The Way We See It
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| Excellent |
| Good |
| Average |
| Poor |
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| Setup |
9.5 |
| Print Quality |
8.1 |
| Speed |
8.2 |
| Paper Handling |
9.3 |
| Supplies |
9.9 |
| Service/Reliabilty |
6.9 |
| TOTAL |
51.9 |
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In Short: The Kyocera C5030N
is the replacement model for the popular C5016N. The C5030N can print up to 26ppm. Like all Kyocera printers the big selling point is having the lowest operating cost of any other printer in their respective categories. The C5030N has the fewest consumables to replace of any color laser printer. Four color-coded toner cartridges install easily from the top making the setup very easy and quick. The low cost per color page rating of 4.7 cents per page, @ 20% coverage, isapproximately half that of most other color lasers. The controller for C5030N is loaded with features including a 600MHz PowerPC750FX processor, 128MB, and PS3, PCL6, PCL5c emulations among others. The software setup was smooth with the driver installer provided by Kyocera. The print quality at 600 dpi, though good, was not as good or as vivid as the C5016N. The test photos we printed looked like most of the other printers tested here but the text printing and color accuracy was above average. The C5030N is physically smaller than competitive models from other printer makers which is a plus if space is at a premium. Both models include a 500-sheet letter/legal feeder and a 100-sheet MP tray for heavier stock with available straight paper path. The Kyocera C5030N will work in almost any environment and include a built-in 100 BaseT Ethernet print server for universal compatibility with MAC OS, UNIX, or most any other OS. The printers have several options including up to three additional 500-sheet feeders, auto-duplex unit, envelope feeder, RAM upgrade to 1024MB, and internal hard drive.
The Bottom Line: The Kyocera C5030N is built around an advanced color print engine designed to conserve consumable costs along with the environment. These models combine a very compatible controller with a versatile engine in a relatively small, attractive package. The low cost per page, expandability, and small size are the biggest selling points.
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