Listings And Forms

Despite premature reports of its demise, dot-matrix technology continues to fill an important niche for those who need workhorse printers for multipart forms, large runs of labels, and oversize paper. We evaluated 13 high-end dot-matrix printers (none supported the Mac) that serve these needs as no laser or ink-jet printer can. Several of these printers, all priced above $1000, run faster than typical low-end lasers. However, there are two trade-offs for this speed: noise and inferior print quality.

These printers emphasize raw output over fancy formatting. None offers PostScript, PCL, HPGL (Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language), or scalable fonts. None of the printers we tested support color. Most of these printers offer at least two paper-feed paths.

Runners-up deserving attention are the Mannesmann Tally MT 360-2T, which finished a distant second to the company's far-more-expensive T6082 in performance tests. Nevertheless, the $2795 MT 360-2T outpaced all other runners-up by a minimum of 1.3 ppm in high-quality mode.

Prices range from $499 for the Epson FX-1170 to $8799 for the T6082. If you have a limited budget, consider the FX-1170, the DFX-5000+, or the CIE America CI-5000. The latter two cost about $2000.

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Rankings for This Category Considered

PERFORMANCE          60%
 Speed           60%
 Quality         40%
FEATURES             25%
EASE OF USE          15%

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Does speed matter more than quality?

BEST OVERALL
Mannesmann Tally T6082


This expensive dot-matrix printer received a speed score almost double that of its nearest competitor. For high-volume applications that depend on economies of scale, this washing-machine-size printer is a clear choice. However, if your volumes don't justify an $8799 printer, consider Mannesmann Tally's oth
er offering: the MT 360-2T, which ranked second fastest and sells for about $6000 less. The Okidata Microline 395 and DEC's LA600 MultiPrinter finished ahead of the other printers in quality testing, although quality takes a back seat to speed in our weightings.


                                      Speed (PPM) Quality Features Ease
                                      Native #    Index   score    of Use
BEST      Mannesmann Tally T6082      10.44       4.05    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally MT 360-2T  5.45        3.98    ****     ****
RUNNER-UP Digital LA600 MultiPrinter  4.11        5.09    ****     ***
RUNNER-UP Okidata Microline 395       3.87        5.60    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          3.44        4.99    ***      ***


                                                      Operating   Number
                                      Price   DPI     Noise (DB)  of Pins
BEST      Mannesmann Tally T6082      $8799   240         50      -##
RUNNER-UP Mannesman
n Tally MT 360-2T  $2795   360         55      24
RUNNER-UP Digital LA600 MultiPrinter  $2999   360         53      24
RUNNER-UP Okidata Microline 395       $1499   360         58      24
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          $1995   330 x 216   55      18


KEY
Excellent ****
Good      ***
Fair      **
Poor      *
#  High-quality mode.
## 66 hammers.

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Need high-volume printing at a low cost?

LOW COST
Okidata Microline 395


The $1499 Microline 395, which won this category in last May's report, is still the reigning champ for under-$2000 printers. It combines economy with highly readable output. Its print speed is much slower than that of the Best Overall runners-up, but the Microline outruns the other printers in the Low Cost subcategory. As a bonus, the standard-configuration Microline 395 can print bar codes. The Epson DFX-5000+ and DFX-8000 did poorly in our usability testing, because we had difficulty installing the printer ribbons.


                                      Speed (PPM) Quality Features Ease
                                      Native #    Index   score    of Use
BEST      Okidata Microline 395       3.87        5.60    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          3.44        4.99    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP Epson DFX 5000+             2.62        4.72    ****     ***
RUNNER-UP Epson FX 1170               1.75        4.40    ***      ****
RUNNER-UP AMT Accel - 294d            1.23        3.90    ****     ****


                                                     Operating   Number
                                      Price   DPI    Noise (DB)  of Pins
BEST      Okidata Microline 395       $1499   360        58      24
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          $1995   330 x 216  55      18
RUNNER-UP Epson DFX 5000+             $1899   240        55      9
RUNNER-UP Epson FX 1170               $499    240 x 216  55      9
RUNNER-UP AMT Accel - 294d            $1190   240        55      9##


KEY
Excellent
 ****
Good      ***
Fair      **
Poor      *
#  High-quality mode.
## Dual heads.

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The speed leader

HIGH SPEED
Mannesmann Tally T6082


This 900-line-per-minute printer is the flat-out speed leader. However, its 240-dpi print quality is merely acceptable.


                                      Speed (PPM) Quality Features Ease
                                      Native      Index   score    of Use
BEST      Mannesmann Tally T6082      10.81       4.05    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          8.26        4.99    ***      ***
RUNNER-UP Digital LA600 MultiPrinter  6.87        5.09    ****     ***
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally MT 360-2T  5.70        3.98    ****     ****
RUNNER-UP Okidata Microline 395       6.63        5.60    ***      ***


                                                    Operating   Number
                                      Price   DPI    Noise (DB)  of Pins
BEST      Mannesmann Tally T6082      $8799   240
        50      -2
RUNNER-UP CIE C.Itoh CI-5000          $1995   330 x 216  55      18
RUNNER-UP Digital LA600 MultiPrinter  $2999   360        53      24
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally MT 360-2T  $2795   360        55      24
RUNNER-UP Okidata Microline 395       $1499   360        58      24


KEY
Excellent ****
Good      ***
Fair      **
Poor      *
#  High-quality mode.
## 66 hammers.