Second-Generation Color Laser Printers Make Their Mark

Fortunately, the second generation of color laser printers offer a much higher-quality product for solution providers to sell. CRN Test Center engineers reviewed two sub-$1,000 color laser printers from Konica Minolta and Samsung Electronics America.

Minolta's second-generation mini color laser, the Magicolor 5430 DL, has been completely redesigned. Although image quality and speed are better than the 5430's predecessor, there's still room for minor design improvements. Samsung's CLP-550 printer made great improvements in graphics processing, but its overall image quality and performance remain about the same as its predecessor's. The CLP-550 is priced much lower than the Minolta printer. Both the Samsung and Minolta printers were put through their paces using SpencerLab's Printer Test Suite to measure performance as well as quality of monochrome and color images and text.

Minolta Magicolor 5430 DL
Minolta's first sub-$1,000 color laser printer, the Magicolor 2300, though affordable, was somewhat slow and image quality was less than astounding. The 2300 also had some design flaws, including an open paper tray. The tray caught dust and other contaminants which were dragged into the printer, causing internal damage.

The redesigned 1200 x 600 dpi printer has enclosed the paper drawer on this new model. The tray holds 250 sheets, and additional input trays can be added. The Magicolor 5430 costs $999, and prints at 21 pages per minute in color or black and white. The printer is small, measuring 17.3 x 16.7 x 20.5 inches. The machine weighs about 80 pounds. The Magicolor 5430 is rated for a monthly duty cycle of 60,000 prints, and is equipped with 10/100 Ethernet connectivity and a USB 2.0 interface. The printer is easy to set up, as all consumables are pre-installed. Users simply have to remove bits of tape and packing materials and remove four thumbscrews from the toner tanks. The printer is ready to use in just minutes.

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The Magicolor 5430 prints more sharply and with better contrast than its predecessor, the 2300. Performance has improved as well. The 5430 prints color documents as fast as monochrome documents, and does both faster than the 2300 model. The 5430 printed a 10-page monochrome Word document in 42 seconds, eight seconds less than the 2300. The 5430 printed the same 10-page Word document with color headings in 43 seconds. The 2300 model took 2 minutes 41 seconds to print the document. Graphics and image printing performance have improved dramatically. The 2300 model took 49 seconds to print a color photo of a castle, whereas the 5430 took only 18 seconds.

The single-level Konica Minolta Partner Reseller Program offers benefits based on sales performance. Partners can receive 8 percent promotional incentive on hardware sales and 4 percent on sales of consumables. A Try and Buy program provides integrators with a 30-day demonstration units. A dedicated technical support line is available weekdays from 7 AM to 7 PM, Central Standard Time and from 9 AM to 6 PM Saturdays. Web-based technical support is available 24/7.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>MAGICOLOR 5430 DL

COMPANY: Konica Minolta Printing Solutions USA
Mobile, Ala.
(800) 523-2696
www.buymagicolor.com
DISTRIBUTORS: D&H, EMJ Data Systems, Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

Note: Vendors can earn up to five stars for technical merit and five for their channel program. If the average of these two scores is four stars or greater, the product earns CRN Test Center Recommended status.

Samsung CLP-550
Samsung's first color laser printer, the CLP-500, was inexpensive and easy to use, but sharpness and contrast were poor and performance was slow. Small-point size text was almost impossible to read, and photos were muddy. The CLP-550 greatly improved sharpness and contrast, but quality is not as high as the Minolta printer. A test photograph of a castle printed on the CLP-550 looked dark compared the same printout made on the Minolta. However, the Samsung CLP-550 costs about half what the 5430 does, with an MSRP of just $599.

The CLP-550 is easy to set up, but consumables are packaged separately. The CLP-550 measures only 15.9 x 20.1 x 18.5 inches and it weighs 77 pounds. Both parallel and USB 2.0 connectivity are standard, and 10/100 Ethernet connectivity and wireless NICs are optional. The CLP-550 features a standard 250-sheet input tray and is rated for a monthly duty cycle of 35,000 pages .

The CLP-550 offers improved graphics and image printing performance, although text printing performance is about the same as the older model. The CLP-550 printed a 10-page monochrome Word document in 41 seconds, while the CLP-500 took 42 seconds. Similarly, the CLP-550 printed a 10-page Word document with color headings in 2 minutes 12 seconds, significantly slower than the Minolta printer. The CLP-500 took 2 minutes 13 seconds to print the same document. However, various graphics and image files printed on the CLP-550 took about 30 percent less time to print than on the older model. A color photo of a castle, which took 1 minute 20 seconds to print on the CLP-500, took only 29 seconds on the CLP-550.

Samsung's recently revamped, three-tier Power Partner program bases partner level on sales volume and market potential. Support elements vary between different levels, and include sales incentives, margin enhancement, co-op marketing and sales opportunitites and sales support. The average solution provider margin is about 20 percent. Training is available both in person and over the Web. A special toll-free reseller support line is available weekdays during normal business hours, and toll-free technical support is available 24/7.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>CLP-550

COMPANY: Samsung Electronics America
Ridgefield Park, N.J.
(866) 542-7214
www.samsungpartner.com
DISTRIBUTORS: ASI, D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

Note: Vendors can earn up to five stars for technical merit and five for their channel program. If the average of these two scores is four stars or greater, the product earns CRN Test Center Recommended status.