Printer Reviews and Buying Guide
Each month we will endeavour to bring you the latest news and printer reviews to help you make the right decision when updating your printer.
Samsung CLP300 Personal Colour Laser Printer
Canon MP600 All in One Multifunction Centre
Hewlett Packard Colour Laserjet CM1015MFP
Hewlett Packard Colour Laserjet CM1015MFP
OVERVIEW
The HP Colour LaserJet CM1015 Multi Function Printer (MFP) is a similar price to some high-end ink-jet multi function printers. That means that the low price, combined with reasonably high-quality output, brings the cost of a colour laser MFP within reach of even the smallest home office. That makes the CM1015 worth considering for a home office or personal MFP in a larger office. To achieve the price HP have omitted some ‘it would be nice if’ features. Some would find it essential for a fax/modem and an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). This MFP offers neither. But to offset this there is always the low price. |
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The lack of a fax modem means that the CM1015 doesn't offer a standalone fax capability. This means that the CM1015 is therefore limited to printing, copying and scanning functions, as well as scanning to e-mail by way of the e-mail program on the PC it's connected to.
Without an ADF it means that multi page documents can only be scanned on the flatbed, one at a time. Personally this reviewer finds this manual process an opportunity to get away from the keyboard and monitor on the rare occasions it is necessary to scan or copy multiple pages. But where multi page document handling is a frequent occurrence I can see this as a major disadvantage.
HOW MUCH PAPER DOES IT HOLD?
The CM1015 provides more than enough paper capacity. The standard input tray holds 250 sheets and there is an additional 125 sheet multipurpose feeder. Should there be a need for even greater capacity am additional 250 sheet is available as an option at additional cost.
WHAT’S ITS SIZE AND WEIGHT?
At a weight of 21Kgs the CN1015 is relatively light for a colour laser MFP. With a footprint of 43.75 cms wide x 50 cms deep and an overall height of 51.75 cms The unit is compact enough to fit into a small office. However, it is possibly too large to share a desk without feeling dominated.
HOW EASY IS IT TO SET UP?
Setup is similar to most low end colour laser printers and is relatively straightforward. Unpack the unit, load the paper tray, plug it in and switch on the power, run the fully automated software, connect the USB cable and you are ready to go.
HOW DOES IT PERFORM?
If high output speed is a criterion then the HP CM1015 will disappoint. However, if you are stepping up from an inexpensive inkjet and dipping your toe in the water with colour laser printing it will give a similar output speed. HP’s low end colour laser printers are known for being slow and the CM 1015 is no exception. It is slower than most other colour laser printers and even slower than some high end ink jet printers’ such as HP’s Officejet Pro L7680 MFP. But in fairness the HP L7680 is promoted by HP themselves for its laser beating speed.
On the plus side is the output quality. It is a noticeable step above ink jet output in text, and is well up to expectations from laser printers. The graphics and photo quality is typical of a colour laser printer.
It is possibly only perfectionists in the most demanding desktop printing applications who could find any fault with the text output quality. The text is easily readable at font sizes as low as 4 point so at 8-12 point body text it presents no problems at all.
The graphics quality is more than suitable for any internal business need and, for the Small Office/Home Office user is suitable for most all round applications including PowerPoint handouts. For most, except those demanding the very highest of standards to quality is good enough for even gate fold brochures.
Like nearly all colour laser printers with the exception of the very high end, the CM1015 gives only average photo output. Objects with similar colours next to each other have a tendency to merge into each other. Even though it is short of quality photo output it is more than capable of printing all types of images in such things as external newsletters, web pages with photo images as well as bulletin boards and notices for the fridge door.
CONCLUSION
If you’re looking to get into colour laser printing to move into the area of colour laser printing and would like a little more functionality then just printing, then the HP CM 1015 is well worth more than a passing glance. What it lacks in speed it more than makes up for in text and simple graphics output quality.
Although it lacks some functionality, such as a fax/modem and an ADF, it may well be that printing, copying and scanning is all that you need in an MFP.
Laserjet CM1015MFP Supplies
Canon MP600 All in One Multifunction Centre
Canon is well known for producing good quality and compact printers for the smaller budget, and this time they haven’t let us down either. The device combines a printer, scanner and media card reader at a price of $299, the down side is though that it doesn’t combine a fax or a film scanner. The printer does make up for this with good paper handling and high quality prints.
The control panel is easily one of the best features of Canon’s new printer. It comes with a 2.5” colour LCD screen that flips out of the way when not in use. The menu interface is navigated via an Ipod style jog wheel and will let you scroll through a preview of your images from your cameras memory card. You can also perform a variety of editing tasks prior to printing. What's in the Box
- Canon MP600 All-in-One printer
- Power cable
- Print head
- Five ink cartridges (CLi-8 Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and PGi-5 Black)
All inks are available in Canon original and compatible cartridges.
- Setup software & users guide CD-ROMs
- Fold-out Easy Setup Instructions + Quick Start Guide
Cosmetically the MP600 is a stunning machine, it is very well designed with panels hiding most of its features. The media slots are well hidden behind a door on the right hand front side of the printer. The printer accepts most types of media cards but you’ll need an adaptor to read XD Picture, Memory Stick Duo and Mini SD cards. It does feature Direct Print which will let you print directly from a PictBridge equipped digital camera using the cameras screen and menu. Should you have an IrDA port on your mobile phone or PDA you can print directly to the printer. The major down side however is that the MP600 doesn’t support printing from USB flash drives.
The MP600 take 5 ink tanks, one each of the primary colours and two black ink tanks, one of which is a pigment based ink which gives clear crisp prints when printing on more absorbent paper. On normal paper the MP600 tended to print quite well although the colours were too bright and the skin tones off contrast. Put the photo paper in and what a difference! The MP600 excelled producing excellent prints that were beautifully sharp and wonderful skin tones. As with most multifunction printers the scanner is OK but not good enough for photo work.
The MP600 is an excellent multifunction printer that delivers what Canon promises. If you don't need a fax, film scanner and an automatic document feeder the MP600 is a good choice for everything else that it does offer.
Canon PIXMA MP600 Supplies
Samsung CLP300 Personal Colour Laser Printer
Over the last few months the price of colour laser printers has been dropping, $399 is still reasonably inexpensive. Unusually this printer isn’t being sold cheaply in the hope that the manufacturer will make up the numbers with cartridges sales.
The CLP-300 fits the mould in everyway as a budget printer. A somewhat appealing cube with a curved front and a very simple but easy to use control panel allows you to cancel a print job and to see when the toner needs replacing. Added to this is a 150 page paper tray that protrudes from the base of the printer.
The printer is built around a carousel system that means that each colour is built up on the surface of the drum before being transferred to the paper. This system has the advantage of keeping the costs under control but speed takes a back seat while the drum makes four revolutions per colour page.
Underneath the front cover of this printer is where you will find four toner bottles, each about the same size and shape as a bottle of jam. The black toner bottle has been rated for 2,000 pages while the colours should be good for half of that. When you calculate the usage and the cost of each consumable, you have a page cost of 6c for black and 15c for colour prints.
As we mentioned before as this is a carousel system the print speeds do suffer with this printer, 10 pages per minute for black pages and nearly four pages per minute for colour.
Overall this budget printer is well suited for school homework or the business reports and budgets that demand quality colour. However the colours print to vividly with photographic images and the black is somewhat overpowering. Both of these issues can be resolved by adjusting the settings through the printer driver.
The CLP-300 Printer and all consumables are available through Cartridges Direct. For a full listing please follow the links below.
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