We tested eight 6- to 10-ppm laser printers, which are well suited for stand-alone use and for small workgroups. These units print text and graphics in highly acceptable quality--better than just adequate.
All but Fujitsu's 300- by 300-dpi PrintPartner 8000, Kyocera's 600- by 1200-dpi Ecosys FS-1600A, and Xante's 1200 by 1200 LaserPress 1200 offer maximum print resolutions of 600 by 600 dpi. The LaserPress 1200 outputs near-typeset-quality text. All but one, the inexpensive NEC SuperScript 660i, offer either a standard or optional network/LocalTalk interface. They all come with PCL5 and offer standard or optional PostScript. We requested that vendors ship their 6- to 10-ppm laser printers to us with a minimum of 4 MB of RAM.
The best-overall rating for this group went to QMS's 1060 Print System. The 1060, with a manufactur
er's rated speed of 10 ppm, produced the fastest PCL and Mac performance results and finished second in our PostScript performance tests. In the PCL raw-text test, the QMS 1060 printed approximately 8.7 ppm at 300 dpi. This 600- by 600-dpi unit also offers above-average output quality.
With a $2399 price tag, the 1060 ships with PCL5, PostScript Levels 1 and 2, and SCSI and LocalTalk connections. Ethernet and Token Ring interfaces are optional. It offers a monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages and a maximum input capacity of 1150 pages.
The Kyocera Ecosys FS-1600A placed second overall. The FS-1600A is a 10-ppm printer with a maximum true resolution of 600 by 1200; it delivered the fastest PostScript score in this category and the second-fastest PCL scores. The unit we tested had a list price of $2464.
The FS-1600A ships with PCL5e standard and provides PostScript Level 1 as a $289 option. LocalTalk, Token Ring, and Ethernet interfaces are also optional. The FS-1600A offers a monthly duty cy
cle of 25,000 pages, which is the highest in this group.
The printer's ecologically sound toner contains ceramic particles that continuously clean and polish the drum; Kyocera claims that, because you never need to purchase actual cartridges, the resulting cost per page is an outstandingly low 7 cents. A long-life fuse in the processor reduces power consumption, admitting the FS-1600A into the EPA Energy Star program.
The DEClaser 5100 distinguished itself with the third-highest overall rating, the top rating in the under-$2000 price range, and the best-overall quality score, thanks in part to an image-enhancement feature for PostScript. This 600- by 600-dpi, 8-ppm printer is a bargain at $1599, and it comes standard with an envelope feeder, LocalTalk, Enhanced PCL5, and Adobe PostScript Level 2, including 115 scalable fonts. Font expansion is available through PCMCIA slots or via an optional hard disk. The printer has a monthly duty cycle of 20,000 pages and a maximum input capacity of 850 page
s in three trays.
The Xante LaserPress 1200 was the only 1200- by 1200-dpi printer in this group. It produces crisp lines and text and beautiful gray-scale images; however, the lack of a print-density-control feature caused it to suffer in our white-on-black quality test, a test with which other printers had some degree of difficulty as well.
Designed to provide output for anything ranging from basic office draft documents to near-typeset-quality images, the LaserPress 1200 was the most fully featured product in the 6- to 10-ppm range. Rated at 8 ppm, its base configuration includes 24 MB of RAM (it can hold 64 MB), a multipurpose sheet feeder, PCL5, PostScript and HPGL/7475A drivers, and LocalTalk, SCSI-1, and Ethernet connections.
If you're looking for a personal, stand-alone printer, the low-priced NEC SuperScript 660i might fit the bill. This 6-ppm, 600- by 600-dpi printer provides only one interface--a bidirectional parallel port--but the 2-MB base model costs just $799. The unit we
tested had 6 MB. Because NEC doesn't sell memory for its printers, the $999 price quoted for the 6-MB model reflects NEC's estimated street price for the additional RAM.
The SuperScript 660i ships with PCL5e and GDI emulations, and there's a PostScript Level 2 option available for $99. In GDI mode, you can add one of three colors to your document, but to do so you must purchase a color cartridge.
Other printers in this category selling for under $2000 include the Epson ActionLaser 1600 ($1199 with 4 MB of RAM), the Fujitsu PrintPartner 8000 ($1186 with 5 MB), and the Mannesmann Tally T9008 Laser ($1768 with 6 MB). The 6-ppm, 600- by 600-dpi ActionLaser 1600 has a bidirectional parallel interface and PCL5e. LocalTalk, Ethernet, and PostScript Level 2 are optional. The PrintPartner 8000 is a 16-pound, 300- by 300-dpi, 8-ppm printer that ships standard with PCL5 and offers LocalTalk, Ethernet, and PostScript Level 1 as options. The T9008 Laser is an 8-ppm, 600-dpi, PCL5e unit that provides optional
LocalTalk, Ethernet, Token Ring, and PostScript Level 2 support.
A new printer in this group that missed our testing deadline is the QMS 1060E Print System. Announced in January, it costs the same as the QMS 1060 that we tested: $2399. The 1060 ships standard with LocalTalk and offers an Ethernet interface as an option, whereas the 1060E ships standard with Ethernet and offers LocalTalk as an option.
WEIGHTING FOR BEST OVERALL AND LOW-COST
Performance 45%
Quality 30%
Features 15%
Usability 10%
This 10-ppm, 600-dpi printer offers four resident emulations: PCL5,
PostScript Levels 1 and 2, HPGL, and Lineprinter, with auto-sensing
between emulations. You can print on a variety of paper sizes with
the 1060, including letter, legal, executive, A4, B5-ISO, envelopes,
and postcards. The 1060 comes standard with simultaneously active
parallel, serial, and
LocalTalk interfaces, plus two optional network
interfaces. Also optional are PCMCIA slots for font cards and hard
disk support. The 1060 supports up to 64 MB of RAM, provides a base
tray capacity of 500 sheets (the highest of this group), and can hold
three input trays.
OVERALL PPM MFR.'S PPM
SCORE PCL POSTSCRIPT MAC RATING
BEST QMS 1060 Print System 6.58 7.92 7.34 6.39 10
RUNNER-UP Kyocera Ecosys FS-1600A 6.36 7.81 7.76 5.98 10
RUNNER-UP Digital DEClaser 5100 6.25 6.05 5.56 5.36 8
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally
T9008 Laser 5.70 6.21 N/A N/A 8
RUNNER-UP Epson ActionLaser 1600 5.62 5.37 N/A N/A 6
SCORES PRICE
QUALITY FEATURES USABILITY AS TESTED
BEST Q
MS 1060 Print System **** *** *** $2399
RUNNER-UP Kyocera Ecosys FS-1600A *** *** *** $2464
RUNNER-UP Digital DEClaser 5100 **** *** **** $1599
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally
T9008 Laser *** *** *** $1768
RUNNER-UP Epson ActionLaser 1600 **** *** **** $1199
N/A = not applicable.
KEY
Ratings from 1 to 4:
* is the lowest;
**** is the highest.
The DEClaser 5100, priced at $1599 as tested, was the overall winner
among the 6- to 10-ppm lasers in the under-$2000 range. Digital
designed this printer with small workgroups in mind. It supports
Adobe PostScript Level 2 and Enhanced PCL5; auto-sensing between
emulations; simultaneous support of serial, parallel, and LocalTalk
ports and an optional Ethernet port; font expansion through PCMCIA
slots; and an optional hard drive for storing additional fonts. The
DECl
aser 5100 also earned the highest quality rating in the 6- to
10-ppm laser category. You can configure the unit's bidirectional
driver to alert you of the printer's status with either visual
effects or sound effects, including a male or female voice.
OVERALL PPM MFR.'S PPM
SCORE PCL POSTSCRIPT MAC RATING
BEST Digital DEClaser 5100 6.25 6.05 5.56 5.36 8
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally
T9008 Laser 5.70 6.21 N/A N/A 8
RUNNER-UP Epson ActionLaser 1600 5.62 5.37 N/A N/A 6
RUNNER-UP Fujitsu
PrintPartner 8000 5.41 6.37 N/A N/A 8
RUNNER-UP NEC SuperScript 660i 5.15 4.73 N/A N/A 6
SCORES PRICE
QUALITY FEATURES USABILITY AS TESTED
BEST Digital
DEClaser 5100 **** *** **** $1599
RUNNER-UP Mannesmann Tally
T9008 Laser *** *** *** $1768
RUNNER-UP Epson ActionLaser 1600 **** *** **** $1199
RUNNER-UP Fujitsu
PrintPartner 8000 *** ** *** $1186
RUNNER-UP NEC SuperScript 660i *** ** *** $999
N/A = not applicable.
KEY
Ratings from 1 to 4:
* is the lowest;
**** is the highest.
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6- To 10-PPM Lasers
