Oki Data C7200N

WHAT'S HOT: Another new color laser prints fast enough to replace its monochrome brethren. Oki Data's Oki C7200n, based on the same LED engine as the Xerox Phaser 1235 that we tested for the March 2001 issue, plows through monochrome text at 11.9 pages per minute. (Color graphics print at 2.3 pages per minute--fast compared with other color printers.) The faster text speed is more than an incremental improvement: It makes opting for a color model feasible in busy offices that can't afford to let work back up inside a poky printer. It also prints very nice black text that rivals a monochrome laser.

Paper runs through the Oki C7200n in a straight path that is completely exposed when you pop the lid open, so if a page jams it will be easy to clear. And the driver lets you print color separations or send password-protected documents that wait in memory until you enter a code at the printer's control panel.

WHAT'S NOT: The Oki C7200n's color quality is off. Our test files printed with a lined pattern in the background, and colors came out looking dark, with a "toasted" or burnt-looking cast. Repeated attempts to adjust colors with the printer's color-balance procedure didn't fix the problem. The C7200n does manage good detail on graphics, however, and renders some images with reasonable textures. Like those on other Oki Data models, the C7200n's control panel is confusing, doesn't provide a graceful way to back out of the menu hierarchy, and isn't backlit.

WHAT ELSE: You can expand the paper-handling capabilities by adding one or two 530-sheet paper feeders for $495 each and a duplexer for $395. Oki Data provides a spiral-bound reference guide printed on heavy stock that is designed to stay with the printer, so if you run into mechanical problems--a paper jam, for example--the information you need is right at hand.

BEST USE: The C7200n's speed should be welcome in an office that has an occasional need for color and a frequent need for ordinary text documents. We are hoping to see revised drivers or firmware that will improve the color quality.

SUMMARY

Oki Data Oki C7200n Rated 20 ppm monochrome/12 ppm color, standard 64MB of RAM, 1200-by-600-dpi maximum resolution, 530 sheets input, 500 output. $2210 800/654-3282 www.okidata.com