We evaluated 10 laser printers with engine speeds faster than 12 ppm. They are able to connect directly to a network as a print server. This saves NetWare network users the cost of a dedicated print server. In our last report, only three of the eight Workgroup laser printers had this networking capability. The Workgroup printers in this month's report come standard with coaxial or twisted-pair Ethernet connections.
None of the printers ranked here have engine speeds that rated less than 17 ppm, and all cost much more than the General Business laser printers that provide Ethernet options (see page 264).
At $3749, the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4SI is the lowest-priced laser in this category. In our past three printer reports, the 4SI reigned as the leading Workgroup printer in output quality and led or closely followed the leaders in print sp
eed. It continues to rank highly in both instances, although newer printers such as the Xerox 4520ps and DEC PrintServer 17/600 surpass it in speed or quality.
Among the items that helped the LaserJet 4SI achieve an ``excellent'' Features score is its ability to handle multiple print jobs. If the printer is producing a job while a second print job arrives, the 4SI can begin processing the new job in the background to help keep the print queue flowing.
At $4054, the Genicom Model 7170 carries the second- lowest price in this group, while the faster and higher-resolution Dataproducts LZR 2080 tops out at $7580 (even with its higher resolution, the LZR 2080 finished fourth in this group for output quality).
DEC's PrintServer 17/600 posted the slowest PCL and PostScript performance in this group, but its quality score of 9.55 makes it the highest-rated laser in the entire sample for output. The printer provides a base paper-tray capacity of 1000 sheets, compared to the 751-sheet base input tr
ay that the Xerox 4520ps has. When it comes to maximum capacity, however, you can't expand the DEC printer, while the Xerox machine climbs to 2250 sheets when all its paper options are installed.
Most of the Workgroup printers examined here offer at least three paper trays. Multiple paper trays are helpful if you need to print on standard U.S. letter and legal sizes as well as the European-standard A4. The Xerox 4520ps, LZR 2080, and Genicom Model 7170 are the most generous, with up to four input trays. The last time we tested, only the Genicom printer supported four trays.
Because the prices of these laser printers are so close, we didn't find enough differentiation to name Low Cost winners in a separate category.
Rankings for Best Overall Considered
PERFORMANCE 60%
Speed 60%
Quality 40%
FEATURES 25%
EASE OF USE 15%
Rankings for High Quality Considered
PERFORMANCE 60%
Sp
eed 60%
Quality 40%
FEATURES 25%
EASE OF USE 15%
For the new standard in speed
BEST OVERALL
Xerox 4520ps
This fast, high-quality printer reigns as the leading choice for workgroup printing. It was the fastest printer we tested for PCL speed. The 20-ppm Xerox 4520ps has a resolution of 800- by 400-dpi and supports up to 2250 sheets of paper. The 4520ps includes software that provides NetWare users with two-way communications among the printer, servers, and workstations. The utility displays printer information, such as availability, paper sizes, and image-resolution settings.
Speed (PPM)
PCL PostScript Mac
BEST Xerox 4520ps 10.48 9.48 9.25
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI 9.23 9.75 N/A
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 9.33 8.10 5.40
RUNNER
-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080 6.81 6.59 1.23
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 6.09 5.74 N/A
Quality Features Ease
Index score of Use
BEST Xerox 4520ps 8.89 **** ***
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI 7.87 **** ****
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 6.98 *** ****
RUNNER-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080 8.29 *** ****
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 9.55 *** ***
Class Maximum input
Price (PPM) DPI (Sheets)
BEST Xerox 4520ps $6483 20 800 x 400 2250
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI $3749 17 600 2000
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 $4054 17 300 2000
RUNNER-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080 $758
0 20 800 x 400 850
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 $4695 17 600 2000
KEY
Excellent ****
Good ***
Fair **
Poor *
N/A = not applicable
For the best in output and performance
HIGH QUALITY
Xerox 4520ps
If output quality is your only concern, DEC's PrintServer 17/600 surpasses every other laser we tested for this report, including 1200-dpi models. However, we didn't rank it first in this category because of its slow print speed. We give first-place honors to the Xerox 4520ps because of its unequaled print speed and 800- by 400-dpi resolution that produces a quality score that approximates the PrintServer 17/600's.
Speed (PPM)
PCL PostScript Mac
BEST Xerox 4520ps 10.48 9.48 9.25
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI 9.23 9.75 N/A
RUNNER-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080
6.81 6.59 1.23
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 6.09 5.74 N/A
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 9.33 8.10 5.40
Quality Features Ease
Index score of Use
BEST Xerox 4520ps 8.89 **** ***
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI 7.87 **** ****
RUNNER-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080 8.29 *** ****
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 9.55 *** ***
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 6.98 *** ****
Class Maximum input
Price (PPM) DPI (Sheets)
BEST Xerox 4520ps $6483 20 800 x 400 2250
RUNNER-UP HP LaserJet 4SI $3749 17 600 2000
RUNNER-UP Dataproducts LZR 2080 $7580 20 800 x 400 850
RUNNER-UP DEC PrintServer 17/600 $4695 17 600 2000
RUNNER-UP Genicom Model 7170 $4380 17 300 2000
KEY
Excellent ****
Good ***
Fair **
Poor *
N/A = not applicable
Workgroups
