Monochrome lasers: Built for speed

Color printers may get all the hype, but in the dark corners of the office, monochrome printers continue to slave away at plain-text jobs, with an occasional interruption for a cheap, quick graphic. Our roundup examines the five fastest models on the market, ranging in engine speed from 36 ppm (pages per minute) to 51 ppm. Three lower-end models from IBM, Lexmark, and Xerox offer affordable entry prices and room to grow, whereas two hulking machines from Hewlett-Packard and Kyocera handle high-volume and wide-format printing with aplomb.

We ran each printer through a battery of quantitative and hands-on tests, looking at everything from print speed and print quality to setup, management, and ease of use. Our highest ratings went to HP’s LaserJet 9000dn, Kyocera’s Ecosys FS-9520DN, and Xerox’s Phaser 4500N.

We expected to see the printers churn out good-looking text and struggle more with graphics. But we were also keen to verify the incredible engine-speed specs advertised by the vendors. Because maximum print speeds are achieved through caching, we added a load test (developed by Contributing Editor Victor R. Garza) to our regular text and graphics tests, sending dozens of jobs at once (totaling about 800 pages) to each printer. Once each printer cached all the data, it spit out the pages swiftly, attaining anywhere from 87 percent to 94 percent of its rated speed. By comparison, printing one plain-text document at a time dropped their rate to 62 percent to 66 percent of their spec speeds.

In short, these printers will shine brightest in busy workplaces where lots of users are cranking out big print jobs. Which plain-text powerhouse is the best fit for your busy office? Read on to find out how these printers compared.

Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 9000dn

HP’s LaserJet 9000dn is caught in a dead heat with the other mega-printer in this roundup, Kyocera’s Ecosys FS-9520DN. Both printers cost a lot but can shoulder heavy traffic at high speed. The HP’s edge lies in ease of use and excellent design — but surprisingly, not in print quality.

Setting up the LaserJet 9000dn was nearly effortless, but we were a little confused when we were asked to choose the correct driver from a scrolling list. The installer marked the likely contenders, but they included drivers in other languages, and the descriptions were not helpful. Although copious paper and electronic documentation comes with the printer, we were surprised that the main user guide was available only online.

The LaserJet 9000dn offers high-end features with speed and print quality to match (most of the time). It has a high monthly duty cycle and maximum paper capacity of 3,600 sheets, and its two main input trays can take paper sizes up to tabloid. Duplexing comes standard, and a stapler/finisher is available as an option.

The LaserJet 9000dn charged through our load test and plain-text tests at high speed, faltering only when it came to graphics. Print quality followed suit: Text looked nearly flawless, but some graphics exhibited slight banding, noticeable moiré (unintentional background patterns), and other problems.

Managing the printer remotely is a breeze with HP’s full-featured, well-designed Web JetAdmin software. Locally, the control panel boasts easily understandable messages displayed on the LCD and intuitive button navigation of the menus and settings. Strategically placed diagrams help you handle paper jams and load consumables properly. The doors and trays work well.

Although the LaserJet 9000dn offers a better design than the Kyocera FS-9520DN and comparable speed and features, it can’t compete with the FS-9520DN’s ultra-low consumables costs. The HP’s costs are the second-lowest, but still hundreds of dollars more than Kyocera’s.

IBM Infoprint 1372n

IBM’s Infoprint 1372n starts out small, but its 225,000-page monthly duty cycle should be a hint that it offers room to grow: as many as 4,100 pages of input (adding optional trays) and 336MB of memory.

The Infoprint 1372n also offers good print speed and quality, plus capable MarkVision management software. Various problems with the Infoprint 1372n’s setup and design, however, dampen its rating. The Infoprint 1372n is still a better deal than its overpriced twin, Lexmark’s T634, but Xerox’s Phaser 4500N, though less expandable, is also less expensive and better designed.

The Infoprint 1372n posted good scores on all our speed tests, maxing out at 39.2 ppm during our load test. Printed pages exhibited crisp text and impressively well-drawn graphics. Both simple pie charts and tougher photos looked good.

Navigating the Infoprint 1372n’s control panel would be easier if the roles of the menu, return, and arrow buttons (one of which doubles as the menu button) were clearer. The messages displayed on the LCD lacked the helpful hints and more natural language that we enjoyed on Xerox’s Phaser 4500N. We also disliked the paper trays, which paired cheap construction with imprecise guide markings. The multipurpose tray was interestingly designed but deplorably flimsy.

The Infoprint 1372n’s outdated documentation made a bad impression. The setup guide and the CD-based user reference mention its similar predecessors, but not the Infoprint 1372n itself. IBM says the included “What’s New” booklet covers the Infoprint 1372n’s differences adequately, and the company has no plans to update the rest of the documentation.

Kyocera Ecosys FS-9520DN

Kyocera Mita’s Ecosys FS-9520DN runs neck-and-neck with HP’s LaserJet 9000dn on almost every measure, including print quality. Its super-low cost of consumables is the envy of all. If you don’t mind a slightly rougher experience, the FS-9520DN is as good a choice as the LaserJet 9000dn.

After a smooth setup, we encountered an odd problem: We couldn’t access the printer’s CD-based documentation via the disc’s navigation screen. We had to use the back door — launching Windows Explorer to search for the file. Kyocera said it had not seen this problem before; we hope it’s a fluke.

The FS-9520DN’s bristling feature set includes standard duplexing, a high monthly duty cycle, the highest maximum paper capacity, and tabloid-ready paper trays. Its winning performance included the fastest load-test time and excellent print quality. Text looked clean and precise. Graphics looked somewhat dark and often showed moiré, but their overall quality still exceeded that of the LaserJet 9000dn. The FS-9520DN’s graphics speed, however, was among the slowest of the group.

A host of mostly minor design flaws separate the FS-9520DN from its more refined LaserJet 9000dn competition. The control panel’s terse pidgin requires a little interpretation, as do its buttons. Inside the printer, Kyocera colored some user-touchable handles and levers a noticeably bright green, but others, colored gray, fade confusingly into the mechanics. Sturdy metal rods can be pulled out from either side of the printer for hauling it, litter-style, but something this unusual should be labeled. The paper trays have inadequate markings. Worse, as we attempted to remove a paper tray, the rear paper guide caught on the printer’s casing as we tilted the tray upward to clear the rollers. A metal tab prevents serious breakage, but the problem persists.

Because you’ll spend far less on the FS-9520DN’s consumables than for those of any other printer we tested, you might be willing to overlook its minor shortcomings. We consider it the equal of HP’s LaserJet 9000dn.

Lexmark T634

Lexmark’s T634 is virtually identical to IBM’s Infoprint 1372n (Lexmark is the OEM for both), but unfortunately it fares a little worse in comparison. It’s equally expandable and fast, and it offers the excellent MarkVision management software. But it also possesses equally annoying design elements, and its print quality and pricing are worse.

The T634’s design deserves points for its maximum 336MB of memory and 4,100 sheets of paper (with optional trays). The paper trays that come with the printer, however, suffer from cheap plastic parts and imprecise markings for the paper guides. The multipurpose tray, though cleverly designed, is terribly flimsy. When using the control panel, we often wondered whether to press the menu, return, or arrow keys. The messages on the LCD were difficult to decipher and generally not helpful. Aside from a small “What’s New” booklet, Lexmark’s documentation fails to mention the T634 model, only its similar predecessors.

The T634 equals its twin’s performance only in its print speeds. Its print quality was a little worse: Text, though still well-formed, looked a little heavy. Graphics tended to look dark, with areas of moiré, roughness, or jagged curves.

Cost was the T634’s ultimate downfall. Both the purchase price and the cost of consumables exceed those of its twin (Lexmark’s Return Program cartridges offer better value). The Infoprint 1372n is the better deal of the pair, but in this price class, we prefer Xerox’s Phaser 4500N.

Xerox Phaser 4500N

Xerox’s Phaser 4500N is admittedly the lowest-end of the office printers we reviewed, offering a modest 36ppm top engine speed and a mere 1,800-page maximum paper capacity for its affordable price. We still prefer it, however, to IBM’s Infoprint 1372n and Lexmark’s T634, because it’s better designed and easier to use. If you need more expandability or features, check out beefier models in the Phaser 4500 product line.

Using the Phaser 4500N proved largely pleasurable, with a near-automatic setup plus Xerox’s excellent documentation and sophisticated CentreWare management tools. The control panel is easy to navigate, and the messages on its LCD are wonderfully communicative and helpful. The design has a few shortcomings, however. The toner cartridge’s complete lack of markings make it unclear where you can touch it, and the paper-size markings on the trays can be hard to see. A rear-door lever and paper-tray cover are insufficiently documented. But for a low-end printer, the Phaser 4500N cuts admirably few corners.

Although it can’t possibly keep up with the faster-engine printers in this roundup, the Phaser 4500N competed well on principle, getting closer to its rated speed than the others on both the load test and the plain-text test, and faring nearly as well when printing graphics. Quality posed a tougher challenge: Letters erred on the thin-and-light side, going feathery on smaller and more intricate fonts. Graphics looked rough, with noticeable jaggies; photos looked washed-out, with noticeable moiré and a little banding.

The Phaser 4500N’s weakest point is cost. Although it’s cheap to acquire, its lower-capacity consumables will cost more over time. We rank the printer’s overall implementation higher than that of its closest competition, IBM’s Infoprint 1372n and Lexmark’s T634, however, so we’d still recommend it over the others.

Your choice of fast printers ranges from highly expandable starter models to husky monsters outfitted for the highest and most varied traffic. Because they all excel in text quality and print at least passable graphics, your criteria should focus on features, design, and cost of consumables. HP’s LaserJet 9000dn and Kyocera’s Ecosys FS-9520DN get our nod at the high-end, while Xerox’s Phaser 4500N proved a scrappy entry-level contender.

Contributing Editor Victor R. Garza developed and conducted the load test for this article.