Oki Data B8300n
This high-speed printer comes with a high price.
Dan Littman
WHAT'S HOT: The B8300n offers blazingly fast print speeds--28.2 ppm for text, more than 8 ppm faster than the next fastest model on our corporate chart. It also prints top-quality text: black, very clean, and accurate even at small sizes. Plus, it can handle tabloid-size (11-by-17-inch) paper. For offices with complicated printing needs, Oki Data sells a vast assortment of paper-handling options for the B8300n, including a 2000-sheet paper well ($1200), a seven-bin stacker ($856) and even a finisher that can saddle-stitch booklets ($3696). Also, Oki's warranty provides for a year of around-the-clock toll-free tech support, on-site service, and next-day exchange.
WHAT'S NOT: Oki's pricing might make you hesitate about the B8300n: $2200 is a lot of money, and it's more than either of the other two tabloid-capable printers we've tested recently. Oki's prices for its paper-handling options are also high--for example, an ordinary duplexer costs $512. And though the B8300 can print tabloid-size documents right out of the box, you have to buy a special $277 tray to handle legal-size paper.
Finally, Oki's documentation gets a lukewarm rating: The hard-to-follow set-up guide is packed with crowded illustrations of attaching paper-handling options but neglects to include information on installing the printer. Plus, the control panel menus are confusing, and the on-screen documentation barely covers network management, though it provides adequate information on maintenance and troubleshooting.
WHAT ELSE: The B8300 takes up a space 17 inches wide (23 inches when set up for tabloid-size paper) by 22 inches deep, stands 18 inches high, and weighs 70 pounds (110 pounds with the multipurpose tray). You'll have to make a fairly big space for it. To clear jams, the printer's left wall slides out seven inches on rails, which doesn't leave a lot of room for your hand.
UPSHOT: Oki Data's fast system offers plenty of options, oversize printing, and high productivity--but the price is steep.
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