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Member Since 1987 |
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The Way We See It
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| Excellent |
| Good |
| Average |
| Poor |
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| Setup |
9.2 |
| Print Quality |
8.9 |
| Speed |
8.8 |
| Paper Handling |
8.6 |
| Supplies |
7.0 |
| Service/Reliabilty |
8.0 |
| TOTAL |
50.5 |
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In Short: The new Xerox Phaser 6180N and 6180DN color laser printers are the latest small office printers from this manufacturer. The Xerox 6180N and 6180/DN should do well based on our evaluation as they compare very favorably to more popular printers in this space. At a maximum rating of 26ppm, (20ppm color), and standard features like Adobe PostScript Level 3, 10/100Base TX Ethernet, and on-site warranty, this printer compares favorably to other machines in the business class printer space but is priced much closer to the personal laser products. The 6180 was extremely easy to set up once we removed all the packing. The four color coded cartridges, which are the only consumables, install from the front of the printer. Xerox driver installs are usually seamless and this was no exception on both our Windows and Mac operating systems. The print quality overall was very good and rivaled that of more expensive machines, especially in the enhanced mode which sacrifices some speed. Xerox claims a 600 x 600 x 4 bit resolution. The end result is smooth gradients and a continuous tone look that is ideal for color brochures, newsletters, or business presentations. The black text and lines also looked above average for this price range. On most print jobs the Xerox 6180 finished at or near the top for print quality and speed. However, it finished near the bottom of the pack on the more complex or graphics intensive jobs when the processor did not seem fast enough. The 6180DN configuration also includes the auto duplex function for two sided printing. Both configurations include 128MB RAM, USB 2.0 port, a 400 MHz processor, a 250 sheet tray and a 150 sheet Multi-Purpose feeder. The paper handling is good overall as we had no problem feeding and printing on paper as heavy as 80lb. card stock from the multi-purpose feeder. The auto-duplex function in the 6180DN also proved reliable even on slightly heavier paper.
The Bottom Line: It is truly amazing what you can buy today for under $500. The 6180s have above average print quality, speed, and paper handling compared to other printers in this price range. For higher volume applications, however, we recommend moving up to a business class printer with more speed, bigger paper capacity, and much lower operating costs, (like the Xerox 6360). The new Xerox Phaser 6180N and 6180DN will work in the UNIX, Mac OS, and Windows environments. The new Xerox Phaser 6180N and 6180DN color laser printers are a great value and are ideal for small/ home office or any low volume network environment.
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Phaser 6180 series
