It doesn’t seem so long ago that industry analysts were confidently predicting that the PC would eliminate the need for printed documents. Well, they can’t be right all the time. Printing is as popular as ever – and it’s getting faster and cheaper all the time. The good news is that home users are now benefiting from the lower costs associated with high-quality printing. Enter the colour laser.
Better printing proposition
Though the technology has been around for years (HP introduced its first LaserJet in 1984), laser printers are still going strong because they combine fast print speeds, sharp output, and a low cost per page. Like copiers, laser printers use a photographic drum to attract electrically charged toner and transfer it to paper, where the image is fused using a heated roller. The vast majority of laser printers are monochrome (black and white), and they are best-suited for printing text and simple graphics. Until recently colour laser printers were too expensive for individuals or small businesses, but there are now several models that could be described as within the home user’s reach, and these are fast becoming viable alternatives to colour inkjets.
So, what should you be looking for when it comes to buying one? Here we take a look at some of the things to take into consideration while you’re out shopping.
Speedier option
This is one of the areas in which a colour laser has distinct advantages over an inkjet. Printer speeds vary a lot, with lasers being faster than inkjets and monochrome text printing faster than colour graphics. Watch out for a common industry ruse: The page per minute (ppm) quotes in the printer specs often measure how fast the engine can turn out blank paper. This is not the actual printing time since it fails to take into account processing time. Raw engine speed does give an indication of true printing time, but it’s wiser to read printer reviews that quote actual ppm. A speed of 8 to 12 ppm in colour is about the standard for entry level colour lasers.
Talkin’ about a resolution
The printer’s ‘resolution’ refers to how many dots per inch (dpi) can be printed. Put simply, the higher the resolution, the better the image quality. Resolutions are quoted for both the horizontal and vertical (i.e. 300×600 dpi). The standard resolution to aim for is 600×600 dpi. Depending on your needs, you may feel you want more than that, although you won’t need anything higher than 1200 dpi unless you want top photographic quality. If you’re not familiar with the different gradations of resolution, the best way to get a clear idea as to what is acceptable for your needs is to get your hands on a sample sheet – any good dealer will provide one for you.
Paper handling
It’s easy, when confronted by the array of printers on the market, to lose sight of the simplest part of the process: good old-fashioned paper. What are you going to be printing on? For text, most printers do well on ordinary stock, but colour printers often require specialised stock for optimal results. Factor in the extra cost for this paper when you evaluate cost per page. As far as page size goes, most lasers and inkjets can handle letter and legal sizes, but expect to pay more for a printer that can handle tabloid sized (11×17) pages. Some printers can also print on heavy stock, envelopes, transparencies and labels. Make sure the printer can handle the types of paper you need. If you want to print on a variety of papers, you should also consider multiple paper trays. The capacity of the trays may be a factor depending on your expected printing volume. Most printers we looked at included optional expansion trays – take note of these if you think that this might be an issue down the line. Duplex capability (printing on both sides of the page) is also something to look for.
Memory matters
A printer uses memory to store a document, just as your computer does. Some of the cheaper models hold only enough memory to print low resolution graphics – not much use if you want to impress the neighbours with your holiday snaps. Be certain the printer has sufficient memory to print at the resolutions you want. For a colour laser you should be looking for around the 64Mbyte mark. Many offer more, usually as a (more expensive) option. Find out how much extra memory costs in case you want to upgrade later to increase the printer’s efficiency. Also find out if you can upgrade with cheaper generic memory or if you have to use the manufacturer’s brand.
Compatibility counts
These days it’s not as much as a problem as it once was, but compatibility with your PC is obviously a crucial aspect of whatever you buy. Not every printer is compatible with both Apple and Windows computers – the specs will tell you what operating systems are supported. Allot depends on the printer language, which consists of computer commands that tell a printer how to format a document. The industry standards are PCL (Hewlett-Packard Printer Command Language) and Adobe Postscript. Windows GDI (Graphical Device Interface) can cause trouble if you’re printing from DOS programs so check if the printer also uses another language like PCL. Postscript is the best at retaining the original formatting if you’re swapping files with others.
Interface. Another issue between your PC and printer is that of how they are physically connected. For most home users the parallel port is fine. These days many printers ship with a USB 2.0 port; again, totally acceptable for the home user. They offer a higher data transfer rate and the option to daisy chain many devices together. If you plan on using the machine for a workgroup you’ll probably require a network connection. There are many choices for network connectors so they are often considered extra accessories and not included in a printer’s cost.
Models on the market
Entry level colour laser printers
Dell Laser Printer 3000cn
EUR*470
Contact: Dell 1850 334 143
The Dell Laser Printer 3000cn is a networked colour-capable laser printer that, although aimed at small workgroups, is priced competitively enough to make it viable for the serious home user. In fact, it’s not far off the price bracket of similar-speed monochrome-only products. It offers fast printing speeds of up to 25 A4 ppm in monochrome and 5 A4 ppm in colour. It also comes with built-in Ethernet networking and a robust 45 000 page monthly duty cycle, making it one of the heavy hitters of our round-up. It’s powered by a 300Mhz processor with 64Mbyte memory as standard, expandable up to 576Mbyte. There’s a 900 sheet maximum input capacity, and an optional duplex unit for double-sided printing. As well as the networking capability, good connectivity is assured with USB and parallel ports. As far as the warranty is concerned, one year on-site next business day service comes as standard with the printer, with an extended warranty service available.
Epson Aculaser C1100
EUR*525
Contact: www.epson.ie
The Aculaser C1100 is capable of an impressive 2400 dpi resolution, thanks to Epson’s Aculaser Resolution Improvement technology. Coupled with a 25 ppm print speed for monochrome and 5 ppm for colour, this makes for a decent workhorse. Standard memory runs at 34Mbyte, but this can be increased to 256Mbyte. Likewise, the standard 180 sheet multi-purpose input tray can be scaled up to a 500 sheet paper cassette should you feel the need. Manual duplex comes with the basic model. Connectivity options are fine, with IEEE 1284 parallel interface, and USB 2.0 compatibility. If you’re looking for networking capability you’ll have to splash out a little more for the C1100N. A one year on site warranty can be extended to three years.
Oki Colour Page Printer C3100
EUR*482
Contact: Oki 01 404 9590
The C3100 is an unusual piece of kit, being the only single pass printer in its class (most of the competition doing the job in four or more). With fast print speeds of 12ppm colour and 20ppm mono it’s a speedy machine – and it’s also extremely versatile. It prints everything from business cards to 1.2m long banners, assisted by Oki’s Template Manager software. Users can also benefit from the ‘Ask Oki’ support service– a button on the print driver screen that takes users straight to an information-packed website specific to the C3100. It ships with 32Mbyte of memory as standard, which can be optionally scaled up to 288Mbyte if required. Resolution is an impressive 600 x 1200 dpi. When it comes to paper handling, there’s a choice between 300 and 100 sheet input trays. The C3100 is covered by a one year on site warranty.
Brother HL 2700CN
EUR*653
Contact: www.brother.ie
Anyone that has been keeping an eye on Brother’s prices will have noticed that the HL 2700CN has dropped by around EUR*150 since the beginning of the year, making it a more attractive proposition to the home user. It’s certainly something of a performer: It offers up to 31 ppm mono and eight ppm colour, 64Mbyte of Memory (upgradeable to 576Mbyte), a 250 sheet paper tray and is ready networked. Options include duplex printing and a 530 sheet lower tray. It has a standard resolution of 600 x 600 dpi which can be increased to 2400 dpi with CAPT (Colour Advanced Photoscale Technology) and is capable of printing onto plain paper, transparencies, envelopes and labels. A good deal of attention has been paid to the machines ‘usability’, evidenced by such things as a function that indicates printer errors on the PC that includes an animated instruction guide to show users how to fix printing errors.
HP Color LaserJet 2550L
EUR*335
Contact: www.hp.com/ie
HP’s most affordable colour laser printer cranks out 4ppm in colour and 19 ppm in black. The machine uses HP’s new fuser technology which claims to provide a wider colour gamut with brighter colours and darker blacks giving you sharp text and graphics as well as good colour quality. It runs on a 264Mhz processor and ships with 64Mbyte of memory (expandable to 192Mbyte). It can handle its fair share of media types – paper, glossy media, transparencies, labels, envelopes and cardstock. It features a multi-purpose tray with 125 sheet input capacity. Connectivity is certainly sufficient for the home user – one high peed USB (compatible with USB 2.0 specifications) port and one IEEE 1284-B compliant parallel port.
Konica Minolta Magicolor 2400W
EUR*385
Contact: Konica Minolta 1800 23 00 00
The people at Konica Minolta clearly had ease of use at the forefront of their minds when they set about designing the 2400W. The machine is ready to print as soon as you connect it. A complete set of five consumables is pre-installed for you. Better still, it offers you direct front access to paper, consumables and for maintenance – no more fiddling around at the back. Connectivity is perfectly acceptable, with a USB 2.0 port. It’s also no slouch, with claimed speeds of 5 ppm in colour and 20 ppm in black and white. With an installed memory of 32Mbyte, it uses a high quality polymerised toner, offering an impressive 2400 dpi resolution. Not at all bad for a low-cost machine that can easily fit on your desktop.
Samsung CLP-500
EUR*410
Contact: Oltech 01 460 7999
Certainly one of the quieter machines out there, the CLP-500 can produce 20 pages per minute in black, and 5 in colour, at a pleasingly high resolution of 1200 dpi. It ships with 64Mbyte of memory, expandable to 192Mbyte. The standard connections are the USB 2.0 and IEEE 1284 parallel ports, but 10/100 Base TX and10/100 Base TX+ 802.11 b wireless LAN can be included as an option. The machine ships with Duplex printing capability, which is nice to see. The multipurpose 100 sheet feeder can be upgraded to a 500 sheet cassette, both capable of dealing with plain paper, transparencies, envelopes, labels and card stock.
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