SAN FRANCISCO (05/01/2000) - The same engine that won two NEC Technologies Inc. models places on a recent PC World Top 10 Printers chart drives the NEC SuperScript 4650N. The 4650N offers remote printing and a fair price. Not a bad deal, eh?
I tested a $2700 prerelease 4650N model, which includes 96MB of RAM, a 2.1GB hard drive, and an ethernet interface. The basic ($2000) 4650 has only 32MB of RAM without ethernet or hard drive.
Catching up to the competition, the 4650 series features IP addressing so you can send documents across the Internet for printing. The 4650N can also print Adobe Acrobat and several Microsoft Office files without your having to install those applications.
The 4650N produces very black, very crisp text. Its graphics retain excellent detail but print too dark--more so at 1200 dpi than at 600.
The PC World Test Center has not yet tested the 4650N. However, several identically rated NECs tested for March hovered around 9 ppm on text--tops for color lasers--and 1 ppm on graphics. The 4650N should do about the same. Two complaints: NEC's control-panel menus are exceptionally confusing, and if you want to print legal-size documents, you'll have to spend $130 on a special tray. Otherwise, the 4650N has the right features and price to make a good office laser.
--Dan Littman
NEC SuperScript 4650N
PRO: Excellent text quality, remote-printing capability.
CON: Dark graphics, difficult control-panel menus.
VALUE: Good deal for businesses that need color and remote printing.
Street price: $2700
NEC Technologies
800/632-4636
www.nectech.com.