Color printouts enhance presentations and reports, and the general-purpose color printers we tested perform well when producing both monochrome text and color graphics. We limited our evaluations to printers priced under $5000, and, in general, the ink-jet, thermal-transfer, and dye-sublimation printers we received will not serve for specialized applications such as color proofing and photographic- quality output.
Ink-jets offer the most affordable color technology, with over half of our test models qualifying for the low-cost category (under $1300). What's more, some ink-jets, including the Canon BJC-600 and Lexmark IBM Color JetPrinter PS 4079, provide excellent dithering and shading that place their output quality among the leaders. In this regard, the Canon's $719 price tag is nothing short of remarkable. The Lexmark's ability to hand
le 11- by 17-inch paper is a unique advantage in this category. Still, ink-jet output, including that from these two printers, lacked the intensity of color that we saw from thermal-wax technology.
Among the thermal-wax printers, the DEC ColorWriter 1000 provides the top quality overall, with intense colors and subtle dithering. It consistently placed second, about 0.15 ppm behind the speed-leading General Parametrics Spectra Star GT.
The Fargo Primera uses thermal technology. For an extra $250, you can add a dye-sublimation cartridge, making it the only dye-sublimation printer under our $5000 price limit on color. But its speed was slow and its print quality only marginally better than the thermal version's.
Want the best color for general business?
BEST OVERALL
General Parametrics Spectra Star GT
The Spectra Star was the only color printer to complete BYTE's PC benchmark mix faster than 1 ppm. To complement its good speed, the Spectra Star offers color quality
second only to the DEC ColorWriter 1000's and has excellent paper handling that avoided jams during the intricate thermal-printing process. The printer comes with parallel, serial, and LocalTalk ports (with automatic switching) and PostScript Level II.
SPEED (PPM)
POSTSCRIPT*** MAC
B&W COLOR B&W COLOR
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT * 1.67 1.09 1.54 1.17
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 * 1.43 0.84 1.48 1.09
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e * 1.05 0.68 0.90 0.73
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS ** 1.69 0.35 1.59 0.66
QUALITY CLASS
INDEX (PPM) PRICE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star
GT 5.88 2 $4495
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 6.15 2 $3999
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 5.67 2 $4480
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS 4.96 7 $2749
RESOLUTION INTERNAL
(DPI) HARD DRIVE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT 300 x 300 Yes
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 300 x 600 No
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 300 x 300 No
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS 600 x 300 No
KEY
* Thermal
** Ink-jet
*** PC
**** Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
Need economical color?
LOW COST
Fargo Primera Color (Thermal)
Among the printers available for under $1500, the Primera occupies a unique niche. With its ability to change modes from thermal to dye sublimation (with
a $250 option), you can invest a bit more time and money to achieve even greater quality. However, our tests showed that the dye-sublimation mode took three times longer to print.
SPEED (PPM)
POSTSCRIPT*** MAC
B&W COLOR B&W COLOR
BEST Fargo Primera Color * N/A N/A 0.87 0.38
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 ** 1.35**** 0.14**** N/A N/A
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C ** 1.52**** 0.27**** N/A N/A
QUALITY CLASS
INDEX (PPM) PRICE
BEST Fargo Primera Color 4.55 0.5 $995
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 5.60 240 cps $719
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C .81 3 $719
RESOLUTION INTERNAL
(DPI) HARD DRIVE
BEST Fargo Primera Color 203 x 203 No
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 360 x 360 No
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C 600 x 300 No
KEY
* Thermal
** Ink-jet
*** PC
**** Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
Do you require Mac support?
MACINTOSH
General Parametrics Spectra Star GT
Performance differences are particularly marked on the Mac, with the three leaders running 34 to 60 percent faster than the runners-up. The Spectra Star's built-in LocalTalk port gives it an additional advantage over the runners-up in this category.
SPEED (PPM)
POSTSCRIPT*** MAC
B&W COLOR B&W COLOR
BEST General Parametrics
Spect
ra Star GT * 1.67 1.09 1.54 1.17
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 * 1.43 0.84 1.48 1.09
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e * 1.05 0.68 0.90 0.73
QUALITY CLASS
INDEX (PPM) PRICE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT 5.88 2 $4495
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 6.15 2 $3999
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 5.67 2 $4480
RESOLUTION INTERNAL
(DPI) HARD DRIVE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT 300 x 300 Yes
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 300 x 600 No
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 300 x 300 No
KEY
* Thermal
** Ink-jet
*** PC
**** Native mode, not PostScript
N
/A = not applicable
For top print quality...
HIGH QUALITY
General Parametrics Spectra Star GT
For ultimate quality, the DEC and Tektronix printers offer slightly better color transitions. We still favor the Spectra Star, however, because of its print quality and speed.
SPEED (PPM)
POSTSCRIPT*** MAC
B&W COLOR B&W COLOR
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT * 1.67 1.09 1.54 1.17
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 * 1.43 0.84 1.48 1.09
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS ** 1.69 0.35 1.59 0.66
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e * 1.05 0.68 0.90 0.73
QUALITY CLASS
INDEX (PPM)
PRICE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT 5.88 2 $4495
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 6.15 2 $3999
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS 4.96 1-2 $2749
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 5.67 2 $4480
RESOLUTION INTERNAL
(DPI) HARD DRIVE
BEST General Parametrics
Spectra Star GT 300 x 300 Yes
RUNNER-UP DEC ColorWriter 1000 300 x 600 No
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 1200 C/PS 600 x 300 No
RUNNER-UP Tektronix Phaser 200e 300 x 300 No
KEY
* Thermal
** Ink-jet
*** PC
**** Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
BYTE BEST: Color
