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Color Printing, Office Quality

Most of these color laser printers produce top-quality text documents at office-worthy speeds, though color speeds still lag behind.

Eric Butterfield

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Oki Data Oki C7300n PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 01, 2004

1. Oki Data Oki C7300n

Rated 24 ppm monochrome; 20 ppm color, 1200-by-600-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-47.2-inch paper, maximum, 630 pages input, 500 output, 16.9 by 24.4 by 16.9 inches; 105 pounds, Street price when ranked: $1960,

Bottom Line: Printed razor-sharp text and line art, but gray-scale photos looked grainy. Color photos appeared crisp, though colors looked slightly oversaturated. Low price, considering its features, and low cost per page.

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HP Color LaserJet 5500n PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 01, 2004

2. HP Color LaserJet 5500n

Rated 21 ppm monochrome and color, 600-by-600-dpi true resolution, 12-by-18-inch paper, maximum, 600 pages input, 250 output, 23 by 28 by 25 inches; 132 pounds, Street price when ranked: $3549,

Bottom Line: Offered very sharp text and line art. Gray-scale photos showed smooth transitions; color in photos was very natural looking. Cheapest wide-format printer on the chart. Good graphics print speeds.

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Oki Data Oki C9500dxn PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 01, 2004

3. Oki Data Oki C9500dxn

Rated 37 ppm monochrome; 30 ppm color, 1200-by-600-dpi true resolution, 12.9-by-47.2-inch paper, maximum, 650 pages input, 500 output, 26.2 by 23.2 by 18.2 inches; 155 pounds, Street price when ranked: $4600,

Bottom Line: Text and line art showed virtually no flaws. Color photos, though detailed, were marred by slight banding. Fast at printing text, but slow at color graphics. Low cost per page, but highest price on the chart.

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HP Color LaserJet 3700n PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: April 02, 2004

4. HP Color LaserJet 3700n

Rated 16 ppm monochrome and color, 600-by-600-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-14-inch paper, maximum, 350 pages input, 175 output, 19 by 17.6 by 18.4 inches; 73.3 pounds, Street price when ranked: $1600,

Bottom Line: Text and line art looked very sharp. Gray-scale photos looked appealing, though color photos lacked subtle shading. Low price for the features, but high cost per page. Text print speeds were below average.

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Lexmark C752n PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 02, 2004

5. Lexmark C752n

Rated 20 ppm monochrome and color, 1200-by-1200-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-14-inch paper, maximum, 600 pages input, 250 output, 23.8 by 18.5 by 20.8 inches; 105 pounds, Street price when ranked: $2339,

Bottom Line: Line art, text, and gray-scale photos looked very sharp. Color photos appeared grainy, though detailed. Affordably priced for the features. Text print speeds were slightly below average, while graphics speeds were slightly above.

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IBM Infoprint Color 1354n PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 02, 2004

6. IBM Infoprint Color 1354n

Rated 20 ppm monochrome and color, 1200-by-1200-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-14-inch paper, maximum, 600 pages input, 250 output, 23.8 by 18.5 by 20.8 inches; 105 pounds, Street price when ranked: $2300,

Bottom Line: Text, line art, and gray-scale photos looked sharp overall. Grain was noticeable in color photos, though colors looked natural. Text printed a tad slowly, but graphics speeds were a bit above average.

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Xerox Phaser 7300DN PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: April 01, 2004

7. Xerox Phaser 7300DN

Rated 37 ppm monochrome; 30 ppm color, 600-by-600-dpi true resolution, 12-by-36-inch paper, maximum, 650 pages input, 600 output, 26.2 by 24.7 by 18.1 inches; 149 pounds, Street price when ranked: $4199,

Bottom Line: Line art and text printed with very crisp edges. Gray-scale photos lacked subtle shading. Color photos looked vibrant, though some areas appeared too dark. Fastest text printing on the chart, and low cost per page.

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Brother HL-4200CN PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: March 31, 2004

8. Brother HL-4200CN

Rated 26 ppm monochrome and color, 600-by-600-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-14-inch paper, maximum, 600 pages input, 250 output, 17.3 by 23.2 by 17.5 inches; 77.2 pounds, Street price when ranked: $1999,

Bottom Line: Text was crisp, though slightly fuzzy at the edges. Gray-scale photos were grainy; color photos looked slightly dark, but details looked sharp and colors seemed natural. Low cost per page.

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Xerox Phaser 6250N PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: April 02, 2004

9. Xerox Phaser 6250N

Rated 26 ppm monochrome and color, 600-by-600-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-35.5-inch paper, maximum, 600 pages input, 250 output, 17.3 by 23.2 by 17.5 inches; 80 pounds, Street price when ranked: $2299,

Bottom Line: Text and line art looked fuzzy, reminiscent of an ink jet print. Gray-scale photos appeared dark; colors looked accurate in photos, though some details looked slightly blurred. Very fast at printing graphics.

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Oki Data Oki C5100n PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: April 01, 2004

10. Oki Data Oki C5100n

Rated 20 ppm monochrome; 12 ppm color, 1200-by-600-dpi true resolution, 8.5-by-14-inch paper, maximum, 400 pages input, 250 output, 16.6 by 20.7 by 13.6 inches; 57.3 pounds, Street price when ranked: $799,

Bottom Line: Slow to print razor-sharp text, though color graphics speeds were better. Low price, but same 24/7 toll-free tech support as offered on Oki's two pricier models on the chart.

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The overall rating for color laser printers is based on print quality (25 percent), price (25 percent), features (15 percent), ease of use (15 percent), speed (10 percent), and service and support (10 percent). For all ratings, higher is better. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved.

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