Cyan toner $90.00 10,000 $ 0.009 N/A

enta toner

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

lack

veloper/b

Developer/3-color $476.00 300,000 $ 0.005 N/A

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

$99.00 25,000 $ 0.004 $ 0.004

$90.00 10,000 $ 0.009 N/A

$674.00 300,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0453 $ 0.0080

4.53 0.80

Black-and-white cost per page

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

t should be said, however, that price levels in the ledger-size category of the color printer market continue to erode, and the speed of color printing is increasing. Therefore, Kyocera is facing ever-stiffer price competition. The cost-per-page advantage that makes it less expensive in the long run might be obscured by its higher sticker price. In other words, this printer series can still hold its own against such rivals as the Ricoh Aficio CL7200 and the Lexmark C920, but you have to look at total cost of ownership.

If you believe that price per page is the most critical issue, more than color printing speed, and anticipate running high volumes, the Kyocera FS-C8008 family is an excellent choice.

Chart entries — page 90

Kyocera FS-C8026N-A Kyocera FS-C8026N-B

26ppm full color 26ppm black & white

Sum-up: Lots of

paper capacity and e

these deluxe models

xcellent finishing mark

This Kyocera model, the FS-C8026N, comes in two different configurations, denoted by the suffixes A and B. The difference between the tw

o is in terms of paper handling only. Even the prices are the same, at $9,498 list. That’s a major league price, but these machines come with a fuller configur

ation out of the bo

x than other

printers in this sector.

These ledger-size printers handle letter-size pages at a

ate of 26ppm, both in black-and-white and color. The

r estimated monthly duty cycle is 100,000 pages. A 600MHz processor is supported by 512MB of memory (also the maximum memory). There’s also a 20GB hard disk standard.

PostScript and PCL are standard. Connectivity is

ough a standar

thr no USB por mac

hine is really intended for a workgroup. Wireless

d Ethernet interface. Unusually, there is

t, but that’s probably no big deal as this

Ethernet is also an option.

As noted above, paper capacity is where these machines

The FS-C8026N-A comes with a 150-sheet bypass

v and pa

per input units of 500, 1,000, and 1,500 sheets each. That makes for a total input capacity out of the box of 3,150 sheets. The FS-C8026N-B comes with the same 150-sheet bypass and three 500-sheet paper trays only, for a total of 1,650 sheets of input. Both models support automa

tic duple

xing as a standard feature.

On the output side, the differences are similar. Standard

500,

output f

or the FS-C8026N-A comes in units of

150,

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Kyocera FS-C8026N Consumables costs at-a-glance

Black toner $99.00 25,000 $ 0.004 $ 0.004

Price

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

Developer/black $288.00 300,000 $ 0.001 $ 0.001

Developer/3-color $1,020.00 300,000 $ 0.010 N/A

Charger unit $20.00 100,000 $ 0.000 $ 0.000

Oil kit $49.00 25,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0516 $ 0.0089

5.16 0.89

Black-and-white cost per page

1,000, and 1,500 sheets. The FS-C8026N-B has a 150sheet bypass tray and three 500-sheet paper trays. Despite the f

act tha

t these machines ha

ve quite different paper

handling, they still have the same list price.

In addition, both machines have a variety of optional output devices. There’s a five-bin mailbox unit with room for 150 sheets in each bin. There’s a 3,000-sheet finisher with m

ultiposition stapling of up to 50 sheets

. This printer family also features a saddle- stitched unit for making booklets. You can supplement that with a punch unit, which can support 2/3-hole punching. There’s also a folder available for the booklet maker.

Costs per page are extremely low, especially for color.

Our reckoning gives us a price of 5.2¢ for color, around

or black. These are outstanding, making these print-

1.0¢ f ers very competitive in the market.

On the other hand, these are among the most expensive color laser printers in this guide. That’s partly because Kyocera bundles so much in terms of paper handling

ou subtract the value of these options, you

with them.

get prices closer to those of other high-end color lasers.

The FS-C8026N models are somewhat slower than some of their top competitors, including the Ricoh CL7200 and CL7300 models and the OKI Printing Solutions C9600/C9800 printers.

you’re certain you’ll run lots of pages and wince at

If the thought of paying 8¢ or more per page, these models

you are spend-

e an e

cellent b

On the other hand,

if ing this much money, you might want to look at some of the fine multifunctional copiers documented in our

Color

Copier Guide

, machines that have similar features and add

copying and scanning to the printing capability.

Chart entries — page 91

LANIER

Atlanta, GA

800 708 7088

www.lanier.com

Vendor Profile

Lanier, a major office equipment distributor, was acquired by Ricoh in early 2001. Ricoh had already acquired Savin and Gestetner, and Lanier was an obvious

get since it rela

tar

beled a n machines under the Lanier name. So far, the company operates independently from the other Ricoh divisions, but that ma

y change.

Lanier mostly sells direct and concentrates on larger buyers through its direct-sales force; however, it also has some dealer

s. Lanier is a service-intensi prices include delivery, installation, training, and initial supplies.

Note tha

t Lanier announced the names of its three

printers based on the Ricoh GelSprinter series. These

e the GX3000,

the GX3050N These correspond to the similarly named Ricoh products on page 39.

Product Profiles

Lanier LP031c

8ppm full color 31ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio CL1000N

Chart entry — page 91

Lanier LP222cn

22ppm full color 22ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio CL3500N

Chart entry — page 92

Lanier LP226cn

26ppm full color 26ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio SP C410DN

Chart entry — page 92

umber of different Ricoh

ve supplier. Its

, and the GX5050N

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anier LP231cn

31ppm full color 31ppm black & white Same Machine as the Ricoh Aficio SP C411DN

Chart entry — page 92

Lanier LP332cdn Lanier LP332cdtn

28ppm full color 32ppm black & white Same Machines as the Ricoh Aficio CL7200 family

Chart entries — page 93

Lanier LP335cdn Lanier LP335cdtn

35ppm full color 35ppm black & white Same Machines as the Ricoh Aficio CL7300 family This model has been discontinued.

Chart entries — pages 93–94

LEXMARK

xington, KY

800 358 5835

.lexmark.com/us_home

www

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 tha

hite and color models

t it w

. Now Lexmark also provides

elabel Lexmark’s black-and-

ould r

printers to a number of companies: Toshiba, Unisys, RISO, and (in some categories) Dell.

Lexmark is a power in monochrome laser printers, where it stands (by some measures) second behind He

wlett-P

ackard in terms of market share. The company

also sells an extensive line of color ink jet printers and has

esence ther

et pr

consider

le mar

k printer market, however, Lexmark is only slowly growing bigger.

k printers benefit from a variety of external

All Le

xmar and internal network servers and connectivity options. They also offer a sophisticated range of optional software

tion,

for handling security

administr

.html

In the color laser

and file conversion.

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

hese tools include ones that support printing from a number of formats (including PDF and TIFF), allow for form generation and printing, print barcodes, secure print, and allow for significant job management. Lexmark also contends that it has superior color management tools for all its color laser models.

Lexmark’s current products are quite good. In speed, price, and features, they contend with everything else on the market. But the opposition isn’t standing still, and Lexmark needs to keep on developing new printers to stay near the top of the pack.

Product Profiles

Lexmark C500n

8ppm full color 31ppm black & white

Sum-up:

Bargain-basement price, but color is slow.

The new C500n is Lexmark’s entry into the under-$400 color laser printer realm. And like other color machines in this price r 8ppm.

It prints in black-and-w

ange, its color printing speed is slow —

t a speedy 31ppm,

hite a

however.

Many lower-priced color laser printers share this machine’s printing 8ppm/31ppm speeds

, including the Brother HL-2700CN ($850), Ricoh Aficio CL1000N ($899), and TallyGenicom 8008 ($775). The main advan-

ge the C500n has over these machines is its $399 list

ta price, less than half of some of the competing products.

Lexmark C500N Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

Black print cartridge $133.00 3,000 $ 0.030 $ 0.030

an print car

Magenta print cartridge $149.00 5,000 $ 0.044 N/A

ello

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

tridg

w print cartridge

$149.00 5,000 $ 0.044 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.1628 $ 0.0298

16.30 3.00

Black-and-white cost per page

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 25

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Better Buys for Business

But as you would expect, the C500n is light on features, and users will have to accept some compromises in terms o

f 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.

On the plus side, the C500n comes with standard Ethernet, a nice feature for this price range. It also has a wireless option.

The printer has a standard 250-sheet paper supply, which can be expanded to 780 sheets. Its maximum output is 250 sheets. No optional output devices are available for this machine.

Not surprisingly, consumables costs are high. Even using Lexmark’s high-yield toner cartridges will cost 3.0¢ a page for black-and-white and 16.3¢ a page for color.

s pretty steep, but typical for printers in this price

t’

Tha range.

The C500n is simply a basic printer that seems to be designed for the casual office user who needs occasional color printing f

or a special pr

oject but doesn’t want to spend a lot. For this type of a customer, it’s an appealing bargain, offering performance comparable to far more expensive models

Chart entry — page 94

xmark C530dn

xmark C532n

Le Lexmark C532dn

k C534n

xmar

Le Lexmark C534dn Lexmark C534dtn

22ppm full color 24ppm black & white

each from their C524 predecessors), these machines achieve even more remarkable speed, while many of their rivals run at speeds of 4 to 8ppm in color. They also have some superior features that make them more than just minimal printers.

The six new models in the family are:

l The C532n, the base-level machine with a 250-sheet

paper capacity and Ethernet, along with 128MB of memory. ($499)

l The C530dn, a retail-channel version of the C532n,

also $499, and almost, but not quite, identical. The major differences: the C530dn adds duplexing but has a 65,000-page duty cycle, while the C532n has a 75,000-page duty cycle but no duplexing. The C532n also has higher supply yields than the C530dn.

l The C532dn ($699), which is identical to the C532n

except it adds standard duplexing.

l The C534n, whic

h adds a faster pr

ocessor and an optional hard disk, as well as networking and also has 128MB of standard memory ($699).

l The C534dn, which adds standar

d automatic duplex-

ing to the C534n. ($999)

l The C534dtn, which adds an extra 500-sheet tray

($1,299).

Lexmark C530/C532/C534 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Sum-up:

Another Le

xmark breakthrough in speed and price

for color laser printing.

ee years ago, Lexmark came out with the C510 series,

T a very good economy model priced at $599 and up. Two years ago, the company topped itself with the C520/C522/C524 f

amil

h printed a

hic

t 20ppm in color and black-and-white, a strong performance level for such economical machines. Now these models have

gone another evolution, re-emerging as the

under C530/C532/C534 family, which prints at 22ppm in color and 24ppm in black-and-white. Although Lexmark hasn’t

aised the prices fr

om the pr

vious g

eneration (in fact,

Lexmark dropped the price on the C534 models by $200

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Price

Black print cartridge $95.00 1,500 $ 0.026 $ 0.026

Cyan print cartridge $95.00 1,500 $ 0.040 N/A

Magenta print cartridge $95.00 1,500 $ 0.040 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $95.00 1,500 $ 0.040 N/A

4-color drum $35.50 20,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

GE COSTS

AL PER-P

Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.1470 $ 0.0280

14.70 2.80

Black-and-white cost per page

The Le

xmark C532n prints color a

t 22ppm speed a

t 1,200dpi

resolution.

The C530dn/C532n engine comes with a 375MHz processor, while the C534 models have a 625MHz processor made sur

. Along with a few other v

e that getting into color printing at the entry

endors, Lexmark has

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.

These models have decent memory capacity. They start with 128MB, upgradeable to 640MB. That much memory may be helpful, because unlike some of their low-cost

, these are Postscript-based machines, making

competitor them useful f

or a wide v

ariety of

graphics applications. The models print at a resolution of 1,200dpi. A 40GB hard disk is an option on the C534 models.

Paper capacity is limited, based on the standard 250sheet paper tray, a 100-sheet MPF feeder (except for the C534n, which has a manual MPF feeder), and an optional 550-sheet pa

per tr

y (standar

d on the C534dtn).

There is a 250-sheet output tray. Duplexing is standard on all of these models except for the C532n and C534n.

USB is standard, as is Ethernet. Wireless 802.11b

Ethernet is an option as well.

xmar

models y

lished suppl

t pub

k hasn

et,

’

ut we anticipate they’ll be on the high end:

y costs f

or these new

around 2.8¢ for black pages and 14.7¢ for color. The good thing about these machines’ consumables is their higher capacity: black cartridges print 5,000 pages, while the three color cartridges last for 3,000 pages.

hat sets its machines off from com-

es w

k belie

xmar

is a more extensive set of color-printing controls,

s’

petitor

The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

uch like those found on higher-cost printers. This series also allows the administrator to lock out some users from use of color, a good feature for a workgroup in which only some users really need color and where you want to keep costs down. Like other Lexmark models, there is an extensive suite of software available, with support for barcodes, and for forms creation and printing.

But where these machines have everyone else beat is in sheer speed for the price. Other low-cost models print at a relatively slow speed in color, from 4ppm to 8ppm in color. At 22ppm color printing, this family has remarkable speed, setting a new standard for low-cost color lasers. Plus it has standard PostScript, a unique feature in this price class.

As such, it competes very well with a slew of low-cost printers from Dell and others. The C532n is particularly a standout, while the C534 models are quite solid as well, if a little less unique.

Making a workgroup color printer for under $1,000 that has decent color control software is a nice plus. What’s remarkable is that its 22ppm color speed makes it a creditable workg

roup printer on its own. This family gets our

Editor’s Choice Award.

Chart entries — pages 94–96

Lexmark C770n Lexmark C770dn Lexmar

k C770dtn

25ppm full color 25ppm b

lack & white

Sum-up: A strong small-workgroup printer family, but with tough rivals.

The new C770 family is one of two similar color laser printer families. At 25ppm in both color and black-andwhite, these models are very affordable mid-range color lasers. The printers have relatively modest paper han-

but they otherwise have a solid but standard set of

dling

eatures.

he three models in this family are:

l The C770n is the base model, with 600 sheets of stan-

along with stan

d input and 256MB of

dar

memor

dard Ethernet connectivity ($999).

l The C770dn adds automatic duplexing ($1,299).

l T

he C770dtn adds another 500 sheets of input stan-

d and holds up to 256MB of memory ($1,549).

dar

Based on an 800MHz pr

ocessor

these mac

hines ar

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Better Buys for Business

Lexmark C770 Consumables costs at-a-glance

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 $203.00 6,000 $ 0.034 N/A

Waste toner bottle/black $13.00 150,000 $ 0.000 $ 0.000

Waste toner bottle/3-color

Maintenance kit $582.00 120,000 $ 0.005 $ 0.005

Fuser kit $343.00 150,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

e than adequatel

mor

$13.00 50,000 $ 0.000 N/A

y powered. Memory starts at 256MB

and can be augmented to 768MB

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.1275 $ 0.0257

12.75 2.57

. A 40GB hard disk is an

Black-and-white cost per page

(expensive) option. PostScript 3 also comes standard.

Connectivity is thr

ough USB and Ethernet. A Wi-Fi

interface (IEEE 802.11b) is also available.

The paper supplies, as we have stated, are limited. These models come with a 500-sheet paper tray and a 100-sheet b

ypass. Ther

e’s an extr

a 500-sheet tray, optional on all but the C770dtn model. Output is limited to only 250 sheets. The printer can, however, handle card stock. Lexmark rates the duty cycle at 100,000 pages a month.

Consumables are on the high side. You’ll spend 2.6¢ per black-and-white page and 12.8¢ for color. Such prices are, unfortunately, increasingly typical even for midrange color printers. They offset the low prices of the machines themselves.

he HP Color LaserJ

T (22ppm) a

t a similar price

y has a slo

et 3800 f

amil

. The Lexmark C770 family has

wer speed

a little advantage in the way of paper supply (1,100 versus 850 sheets), but it’s very hard to choose between the two. It comes down to which of the two vendors you prefer and which of the extra features they supply you pre-

Both are very good choices.

The C770 family offers good features at a moderate price. It has strong competition from a number of other color printers in its speed and price range. Still, this family is deserving of our Editor’s Choice Award.

es 96–97

t entries — pa

Char

www.betterbuys.com

Lexmark C772n Lexmark C772dn Lexmark C772dtn

25ppm full color 25ppm black & white

Sum-up: Capable color printers that offer serious production capacity at a moderate price.

The new C772 series is similar in many ways to the C770 series. The engines, speeds, and most of the configurations are exactly the same as that model family. So what is the difference?

The family members are:

l The C772n is the base model, with 600 sheets of stan-

dard input, 256MB of memory, and standard Ethernet ($1,499).

l The C772dn adds automatic duplexing ($1,799).

l The C772dtn adds another 500 sheets of input

($2,099).

In fact, these machines have exactly the same standard features as the C770 models: 800MHz processor, 768MB maxim

um memor

y, PostScript 3, optional wireless. What

they do have that’s different is potential to expand.

You have a wide variety of input options. On all the models, you can ha

ve up to two 500-sheet paper trays in total, or you can add a 2,000-sheet high-capacity feeder. There’s also an optional 40-envelope feeder.

hese models ha

ve two unique features as well. There’s an outdoor media tray that handles special media, which can be used to cr

te signa

ge that can withstand direct sunlight and other unusual environmental conditions. Lexmark developed this capacity based on user requests from companies like retailers that wanted colorful signs they could place at the front door. There is also a banner tr ha

y tha

e r

ou to f

ws y

t allo

ust paper-feed roller technology that can feed

eed 8.5" x 36" pa

per. These trays

thicker-than-usual media.

On the output side

, there’s a similar choice of devices. In addition to the standard 250-sheet output tray, there’s an optional 500-sheet output tray. You can also get a fivebin mailbo

x unit,

with a total ca

pacity of

500 sheets Finally, there’s a 2,000-sheet finisher that can staple up to 30 sheets, and that also comes with a 3-hole punch.

These models also have the ability to be upgraded to a multifunctional with the X4500 copy/scan unit, the same scanner option tha

e is less than tha

Cost per pa

as used with its pr

t w

edecessor

the closely related

t of

e Business Pub

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The Color Laser Printer Guide: Vendor & Product Profiles

Lexmark C772 Consumables costs at-a-glance

Price

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 $ 0.025 N/A

Yellow print cartridge $374.00 15,000 $ 0.025 N/A

Waste toner bottle/black $13.00 150,000 $ 0.000 $ 0.000

aste toner bottle/3-color

Maintenance kit $582.00 120,000 $ 0.005 $ 0.005

Fuser kit $343.00 150,000 $ 0.002 $ 0.002

TOTAL PER-PAGE COSTS

We calculate it as around 1.9¢ per black-and-white

C770.

$13.00 50,000 $ 0.000 N/A

Yield

Full-color cost per page

$ 0.0936 $ 0.0186

9.36 1.86

Black-and-white cost per page

page, 9.4¢ for color. These prices are much more reasonable than those of the C770 and are pretty good in terms of the market.

Unlike the C770, the C772 series is in a specialized category — there are a limited number of color laser printers with extended options for output and input. In fact, this color laser printer famil

y is one of

the few tha

t prints at letter/legal size that has an extended range of options, including an envelope feeder, high-capacity feeder, finish-

, adequate output capacity, and a mailbox option. Most

er competiti sheets of

ve models offer, for example, only 250 or 500

hereas the C772 models allow you to

output,

stack thousands of sheets.

In spite of added capacity (and the otherwise solid features it shares with the C770), the C772 family is quite affordable. There are, of course, very good ledger-format machines with excellent finishing options (for example, K

ocer

s FS-C8008 f

a’

amily), but few letter or legal size

ones.

xmark has long been clever about getting an extra

Le bang from its development dollars. Here we have a printer family that is the higher-performance version of its vir-

y identical sib

tuall

e quite distinct.

ling

et the mar

ket niches and prices

Chart entries — pages 97–98

Update information and more

www.betterbuys.com

exmark C920 Lexmark C920n Lexmark C920dn Lexmark C920dtn

32ppm full color 36ppm black & white

Sum-up: Lexmark’s powerful high-speed entry in the color ledger-size printer market.

Lexmark touts the ledger-size C920’s “dynamic” LED technology, claiming that it cures some of the registration problems that previous generations of LED printers encountered. In any case, we think it is a very good color printer. It’s a faster version of the 28ppm C912, now discontinued.

The C920 series has speeds of 32ppm in color and 36ppm in black-and-white, and achieves this speed at an interpolated resolution of 2,400dpi. We’ve come a long way from just a few years ago, when 8ppm in color was considered fast.

The C920 comes in four different flavors:

l The C920 is the base version ($3,299).

l The C920n adds networking ($3,549).

l The C920dn adds duplexing ($3,749).

l The C920dtn inc

ay, and netw

per tr

ludes automatic duplex,

orking ($4,999).

a second

All models in this family start with 256MB of memory,

h can be upg

hic

raded to 1GB. They use an extraordinarily powerful 1GHz processor and feature USB connectivity and PostScript 3 support as standard. All but the base model support standard Ethernet. An optional 40GB hard drive is also available.

The C920 family comes with a standard paper capacity

of 650 sheets in the base model, made up of a 100-sheet

ultipur

pose tray and a 550-sheet tray. The C920dtn, as we have stated, comes with a second standard tray. Paper capacity can be expanded to a whopping 5,300 sheets

On the output

thr

ough v

arious combina

tions of

options

. side, 650 sheets come standard with all models, though Lexmark also offers a 1,000-sheet-capacity finisher. The finisher performs single-position stapling of up to 30 sheets and has optional 3/4-hole punch.

e sheets

siz

One nice touc he 100-sheet m

h is the a

ultipur

pose f

bility to print o

eeder can hold sheets tha

are up to 12.5" x 36".

An optional feature you may want to add is Lexmark’s

. t

e Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com 29

ressiv

+ 109 hidden pages