Hewlett-Packard
HP recently announced a whole new family of colour laser printers for the document intensive organisation. The new HP Color LaserJet 8550 range offers users much-improved functionality and speed via a number of special features.
While the 8500 range offered users a 133MHz processor, the 8550 products all come with a 200MHz chip with memory expandable. The 8550 GN comes with a 300MHz chip.
HP claims the jump to 200MHz delivers speeds of up to four times the 8500 products.
A feature that will no doubt appeal to those users expecting professional colour, the 8550 series features Pantone auto calibration, which guarantees accurate colour matching.
Starting from the top, the HP Color LaserJet 8550 GN is HP's highest performing printer which the company is marketing as the ideal solution for graphics professionals, with its high-speed processor and 128MB RAM.
Next is the HP Color LaserJet 8550 MFP which is a high performance printer/photocopier which offers users the convenience of "walk-up" printing.
The 8550N-network model comes with and extra 500-sheet tray, 64MB RAM, 3.2 GB hard drive and 10/100Base-T JetDirect 600N print server solution.
Prices are as follows:
- LaserJet 8550 - $10,700
- LaserJet 8550N - $13,000
- LaserJet 8550DN (with 2,000 sheet tray) - $16,500- LaserJet 8550GN - $19,300- LaserJet 8550MFP - $26,000Hewlett-Packard: 13 2347www.hp.com.auMinoltaMinolta has announced an extension to its successful range of magicolour 6100 colour laser printers with the 6100 DesklLaser, a unit the company believes successfully combines the key attributes of a business and professional graphics printer.
The product is aimed at the corporate Windows workgroup environment, where not only speed, but quality colour is important. According to Minolta, workgroups can use the DeskLaser for high-speed colour printing at paper sizes of up to A3, making it a versatile tool for almost any printing task. And reflecting recent developments in printing technology, the company also claims that the DeskLaser is able to print at speeds rivalling monochrome printers.
The Desklaser technology uses the Windows Print System (WPS) resident in Windows 95/98, NT 4.0 and Windows 2000, which means that the processing of the print job happens before it leaves the desktop. This has been calculated to deliver super fast printing by reducing the amount of necessary processing.
The magicolor 6100 DeskLaser prints 24 monochrome pages per minute and 6 colour pages per minute, with 1200 x 600dpi resolution and a paper input capacity of up to 1250 sheets. Automatic double-sided printing is optional for colour booklets, newsletters and brochures. As well as the huge range of paper sizes, the magicolor 6100 DeskLaser supports plain paper, transparencies, sheet labels, envelopes and thick stock. The 6100 is priced at $6599 RRP, including GST.
Minolta: (02) 9884 9966
www.minolta-qms.com.au
Kyocera
Kyocera has introduced two new high-end monochrome printers to its range that it claims redefine the benchmarks for speed and cost efficiency in the high-end printer market.
The FS-7000 is capable of printing 28 pages per minute, while the more expensive FS-9000 can print a blistering 36 pages per minute.
This speed, combined with Kyocera's unrivalled TCO performance and advanced finishing options for multiple original prints, make this machine a serious alternative to a photocopier," Kyocera MD David Finn, said. The products each house Kyocera's hard wearing drum made from amorphous silicon. A big selling point for these two printers is the fact that Kyocera now offers a three-year, 1.4 million page, on-site warranty.
Both printers come standard with a 2 x 500 sheet input cassette and can accept up to two more, and an optional duplexing unit. Other options include a power envelope feeder and a choice of versatile output options for finishing and collating multiple originals. The options for output devices also include full stapling facilities and mailbox operation for individually owned printing trays. The printers have optional full SNMP network connectivity, are A3 capable and offer 600dpi resolution (2400dpi with edge enhancement). They are designed to be modular, protecting the initial investment and allowing the machines to grow with users' needs. The FS-7000+ is driven by a 166MHz PowerPC processor and comes with 8MB of memory, upgradable to 72MB. The printer runs at 28ppm in A4mode and 16ppm in A3.
The FS-9000 is powered by a 233MHz PowerPC processor and has 16MB RAM, expandable to 64MB. It boasts 36ppm for A4 and 20ppm for A3. Both printers also offer PCL6, HP-GL and PostScript Level 2 emulations. Recommended retail price (including GST) for the FS-7000+ is$4288.90, while the FS-9000 retails for $5498.90.
Kyocera: 1300 364 429
www.kyocera.com.au
Ricoh
Ricoh's new AficioAP4500 monochrome laser printer is about the fastest on the market at the moment, churning out an average of 45 pages per minute.
The imaging specialist has added a number of important networking and software smarts into this product, which it claims will deliver a more efficient solution than any of its competitors.
Reflecting the growing emphasis on networking smarts in the industry, this printer comes with technology designed to compress print job files, thereby reducing their time on the network. The Ricoh AficioManager also allows network administrators to monitor the progress of print jobs on the network.
The AP4500 also ships with Ricoh's in-house-developed "proof printing" feature, which allows users to check the first print out of large jobs and make changes before completion. This is designed to reduce one of the most common sources of paper wastage in the office. Another feature creeping on to many of the products hitting the market at the moment is password protection, which allows users to ensure only they receive the document being printed and ensuring that only authorised people print sensitive documents stored on a PC. Accommodating varying demands within the workgroup environment, the AP4500 can have its memory upgraded from 8MB to 72MB, depending on the specific requirement.
For sophisticated print jobs, the AP4500 includes versatile finishing options, including stapling and collating, with the addition of a 1.6GB hard disk drive.
Like most printers now on the market, the AP4500 is fully network-ready, with an Ethernet 10/1000 card and immediate compatibility with standard protocols TCP/IP, IPX/SPX and AppleTalk and Windows drivers.
The AP4500 supports AdobePostScript version 3 and offers PCL6 emulation and true 600dpi resolution, which becomes comparable to 2400dpi resolution with Ricoh's edge smoothing technology. For information regarding pricing, contact the company or go to the Web site.
Ricoh: 13 1476
www.ricoh.com.au
Oki
Oki's latest high-end colour LED printer, the OKIPAGE 8C Plus, should appeal to any business hoping to bring some of those pricey corporate printing jobs in-house. The 8c plus produces full 600DPI resolution at the rate of 8 pages per minute.
Using a multiple in-line print engine architecture and belt-drive transport system, this printer brings the functionality of a digital colour press down to the desktop, giving speed, media throughput flexibility, graphics and compatibility via Adobe PostScript 3.
The OKIPAGE 8c Plus offers increased productivity for shared/workgroup environments when configured with Oki's optional OkiLAN 7100e Network Interface Card (NIC). Set-up and configuration in Peer-to-Peer, Novell and Windows NT are made easy with Oki's OkiView software. Adobe PostScript 3 is standard for full network and application compatibility. The OKIPAGE 8c Plus comes standard with a high-speed bi-directional IEEE 1284 parallel port.
The 8C Plus is priced at $6489.25.
OKI: 1800 800 140
www.oki.com.au
Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox has announced three new monochrome network laser printers offering high-speed performance for a wide range of workgroup situations.
The company claims that its DocuPrint N Series printers are 25 per cent faster than most of its competitors with speeds ranging between 20 and 40 pages per minute. All products come with Adobe PostScript 3 and PCL6 emulation, Ethernet 10/100BaseT, USB connectivity, embedded Web server, and 32MB of upgradeable memory. All offer 1200dpi resolution.
The Xerox WorkSet technology offers advanced network control in addition to fast multi-set printing and Internet Printing Protocol support. WorkSet also provides a number of other handy features, such as MaiLinx remote printing and mail alerts, Secure Print, Edge to Edge printing and fax Friendly Black, a feature which cross-hatches a multi-coloured chart so as to make it readable in black and white.
All products come standard with stand-alone network management software such as Xerox PrinterMap and CentreWare and are compatible with existing enterprise system software such as Microsoft Management Console, Tivoli Net View and CA Unicenter TNG.
The N2025 and N2125 printers print at 1200 x 1200dpi at 20 pages per minute, while the N2815 prints at this resolution at 28 pages per minute. Prices, including GST, are as follows: p N2125 - $2495p N2025 - $3495p N2825 - $3750.
Fuji Xerox: 13 1412
www.fujixerox.com.au