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Macworld Buying Guides: Color laser printers
What to look for in a color laser printer—and three models you should consider
1 diggs
by
Chris Holt
,
Macworld.com
Color laser printers offer great speed and reliability for demanding business and home users. At their best when put to work in a network
setting, color laser printers allow multiple users to take advantage of the high speeds and duplexing capabilities of the printer.
Oki C6150dn
But how to weigh those advantages? We’ve got some tips on shopping for a color laser printer if you’re in the market for one this holiday
season. And we’ve got a trio of recommendations for models that passed muster in our tests.
Color laser printer buying advice
Consider the cost
Most quality color laser printers run in the range of $400 to $600 and are on the heavy side (around 50 pounds). They
are a bigger investment than standard printers and require more room to operate. Most come with longer warranties than typical inkjet
printers, however.
Two sides are better than one
Printers that offer duplexing can print on both sides of the page—a useful feature for users who want to
maximize speed and efficiency. And printing on both sides of a page ultimately saves you money on paper.
On a related note, color laser printers cost less per page to print than their inkjet counterparts; they’re also more environmentally friendly.
What to look for
When judging a color laser printer, there are two key factors you should focus on—speed and text quality. Macworld Lab
includes both time trials and jury ratings in our color laser printer reviews—make sure to look at both when deciding which model to buy.
Brother HL-4070CDW
A quality color laser printer typically prints 10 pages in around 30 to 45 seconds. As for our jury tests of printing quality—which also include
ratings on the quality of image and graphics output—a quality color laser printer score a rating of “very good” or better in our text-quality test.
Ponder Postscript
Postscript capability or emulation is an important ability to consider. Postscript is a print description language that
enables color laser printers to handle high-quality graphics alongside text. No longer an absolute necessity, Postscript printing is still
important as it takes the load off your computer’s CPU and allows the use of certain types of fonts.
Our favorite color laser printers
The
Oki C6150dn
(
) produces great-looking prints and includes built-in duplexing. It also offers easy network connectivity and quick
printing speeds. It’s particularly ideal for printing top-quality brochures and handouts with photo elements.
Read our full review
. [$600 (
Get
best current price for the Oki C6150dn
);
Oki Data
]
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Macworld Buying Guides: Color laser printers | Macworld
11/24/2008
http://www.macworld.com/article/136997/2008/11/buyingguide_laser.html
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