Oki Data C5100N Color LED Printer (Okidata-62418601)

Oki Data Oki C5100n

C5100N Color LED Printer (Okidata-62418601) Review, by Dan Littman April 1, 2004

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• Reviewed by: Nbrodeur

  Strengths: Crisp, accurate color; fast printing;

  Weaknesses: starter print toners only good for 1,500 copies.

  Overall: I now have used this printer for six months and I am still in love with it. While the starter toner does not last long, I still saved money compared to my inkjet. My clients noticed the change in my reports and infact comment on them. I have no regrets and would do it all over again.

• Reviewed by: Angela2000

  Strengths: Fast, efficient, user friendly, quiet - must for small busiensses.

  Weaknesses: The image drums and printer cartridges cost more than ink jet cartridges but if you shop around (hint, come back to PriceGrabber.com to get your supplies)you can find some excellent prices for toner.

  Overall: I bought my first Oki Data C5100n July (2003), after doing extensive research on laser printers and coveting the quality a laser printer can provide. I was using 3 Lexmark inkjets to cover my color printing work load and making several trips each week (sometimes twice a day) to the office store to have them do parts of my printing at .06 cents a sheet for black and white copies only. While at the office supply store I was buying at least two, sometimes four printer cartridges a day for the Lexmark ink jets (when I didn't have time to refill the cartridges myself...and what a nightmare and waste of time to do-it-yourself eh?)So after spending over $3000 one month for printing, cartridges, ink etc. the Oki Data became a no-brainer. I'm the biggest skeptic when it comes to purchasing electronics online and especially something as fragile as a printer. But the prices were good, and the warranty eased my skepticism - and the Oki Data C5100n kept coming back as a "rock solid choice" in my research. So I bought it from Provantage, one of the companies listed regularly on PriceGrabber.com. Wow! My printer arrived within a day or two after ordering it and it was packed perfectly to protect the shipment. The machine was easy to set up with exacting instructions that even a fool like me could execute. The machine networked easily with my 3 home office computers with the option of networking through USB or Ethernet connection. I was thrilled with the quality of the print and even more thrilled that the ink didn't bleed if the paper got wet. Hooray! The printer has worked like a horse, replacing toner cartridges and image drums 5 times since the original purchase. In six months I've spent (including the printer) $1,518. for what would have cost me on the inkjet, run-to-the-office supply store route $19,000. If you are thinking about purchasing this machine and you do a good deal of printing - wait no longer. Your search is over. PS. I've just increased my printing work load and came back to Price Grabber to buy a 2nd Oki Data C5100n. Am I a savvy shopper or what?

• Reviewed by: linenmike

  Strengths: Very easy to set up, simple instructions, great connectivity

  Weaknesses: starter print toners only good for 1,500 copies.

  Overall: Before deciding on the oki 5100n, I did considerable research and the only other competing unit at comparable pricing was the HP 1500. The differences in color speed (12 ppm for Oki vs 4 ppm for HP) and standard memory (32 mb for Oki vs 16 for HP) were important factors. I visited okidata.com and found some very useful information, comparisons, etc. Oki even offered a free fed ex package of print samples (which arrived very fast!) to highlight the capabilites of the machine.

• Reviewed by: buhlinger

  Strengths: Crisp, accurate color; fast printing; easy to setup

  Weaknesses: Large footprint; no serial port

  Overall: As a small business owner, I was looking for an economical solution to producing high-quality reports, proposals, and presentations to compete with firms much larger than my own. Enter the Okidata 5100n. It is simple to install and operate, much faster in both color and B&W than color lasers comparably priced, and network-ready - a feature that requires additional expense in nearly all competitive printers. Color matching with the monitor is spot-on. Though some reviews argue that LED print technology is not as good as laser print technology, I can't see any discernable difference. I don't print in volume (less than 500 pages per month) and I haven't yet had to replace the consumables, but my search of vendors revealed no difference in the cost of consumables for the Okidata 5100n and comparable color lasers. For my business, it's the perfect solution - great results fast with a plug-and-play installation and simple operation.

• Reviewed by: saveddon

  Strengths: Print quality is EXCELLENT and speed is great. I use card stock of 80 LB and it works great.

  Weaknesses: None

  Overall: I can't believe it came with a network connection. It was so easy to setup. I will save money over my old inkjet using the Okidata and Okidata support was great when I called to ask about paper. Okidata even sells paper. Great experience !!