Jon Pepper
The dizzying pace of change in the color ink-jet printer market--lower prices, faster output, and better images--might make it easy to overlook the laser-printer arena. But a flurry of new products plus new players has resulted in smaller and less-expensive options for those who prefer the higher speeds and other business-oriented features that laser printers can provide.
These new color laser printers are easier to use, smaller, provide better color, and, probably most important, are approaching the prices of comparable monochrome products. One of the most interesting is the Xerox (800-349-3769, http:\\www.xerox.com) DocuPrint C55, which delivers 600- by 600-dpi resolution, 3-ppm color output, and speeds of about 12 ppm i
n black and white. Measuring
18-1/2 by 16-1/2 by 16-1/2 inches, this printer is also very compact, making it more natural for desktop use, although it still weighs over 90 pounds.
Several DocuPrint features make the C55 (which has an estimated price of $3500, but add $1000 for PostScript and networking) attractive as a single-printer solution for businesses. These features include automatic conversion of colors to black-and-white patterns for legibil-ity while faxing and automatic enhancement of photos. Plus, with the PostScript option installed, the printer can produce near-continuous-tone photo output.
At $3999, Lexmark's (800-539-6275,
http://www.lexmark.com
) Optra SC 1275 color laser printer is a bit more expensive than the C55, but it comes standard with PostScript Level 2 and matches the 12-ppm monochrome and
3-ppm color speed of the C55. And, like the C55, the Optra SC 1275 features 600-dpi printing, an image (i.e., photo) print mode, and nifty software. The ColorSharp software analyzes the page and adjusts the printer to produce the best output regardless of document content. A networked version, the SC 1275Sn, costs $4450.
A new entrant into this market is Minolta (888-2Minolta,
http://www.minoltaprinters.com
), which up to now has focused more on selling print engines to other printer vendors rather than selling printers. Minolta's new PageWorks line includes an inexpensive color laser printer that will sell for under $3000. The Color PageWorks uses a Minolta engine that delivers 3-ppm color and 12-ppm monochrome printing at 600 dpi. Meauring just a bit larger than the Xerox C55, the PageWorks ships wit
h just 4 MB of RAM. Minolta claims its image-compression technology enables full-page graphics to print in just 4 MB.
While these three printers are the most notable current models, you can expect new color lasers from Hewlett-Packard, Tektronix, and others to further accelerate the downward price/performance trend in this market. IDC estimates the color laser market should reach $2.8 billion by 2001. The number of color lasers sold should jump eightfold in the same period, from about 100,000 this year to 800,000 in 2001.
Monochrome laser printers are getting better, too. Along with its new color model, Lexmark also offers a new family of monochrome products, the 1200-dpi Optra S series. Ranging in price from $1125 to $2650, the S series can handle printing needs ranging from one user to a department, with duplexing and other paper-handling options. And Minolta has 6- to 20-ppm models of its PageWorks series, with prices as low as $1499 for the 20-ppm, 1200-dpi model.
Color Lasers: Cheaper, More Compact
