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Laser Printers March 1999 • Vol.7 Issue 3 |
Premium Laser Printers Over-$1,000 Workhorses Offer High Quality & Speed | ||
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Because of the demands placed on these printers, not to mention their high prices, these devices carry a heavier burden to perform. Printers in this class will usually be the primary workhorse of a networked office, and as such are used at a high volume per month. Because of these heavy demands, the printer's performance and reliability are tantamount to an office or business's ability to function. These printers feature speeds between 16ppm and 40ppm. They are capable of high-resolution printing—usually around 1200dpi, are able to hold far greater paper volumes as well as a variety of paper sizes, and are aimed at network deployment. Another prevalent feature among these high-volume laser printers is the increased output of the toner cartridges. The cartridges alone can run into the hundreds of dollars with a projected monthly volume of 10,000 to 15,000 pages, compared to the 2,500 to 3,000 pages per month for the sub-$400 printers. The estimated number of pages per month is based on 5% toner coverage per page. Printers in this class were subjected to all seven of the tests detailed in the introduction. The results are on the accompanying chart, and we've tried to highlight various features of the units that we found particularly impressive or vexing. All of the laser printers were tested on an IBM PC with a Pentium II 300MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, and Windows 98 operating system. Again, all were put through the same battery of six tests mentioned in the introduction. We also connected each of the computers to our Ethernet network using TCP/IP, and judged the ease with which that was accomplished. The ease of setup and accompanying documentation, the ease of networking, and the quality of output were all considered in our final evaluation. GCC Technologies Elite XL 20/600 GCC Technologies has an interesting business model in that it doesn't generally make use of the traditional sales channel to distribute its product, but goes straight to the customer via its "Virtual Printer Store." GCC uses its Web site (http://www.gcctech.com) and a toll-free number to communicate directly with customers in order to better meet their needs (not to mention saving on overhead). As a result of this approach, GCC isn't necessarily a household name, but their printers are certainly worth a look.
Networking the XL 20/600 was also a bit different from the normal procedure, in that the process is mostly done from within a Web browser thanks to GCC's WebAdmin software. With WebAdmin, your network administrator or printer tech can make adjustments and run diagnostics from anywhere he or she can get on the Internet. Performance. Although much of the XL 20/600's setup is unusual, and despite the fact that GCC does business a bit differently than many printer companies, there is nothing untoward about the work the XL 20/600 does. Our PPST test showed the printer hits its 20ppm specification, although some tests returned results of somewhat slower speeds. This printer produced excellent, high-quality output. Highly detailed black-and-white graphics files took a while for the unit to print, but they were worth the wait. Text and charts produced by the XL 20/600 were as good as any we have seen. The XL 20/600 handles all sizes of paper and envelopes, and the printer's main paper feeder holds 500 sheets in several different formats (GCC calls it a Universal Tray). Second and third paper feeders can be added to the unit, as can extra RAM—the 16MB included can be expanded to 64MB. Several forms of network connectivity are supported by the XL 20/600, including EtherTalk, LocalTalk, NetWare, and TCP/IP. The printer can be physically connected to a network by way of Ethernet, bi-directional parallel, or SCSI interfaces. GCC works to keep total cost of ownership low by providing 14,000-page toner cartridges for $239. The Elite XL 20/600 has an MSRP of $1,799. In short, although the GCC brand doesn't have the clout of an HP or a Xerox, initial impressions indicate this is a printer worth considering. HP LaserJet 4000 TN Setup. We were delighted with the simplicity of the setup for this exceptional printer, which consisted primary of inserting the toner cartridge. After connecting the necessary cables and power cord, we put the installation software in the CD-ROM drive of the host PC, the drivers loaded, and we were ready to roll.
The HP JetDirect 600N print server also supports all of the major network operating systems and provides flash memory for upgrades. We connected to our network in a matter of minutes—the other HP printers tested are similarly configured. Our testing lab found the 4000 TN, the 5000 GN, and the 8000 DN to have the best printer manager software of any of the printers tested. Performance. Although first page speeds were quick, even compared to printers that were faster overall, the first speed test found a rate about 4.5 pages slower than the 17ppm manufacturer claim. The PPST test exceeded the specifications, however, with a result of 20ppm. The HP 4000 TN has 8MB RAM and is capable of 1200dpi resolution. The quality of the output was excellent, too. Text was uniform and crisp throughout all of our testing, and the graphics were detailed and clear. The HP 4000 TN has 110 scalable TrueType fonts and PostScript 2 emulation. The control panel provides sufficient control and gives plenty of information about error messages. You'll want to keep the detailed user's guide handy to help decipher the codes for error messages, as well as to refer to the excellent troubleshooting section. There are two internal paper trays that hold 250 sheets each, and an external tray that feeds 100 sheets of paper, 10 envelopes, or 20 index cards. The external tray also accommodates transparencies and odd-sized paper. There are two types of toner cartridges available for the 4000 TN. A 10,000-page yield cartridge lists for between $120 and $168, and a 6,000-page yield cartridge lists for between $85 and $119. The 4000 TN comes with a 1-year warranty, with service performed at Hewlett-Packard. The street price is $1,599. HP LaserJet 5000 GN The 5000 LaserJet printers from Hewlett-Packard replaced the LaserJet 4V and 4MV series, and are specifically designed for workgroup printing.
As with the HP 4000 TN, networking the 5000 GN was a snap. The 5000 GN includes the HP JetDirect 600N print server for Ethernet 10Base-T, 10Base-2, and LocalTalk networks, a bi-directional IEEE 1284-compliant parallel interface, and an RS-232 serial (9-pin) interface. Network protocols supported are IPX/SPX, DLC/LLC, TCP/IP, and EtherTalk. The HP JetAdmin software supports a number of network environments including Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Window 95, IBM OS/2 Warp, Novell NetWare, and Unix. Performance. Although the manufacturer's specified page-per-minute rate was a respectable 16, we once again found a discrepancy between our first test results of slower-than-expected 12ppm and the PPST test results of a zippy 23ppm. We certainly won't fault the printer for kicking pages out faster than expected. The quality of the output was excellent—the Photoshop graphic was so clear and detailed that the we could actually see the sunlight reflected off the tulips. The text was a rich, dark black, and the gradations of gray on the charts were distinct and very easy to differentiate. As for paper capacity, the feeder tray holds 100 sheets of paper and adjusts to allow for index cards, envelopes, transparencies, post cards, heavy stock, and up to 12.28 x 18.5-inch paper. An internal paper tray holds 250 sheets, and two more optional feeders and trays hold 250 and 500 sheets each. In order to accommodate the optional duplexing feature, we had to remove the 500-sheet tray. The duplex feature printed both 8.5 x 11-inch and 11 x 17-inch paper with ease. The quality was excellent with none of the smeared or toner-spotted pages you sometimes see with copy machine duplexing. The standard 12MB RAM is expandable to 100MB through two open 100-pin DIMM slots. All members of the HP LaserJet 5000 family have optional 2MB and 4MB flash memory modules to store fonts, forms, and signatures. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend the HP LaserJet 5000 GN, which is competitively priced at $2,599. If you need a high-quality network printer with or without duplexing capabilities, the 5000 GN is worth a look. Replacement toner cartridges yield 10,000 pages and list between $142 and $196. XX HP LaserJet 8000 DN Setup. Another Hewlett-Packard product, and another good experience. We had no problems setting up the printer even though the documentation we had was for the beta version. This printer was released in May 1998 and replaced the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5Si series.
Performance. The 8000 DN's output was high quality with uniformly rich, dark text characters, distinct grades of gray in the charts, and nicely rendered graphics. We were not quite as impressed with the graphics rendered by the 8000 DN as we were with the 5000 GN. Although the manufacturer's specifications say the LaserJet 8000 DN prints up to 24ppm, our speed tests showed a rather slow 15ppm. Again, however, the PPST speed test showed a faster rate, this time at 20ppm. The 8000 DN has an optional duplexing attachment which can print double-sided sheets on paper sizes up to 11 x 17 inches. Two internal paper trays hold 500 sheets each, and a multipurpose tray holds 100 sheets. Other options include an output bin/mailbox attachment, a stapler attachment, and five additional paper trays, which provide a maximum capacity of 3,100 sheets and 100 envelopes. Replacement toner cartridges for the 8000 DN sell for between $146 to $219 and yield about 15,000 sheets. The HP 8000 DN has an estimated retail price of $3,179, and carries a one-year, on-site warranty. HP LaserJet 8100 N Hewlett-Packard's 8100 series is the culmination of previous lines, including the 4000, 5000, and 8000 series LaserJet printers. The 8100 series printers are 32ppm black-and-white network units capable of up to 1200dpi resolution and are designed for high-volume use up to 150,000 pages a month. We recently tested the 8100 N, the series' intermediate model that offers a few more features than the 8100, but not quite as many as the 8100 DN. The 8100 N has an MSRP of $2,450.
supports HP Infrared Connect, which allows you to send print jobs to the printer using a laptop or palmtop's infrared transmitter, and it will allow these jobs to pre-empt network jobs, if necessary. Setup. We installed the 8100 N in no time thanks to HP's usual no-nonsense, professional documentation. The printer comes equipped to handle parallel, C-Link, and RJ-45 Ethernet connections. We installed it using an IEEE-1284 bi-directional parallel connection for our tests. The unit's software is very straightforward and we installed it without a hitch; in addition, the software configured the printer with Windows 98 without prompting. Performance. The 8100 N performed well in our tests. HP claims output time from data receipt to the actual printing is less than 17 seconds. In all but two of our tests (the PPST and a high-resolution graphics test), it lived up to the claim. The printer did not live up to HP's claim of 32ppm, coming in at a considerably slower 20ppm. However, 20ppm is nothing to sniff at, and the print quality more than makes up for any tardiness. The 8100 N produced flawless text, with crisp definition and dark, even tones. Graphics tests produced equally impressive results. The 8100 N comes with 80 scaleable TrueType fonts built in, and can handle another 30, which can be obtained via HP's FontSmart software. The 8100 N uses HP C4182X UltraPrecise toner cartridges, which HP claims can cut the cost per page by as much as 15%, even compared to its own C3909A cartridge. Each C4182X cartridge has an estimated capacity of up to 20,000 pages (based on an average of 5% coverage), and costs around $270. IBM InfoPrint 20 Setup. We were impressed with this sturdy, solid-looking printer. The setup was easy and nearly everything was automated except the path for the driver. The user's guide was hefty, detailed, and easy to follow.
Performance. Our first printer speed tests showed 15ppm, well below the manufacturer's 20ppm benchmark. The PPST test however, clocked the InfoPrint 20 at 20.2ppm. We especially liked the quality of the print output. Text was consistently dark, uniform, and legible, and the gradations of the gray bars on the charts were distinct and very easy to differentiate. The graphics were top notch, as well. The Photoshop image was one of the best, showing great detail on each flower, stem, and leaf. The 600dpi resolution can be enhanced to 1200dpi with software, but we printed the graphics at 600dpi, and were extremely pleased with the results. The InfoPrint 20 is also capable of edge-to-edge printing, thus eliminating the need to compress graphics or charts to make them fit on the page. With the optional duplexing feature, the InfoPrint 20 has one internal paper tray that holds 500 sheets, and a pull-down auxiliary tray that holds 150 sheets. There are two optional trays that hold 500 sheets of paper, and one optional 2000-sheet input drawer attachment. There are also trays specifically designed to hold envelopes or 500 sheets of ledger-size paper. The comprehensive users guide details which trays and feeds will accommodate postcards, index cards, envelopes, transparencies, labels, and letter- and legal-size paper in weights between 16 pounds and 28 pounds. Replacement toner cartridges, with a yield between 14,000 and 28,000 pages depending upon the print mode used, are available for from $180 to $243. The MSRP for the IBM InfoPrint 20 is $2,259, with a street price estimated around $1,599, excluding the duplexing attachment ($398 street) and the network card ($209 street). IBM InfoPrint 32
With an MSRP of $4,170, this is one serious printer. In addition to its great speed, when fully configured the InfoPrint 32 offers a wide range of functions that combine to form a total document solution. The InfoPrint can sort, collate, and staple your multi-page documents, and has advanced task scheduling capabilities thanks to IBM's InfoPrint Manager and Network Printer Manager software packages. It can handle standard duplex for two-sided printing, and has a usage cycle of up to 150,000 pages per month. The InfoPrint 32 comes equipped with 8MB of RAM, which can be expanded to 64MB; an optional 2.1GB hard drive is available. Setup. Getting the InfoPrint 32 ready to print wasn't a big job—in fact the only thing that had to be done was to tell our PC where to install the software, and add the printer within Windows. The unit we received for review did not contain printed documentation, although judging by the users manual that came with the InfoPrint 20, we assume it's helpful and easy to follow. Networking the InfoPrint 32 was also fairly standard. Although we had no manual, the printer's software came with an Adobe Acrobat file that took us through the process, during which IBM's software did most of the work. The InfoPrint 32 comes equipped to work with Novell's NetWare, Windows NT, IBM's LAN Server, EtherTalk, and TokenTalk for token ring networks. Performance. In some of our tests the InfoPrint's speed was amazing, and the PPST test actually rated the InfoPrint 32 at a bit over 32 ppm. The speed with which a printer completes a task often depends heavily on what type of printing you are doing, but speed remained constant throughout our tests, as did the quality of print. Of course, when you spend $4,000 on a printer, quality printing is not a surprise, it is expected. Nevertheless, the InfoPrint 32 did a fantastic job on each of the files we asked it to print. The InfoPrint 32 uses an UltraFine Toner cartridge that has an estimated capacity of up to 23,000 pages and which can reach 32,000 pages in Toner Savings Econo Mode. Of course, stretching the toner this far has an effect on print quality, but Econo Mode is fine for printing inter-office documents that don't need to impress customers. Toner cartridges cost $299, which equates to just over a 1 cent per print in toner cost. Lexmark Optra S 1625
Lexmark has equipped the 1625 with 75 scaleable PostScript fonts and 75 scaleable PCL fonts, and about 110 more fonts can be obtained with Lexmark's FontVision font management utility. The 1625 is also capable of handling several different sizes of paper trays. It comes with a 250-sheet drawer, and 500- and 2,000-sheet drawers are available for those that don't like to spend time refilling the printer. Its duty cycle is listed by Lexmark at up to 65,000 pages monthly. Setup. The 1625 was simple to set up, requiring only that a little attention be paid to the toner cartridge and that we installed the software. The software installed to our PC without a hitch, and in no time we were ready to move on. Throughout the process when any questions arose, we had Lexmark's 408-page user manual to refer to. Although the manual was big and thick, it was surprisingly easy to navigate, and contained some very well-drawn diagrams to assist in getting around the printer and its software. Performance. We achieved results of 12.25ppm in our text-file test, and the PPST registered a time of 16.25ppm for the Lexmark printer. Although the 1625 was a bit slower than some of the other printers in this category, it produced excellent results. In fact, the prints we received upon sending it our detailed graphic file were better than some printers that cost considerably more than the 1625. Text was produced very competently by the 1625 as well. The Optra S 1625 ships with a toner cartridge that is estimated to have a 7,500-page life. Replacement cartridges cost $183, unless you opt for the big 17,600-page cartridge, which costs $288. Cost per page with the smaller cartridge works out to about 2.4 cents per page, and the larger cartridge has a per-page cost of 1.6 cents. Lexmark Optra S 1855
Like other members of the Optra S line of lasers, the 1855 is compatible with most major networking protocols, including Novell NetWare, IBM OS/2 Warp LAN Server, Mac OS, IBM OS/400, Windows 95, and Windows NT Server. The TCP/IP protocol is supported. Without an Ethernet or Token Ring card, the 1855 can be installed using either bi-directional parallel connections or serial connections. Setup. We enjoyed the ease with which the 1855 installed. Lexmark's software bore the brunt of the task while we looked on. The included manual covers topics for the whole Optra S line, but was nonetheless easy to use and helpful. Performance. Lexmark wowed us once more. Like its network-ready sibling, the 1855 nearly made good on its claims of 18ppm speed, and even better than that was the quality with which documents were produced. The 1855, along with the 1625, produces text, graphics, and charts that belie their position at the bottom of the Premium price category. The 1855 has a monthly duty cycle of up to 65,000 pages, and like the 1625 comes with a 7,500-page toner cartridge, which costs $183, or 2.4 cents per page. A 17,600-page cartridge is available for $288, or 1.6 cents per page. Lexmark Optra S 1855n Setup. Setting up the Lexmark Optra S 1855n was painless and problem-free. The documentation was concise, and the software did everything for us; there was no hunting for printer drivers or paths. We connected the hardware, popped in the CD, and were printing within minutes.
Performance. Quality and speed for this printer were excellent. This was one of the few printers that actually printed as quickly as the manufacturer's 18ppm specifications claimed. Our first test showed only 12ppm, but the second PPST test produced 18ppm on the nose. Not only was the Optra S 1855n a zippy little printer, but it also produced great quality output. The text was uniformly dark and crisp, the charts showed excellent rendering of distinct grays, and the graphics were sharp and detailed. The 1855n supports 1200 x 1200 dpi, and has 8MB of RAM expandable to 132MB. At 1200dpi, print speed slows by half, but we tested at 600dpi and were impressed with both the speed and quality of the output. The Optra S 1855n has excellent paper-handling abilities, too. The internal tray has a 250-sheet capacity, and an external feeder holds an additional 100 sheets of paper. An optional envelope feeder snaps on and holds up to 85 envelopes, and an optional printer cabinet contains one 250-sheet drawer, one 500-sheet drawer, and one 2,000-sheet drawer. The standard feed supports index cards through legal-size paper. An optional duplexing attachment is available. Replacement toner cartridges with an expected output of 7,500 and 17,600 pages are available for $183 to $288 respectively. The list price for the Optra S 1855n is $1,439—a good price for an efficient printer with consistently high quality output. Lexmark Optra S 2455n
Connecting the Optra S 2455n to our network was a flawless endeavor and is nearly identical to the process for the Optra S 1855n. The 2455n has three PCI-based Internal Solutions Ports that support the following network options: Tri-Port Adapter, MarkNet S, and Coaxial/Twin Axial Adapter. The unit we tested shipped standard with an Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX network adapter. Protocols supported include: DLC/LLC, IPX/SPX, AppleTalk (EtherTalk and TokenTalk), and TCP/IP in the MarkNet S environment. The Optra S 2455n supports the major network operating systems, including: Novell NetWare, Windows NT Server, Windows 95, IBM LAN Server and Warp Server, IBM OS/400 V3R1, Unix, MAC OS, and almost any other platform that supports TCP/IP. Performance. The manufacturer's specified speed was 24ppm, but both our tests showed a slightly slower rate. Our first test produced 15.8ppm, and the PPST test resulted in 21ppm. Regardless, the output was excellent with high-quality, uniformly crisp text; sharp, clear graphics; and charts with distinctly rendered shades of gray. Although the maximum resolution was 1200dpi, we rated the graphics produced by the Optra S 2455n somewhat lower than those produced by the IBM InfoPrint 20 or the Xerox DocuPrint N40 both of which had resolutions of 600dpi. Our Optra S 2455n test unit came with 16MB RAM, upgradable to 136MB. Optional packages of 1MB, 2MB, or 4MB flash memory for this unit as well. The paper tray options were also varied and considerable. The unit we tested had three standard paper trays: one with a 250-sheet capacity and two with 500-sheet capacities. Five optional additional paper sources can be configured with or without envelope attachments, with paper capacities varying between 2,450 and 3,750 sheets. The unit we tested did not have a duplexing attachment, but Lexmark offers one for an additional $399. Two toner replacement cartridges are available; one with a 7,500-sheet maximum output, which sells for $183, and a high-yield cartridge with a 17,600-sheet maximum, which sells for $288. The Optra S 2455n comes with a 1-year, on-site warranty with options to extend to 4 years, and the list price is $2,350. QMS 2060 Setup. Setup of the QMS 2060 was problematic from the start, and the confusing electronic users guide was little help. The installation software didn't set up the drivers for us, nor did it tell us where the drivers were located.
Performance. We tend to prefer quality over speed during these tests, and the QMS 2060's output was excellent, once we were able to print. Originally our Photoshop test image took 45 minutes to print out one-half of a page, so we contacted QMS customer service. After hours of mulling over possible print driver or printer cable connection problems, the QMS team directed us to the lower right corner of the Print dialog box where users must select the preferred encoding before printing: ASCII, Binary, or JPEG. We printed all of our test files in ASCII in order to determine how all of the printers handled graphics and text in the same format. For some reason, the QMS printers struggled with the ASCII code for the Photoshop image, which was why our .JPG file took such an inordinate amount of time to print. None of the other printers had this much trouble with ASCII. Once we selected JPEG, the image printed out in a respectable 2:05, but this also negated our effort to test all the printers in the same format. In an effort to circumvent the problem, we also printed the file from Microsoft Imaging, the software package Kodak developed for Windows 98. Quality of both images was excellent, with the details of each flower beautifully rendered. The times were competitive with other printers in this class, and the quality of the output was high, which improved our overall impression. The QMS 2060 has a PostScript Level 2 printer driver and supports both 600 x 600 dpi and 1200 x 1200 dpi printing. We tested all of the printers on a Win98 operating system, but drivers are also available for Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0. Laser cartridges list at $219 with a page yield of 10,000. Again, the QMS performed quite well once we made all the connections. The first page speeds were slightly slower than the 20ppm IBM InfoPrint 20, but the print quality was excellent. Once you get past the setup problems, the QMS 2060 is an excellent high-volume printer capable of printing everything from postcards to 13 x 26 inch paper, and it's competitively priced at $1,999. QMS 3260 Print System QMS' new 32ppm monochrome laser has 600 x 600 dpi resolution, although with a bit of upgrading it can reach 1200 x 1200 dpi. The 3260 is designed to be a high-speed, high-output unit, and has a duty cycle of 150,000 pages per month. The printer comes with 16MB of RAM, and it can be expanded to a staggering 384MB. In keeping with the idea of speed, QMS gave the 3260 an NEC 150MHz RISC processor, and a 2.2GB IDE hard disk is available as an option.
Performance. The 3260 is indeed fast. The PPST test pegged it at 32.6ppm; the text file print test rated it at 18.75ppm. While some of our various file tests didn't quite get the 3260 all the way up to its advertised speed, it was definitely one of the fastest lasers we tested for this issue. In fact, only three of our other lasers managed to beat it. On the other hand, we found that the 3260 tended to sacrifice a bit of print quality to achieve its speed. Text was no problem, but when printing charts or photos, a considerable difference could be seen between the 3260's prints and others in its price range. But if you are looking for a printer that prints good, solid text at breakneck speeds, the 3260 might be for you. The printer comes ready to network using a host of different interfaces, including QMS' own CrownNet for Ethernet, NetWare, IPX/SPX, TCP/IP, EtherTalk, OS/2, Windows 3.x, and others. It connects physically via parallel, serial, or Ethernet connections, and a version of the company's CrownNet card is Token Ring compatible. The 3260 comes with two standard 500-sheet universal paper cassettes that accept letter- and legal-size paper, as well as ledger, executive, statement, folio, A3, and A4 sizes. A 50-sheet multipurpose tray is also included, and a 2,500-sheet input feeder can be obtained as an option. The 3260's toner cartridge has a yield of up to 23,000 pages, assuming 5% coverage, and costs about 1 cent per page. QMS has also developed an add-on unit called the SC-100 ($400) that partners with the 3260 and other QMS monochrome printers to create a copying solution. Essentially a scanner, this device is made to work in conjunction with the 3260 to add scan and copy capabilities to the already wide range of functions the printer possesses. Xerox DocuPrint N40 Setup. Documentation for the DocuPrint N40 is excellent and setup itself was a breeze. There was a small, functional users guide and extensive online instructions, which we didn't really need.
Performance. The only problem we encountered was that our output tests didn't indicate a rate near the touted 40ppm. Our first test clocked the output at 25ppm and the second, PPST test was 32ppm. Balancing this somewhat slow performance was the quality of the output, which was excellent. The DocuPrint N40 rendered an exceptionally detailed print of our test Photoshop flower image. Not only could you see the texture of the individual petals and leaves, but Xerox uses an edge-to-edge printing technique that eliminates the borders on the picture so the image wasn't condensed at all. If you've ever had to adjust margins or compress text to fit everything on a page, you'll appreciate the edge-to-edge printing option. One of the nifty features of the N40 was its ability to detect different multi-page print jobs and separate them into staggered stacks. Every job we sent through came out stacked slightly off center from the previous, making it easy to differentiate among them. There are two 500-sheet capacity paper trays in the DocuPrint N40 that adjust to accommodate six sizes of paper and three sizes of envelopes. There is an optional three-tray base attachment that holds 2,500 more sheets of paper. A 50-sheet bypass feeder is included with the printer. A feature we did not test, but find worth mentioning, is the ability to collate and staple documents with the addition of a 10-bin mailbox/collator attachment. The data sheet says the printer can staple packets in 50-sheet bundles and offers three positions for staples. The optional duplexing unit can handle four sizes of paper from 20 to 24 pounds, excluding postcards, transparencies, envelopes, and labels. Replacement cartridges, with an expected output of 23,000 sheets, carry a list price of $299. The DocuPrint N40, a high-volume workhorse capable of exceptional quality, is street priced at $3,500, and Xerox offers a 1-year, on-site service warranty and a 1-year limited warranty.  Premium Printers. There was some stiff competition in this category, especially since it is quite broad in range, and some of the more inexpensive printers did very well for the money. In the end, however, a few printers jumped out of the pack. The Xerox DocuPrint N40 isn't cheap, but it was the fastest of the printers we tested and managed to perform very competitively in terms of print quality despite its specified resolution of 600 x 600 dpi. The runner-up was the IBM InfoPrint 32. This unit does it all, and only loses out to the N40 by a few points. HP's LaserJet 8100 N comes in third in this category, with the third-fastest times, excellent print quality, and the ease of setup and use that we have come to expect from Hewlett-Packard. by Katie Dolan and Chris Trumble Premium-Priced Laser Printers Chart
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