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| Winners & Lasers |
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Laser Printers March 1999 • Vol.7 Issue 3 |
Winners & Lasers Top Laser Printers In Speed, Performance & Extras | ||
 As with any computer hardware purchase, there is a lengthy list of factors to consider when looking for a laser printer. In fact, there may be nearly as many considerations with a laser printer as with a single PC because of a laser printer's cost. To help you make a decision, we have rated the printers reviewed in this issue of our Guide to Buying Hardware on the basis of speed, document quality, and extra features.  Speed. In addition to the desire to get away from the damp, curling, and sometimes soggy documents that inkjet printers sometimes produce, people are also attracted to laser printers because they are fast. You may not think of your laser printer as speedy on Monday morning when you are late for a meeting, but most laser printers are fast compared to their inky cousins. Generally the rule is that the more you pay for a laser printer the faster it prints, and we haven't found a great many exceptions. Still we know that there are times when the budget just won't allow getting the fastest printer available, so we picked printers from each price category. Sub-$400. Brother's HL 1040 and 1050 were both very close to 10ppm, and in addition did a quick job of cranking out their first pages in each of our tests. They outperformed printers from companies like HP, NEC, Lexmark, and Xerox; and in so doing distinguished themselves as the fastest value-priced laser printers we tested. The HL 1050 lagged the 1040 but was still faster than most other printers in its category. In addition, the HL 1050 outperformed the 1040 in print quality for only $100 more. As a result, we give the nod to the 1050. $400-$1,000. In this category, top speeds in our text file test approached 13ppm, which is a few pages faster than those in the value category. The units that achieved these results were the Samsung QL-7000 (after all, QL stands for QwikLaser) and the Xerox DocuPrint N17. Samsung's unit, which was released late in 1998, edged the Xerox printer by a few pages in each test, except for the 12-page Word document trial, in which there was only 0.4 of a page separating the two. Since both units produced quality output and both cost $999, the Samsung's speed prompted us to give it first place in its category. $1,000+. This category offers another very tough decision. Both the Xerox DocuPrint N40 and the IBM InfoPrint 32 came close to hitting their 32ppm advertised speeds in the PPST test. Of course, as we mentioned earlier in the section, speed test results vary greatly based on what type of document or file you are printing, as well as the printer settings. Still, both these printers scored in the mid-20s in our text file test as well, where their nearest competitors didn't quite get 19ppm in that particular exercise. It was very tough to pick a clear winner, but in the end we deferred to the stopwatch, and the DocuPrint N40 beat the InfoPrint 32 in every test except for the detailed photo test. Color. None of the color printers we tested are really what we consider fast, and while faster is certainly better, if you need to print in color speed is less likely to be a major factor in the purchasing decision. The QMS magicolor 2 CX was the fastest of the color lasers in our color photograph test, and the fastest in the 12-page Word document test, which contains a graph or two that uses color. On the other hand, the NEC SuperScript 4400N was the fastest color laser in the text file test, and we think it would be nice to have a printer that is especially fast on those occasions when all you want to print is text files. In the final analysis, however, the 4400N was only about .5 page per minute faster than the magicolor 2 CX when printing text, so the overall pick for speed among color printers had to be the QMS unit. Performance. In addition to speed, people expect laser printers to produce high-quality documents that lend an air of professionalism to their work, and laser printers deliver. While inkjet printers have certainly come a long way in the last couple of years, they still have a tough time producing the same quality of work you get from a laser printer. Sub-$400. In our value-priced category, the HP LaserJet 1100 and the Xerox DocuPrint P8 were both standouts. When all was said and done, however, the Hewlett-Packard printer just had more polish. Xerox makes a great product, but HP has been in the inkjet and laser printer business for a long time and it shows. HP products simply have a quiet confidence about them, and every detail from their design down to their instruction manuals just evokes professionalism. Another factor that guided us in the direction of the LaserJet 1100 was that while it certainly wasn't the fastest unit we tested in its category, it was faster than the DocuPrint P8 in every test we ran. $400-$1,000. In the medium price range, the Samsung QL-7000 again wins out. It isn't just fast, it prints at a higher level of quality than the other units in this category. It prints professional-quality text, solid charts and graphs, and clear, sharp graphics. The medium-priced printer that came closest was the HP 2100 TN, which also produces very good text, but which didn't do quite as well for us when printing graphics. $1,000 +. Judging our premium-price printers on print quality was tough. At this level, each of the printers we tested showed some fancy footwork compared to lower-price models. The HP 8100 DN did an excellent job with text, a good job with charts and graphs, and a decent job with graphics. The Lexmark Optra S 1855 did an excellent job with charts and graphs, a good job with text, and a decent job with graphics. When all tests were done, however, and we sat back with the prints that each unit had produced, we discovered something that took us by surprise. The GCC Elite XL 20/600 did an excellent job with text, an excellent job with charts and graphs, and a very good job with graphics. We had to look at each set again to be sure, but the GCC laser did consistently better work than the others. Naturally, when a printer that costs $1,799 outperforms printers with price tags twice as high, it's quite a revelation. Of course there are other, less tangible things to consider, such as the fact that GCC isn't as established as its famous competitors. We don't want to imply that GCC falls short after the sale—we have no evidence either way about that—but we know that companies like Hewlett-Packard and Xerox have proven track records for service and technical support. According to GCC's Platinum Exchange plan, if you have a problem with your GCC printer they will send a replacement printer or the parts you need overnight via Federal Express. This is a good policy, and the company is certainly worth looking in to. Color. Among color laser printers reviewed in this issue, the Xerox DocuPrint C55 stands out when evaluated by performance. Xerox put a lot into this printer, and while there are color lasers that may be more affordable or that have more bells and whistles, there aren't any that can create color images as well. Extras. Our winners in this category were chosen not because of their speed or performance, but because of little features—things that make them easier to set up or use, for example—that their competitors don't have. Sub-$400. The HP 1100A, which is right on the border between laser printers and multi-function devices, has a cool, easy-to-add attachment that allows the printer to copy and scan. If you're looking for a compact way to meet several document-related needs with one unit, this is it. $400-$1,000. HP's LaserJet 2100 TN has a built-in infrared receiver that can be used to link the printer to a notebook PC, Palm Pilot, or other IrDA device, enabling printing without a physical connection. Many laser printers support this technology, but most don't come with the hardware required to do the deed. It may not be something that you would use every day, but if an important client shows up and needs to print a contract from his laptop, how smart would you look for showing him or her how to set up a quick infrared link with the printer? $1,000 +. GCC's WebAdmin software struck us as a rather handy technology. If you were working late and the office printer went down, you could call your department's hardware tech and explain the problem. The tech could log on to the Internet from home and use a Web browser to perform a diagnostic check. Color. The only thing that really stands out among the color lasers we tested for this issue as an extra is Lexmark's slashing of their printer's price to $1,299. At the very least, some offices that need color printing but couldn't afford it will be able to now; and if we are lucky, Lexmark will spark a trend among color laser printer companies. The Bottom Line. Obviously, there are laser printers out there suited to meet the varied needs of different people, just as in every category of computer hardware, accessories, and peripherals. If you know what kind of documents you need to print, and you know how many of them you need to print per month, you're well on your way. by Chris Trumble |
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