Quantcast
Subscribe to magazine

Color Laser Printers

Most low-cost color laser printers deliver fast printing speeds, though tested print quality was mixed.

Eric Butterfield

Compare ProductsCheck boxes to
Color Laser 3000cn PCW Rating: 86.0PCW Rating: 86.0PCW Rating: 86.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

 BEST BUY!

1. Dell Color Laser 3000cn

25 ppm monochrome/5 ppm color, 2400-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 150, Text quality: Superior, Graphics quality: Good, Price when reviewed: $449

Bottom Line: High print quality and rapid text printing at an excellent price. This unit has the lowest cost per black page, a small footprint, and good design. It also supports PCL.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices
C5200N Laser Printer (24 PPM, 1200x1200 DPI, Color, 32MB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

2. Oki Printing Solutions C5200N Laser Printer (24 PPM, 1200x1200 DPI, Color, 32MB, PC/Mac)

24 ppm monochrome/16 ppm color, 1200-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 400, Text quality: Very Good, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $599

Bottom Line: Delivers high-quality text and fast graphics printing. Toner replacement is easy. Estimated cost per color page is in line with competitors'. Rear output tray for thick media.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
MagiColor 2430DL Laser Printer (20 PPM, 2400x600 DPI, Color, 32MB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

3. Konica Minolta MagiColor 2430DL Laser Printer (20 PPM, 2400x600 DPI, Color, 32MB, PC/Mac)

20 ppm monochrome/5 ppm color, 2400-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 200, Text quality: Good, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $500

Bottom Line: Performance is above average, and estimated costs per page are competitive. Printing via PictBridge, without upgrade, is in draft mode only.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
HL-2700CN Laser Printer (31 PPM, 2400x600 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 74.0PCW Rating: 74.0PCW Rating: 74.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

4. Brother HL-2700CN Laser Printer (31 PPM, 2400x600 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac)

31 ppm monochrome/8 ppm color, 2400-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 250, Text quality: Fair, Graphics quality: Poor, Price when reviewed: $500

Bottom Line: Fastest model in test group at printing text, but letters looked slightly fuzzy. Graphics came out overly dark. Compact unit doesn't print on legal-size paper. Supports PCL.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
Lexmark C522n PCW Rating: 78.0PCW Rating: 78.0PCW Rating: 78.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

5. Lexmark Lexmark C522n

20 ppm monochrome/20 ppm color, 1200-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 250, Text quality: Good, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $499

Bottom Line: Good performance for a low price. Toner cartridges are easy to replace. Supports PCL and PostScript. Duplexer is not available for this printer.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
Color LaserJet 3600dn PCW Rating: 74.0PCW Rating: 74.0PCW Rating: 74.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

6. HP Color LaserJet 3600dn

17 ppm monochrome/17 ppm color, 3600-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 350, Text quality: Fair, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $699

Bottom Line: Fastest graphics print speed of test group, but text looked a bit thin. This model is easy to use and maintain, and it has a small footprint. Options are reasonably priced.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices
Phaser 6120n PCW Rating: 78.2PCW Rating: 78.2PCW Rating: 78.2

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

7. Xerox Phaser 6120n

20 ppm monochrome/5 ppm color, 600-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 200, Text quality: Fair, Graphics quality: Good, Price when reviewed: $499

Bottom Line: Better graphics quality than most of the units, though graphics speeds were slow. Supports PCL and PostScript. Similar to Konica Minolta's 2450, but $200 cheaper.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
Magicolor 2450 Color Laser PCW Rating: 76.2PCW Rating: 76.2PCW Rating: 76.2

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

8. Konica Minolta Magicolor 2450 Color Laser

20 ppm monochrome/5 ppm color, 9600-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 200, Text quality: Fair, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $699

Bottom Line: Features and performance fail to justify $200 premium over similar Xerox Phaser 6120n. Supports PostScript and PCL. Estimated color costs are on a par with competitors'.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices
Color LaserJet 2600n Laser Printer (8 PPM, 600x600 DPI, Colour, 16MB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 71.0PCW Rating: 71.0PCW Rating: 71.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

9. HP Color LaserJet 2600n Laser Printer (8 PPM, 600x600 DPI, Colour, 16MB, PC/Mac)

8 ppm monochrome/8 ppm color, 600-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 250, Text quality: Very Good, Graphics quality: Fair, Price when reviewed: $399

Bottom Line: Small model is best suited for low-volume printing. Text looked sharp but printed extremely slowly. Though purchase price is low, estimated cost per page is high.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices
LaserJet 2550L Laser Printer (20 PPM, 600x600 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 72.0PCW Rating: 72.0PCW Rating: 72.0

Last Rated: November 02, 2005

10. HP LaserJet 2550L Laser Printer (20 PPM, 600x600 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac)

20 ppm monochrome/4 ppm color, 2400-by-600-dpi maximum color resolution, Sheets in standard tray(s): 125, Text quality: Fair, Graphics quality: Good, Price when reviewed: $499

Bottom Line: Truly compact model lacks integrated networking and compromises on paper handling. Print speeds are slow. Installation of the driver was easy. Supports PCL.

Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices 		Check Latest Prices

We run time tests for text, line-art, and color and gray-scale photo samples (at normal quality settings on plain paper); then a panel of judges rates image quality. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

Today's Special Offers