CANON , SAMSUNG & KONICA MINOLTA UNVEIL NEW PRINTERS

[Anonymous]

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3802421
Canon, Samsung and Konica Minolta Unveil New Printers
Small-business
operators and home-based workers will appreciate the sophisticated
paper handling, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and advanced document
and photo options of the two models Canon has added to its office
all-in-one lineup: The Pixma MX860 and Pixma MX330 combine color inkjet
printing with copying, scanning, and fax capability and a flock of
convenience features.

Priced at $200, the MX860 includes
automatic duplex copying, printing, and two-way paper feeding, for
two-sided copying or scanning of letter-sized documents without the
need to flip and re-feed pages. The unit can also scan and print at the
same time during copying jobs and combines 802.11b/g wireless with
Ethernet and USB connectivity for multi-PC sharing.

Its
five-color individual tank ink system, print resolution of up to 9,600
by 2,400 color dpi, and one-picoliter minimum ink droplet size help the
MX860 produce photo-lab-quality borderless 4- by 6-inch prints in
approximately 41 seconds. Its CIS scanner has an optical resolution of
2,400 dpi.

The $110 Pixma MX330 features slightly lower scan and
print resolution, with a four-color, two-cartridge ink system and a
1.8- instead of 2.5-inch color LCD control panel. Like its
higher-priced sibling, however, the MX330 offers an Auto Scan Mode that
recognizes the type of document being scanned so it can be saved
quickly in the right format; the ability to save scanned JPG and PDF
data directly to a flash drive or memory card; and Auto Photo Fix
red-eye correction and brightness and contrast optimization.

Both
printers also help protect important documents with secure fax dialing
— asking for a confirmation of the number entered to avoid misdialing
— and the ability to create PDF files with password protection that
restricts access to printing or editing files without the proper
authority.

A Slew of New Laser Printers from Samsung
Monochrome
laser printers are the workhorses of many a small office, and Samsung’s
newest models are ready for work with enhanced connectivity and
productivity.

The Samsung ML-2855ND offers output speed of 30
pages per minute, helped by a 400MHz processor and 64MB expandable to
192MB of memory. The $358 compact has built-in duplex printing and a
TonerSave feature to cut its total cost of operation, as well as a USB
2.0 interface and 250-sheet cassette and 50-sheet multipurpose paper
trays. It’s rated for a monthly duty cycle of a sturdy 50,000 pages.

Two
new Wi-Fi-equipped black-and-white lasers target the home- or
small-office crowd seeking what Canon calls a small, sleek and silent
solution. At 13.1 by 14.8 by 4.8-inches, the ML-1630W ($286) is one of
the smallest network-ready laser printers in the world, but delivers
sharp 17-ppm output as well as both 802.11b/g and Ethernet connectivity
and a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages. The SCX-4500W ($429), is a
copier and 4,800-dpi (enhanced) color scanner as well as a printer; it
uses the same engine and 100-sheet sliding input cassette as the
ML-1630W.

Users seeking a more robust monochrome multifunction
platform can check out the SCX-4826FN ($429), a 30-ppm printer that
measures 16.2 by 17.5 by 15.6 inches and handles walk-up and PC faxing
as well as copying, scanning, and printing. The network-ready machine
also features automatic double-sided printing.

Konica Minolta Launches Color Laser Quartet
Looking
to trade up from an inkjet printer or all-in-one? Konica Minolta has
four compact color lasers to show you. The two printers and two
multifunction peripherals in the new Magicolor 1600 series are the
company’s smallest and most affordable to date, and their Simitri HD
color polymerized toner saves up to 15 percent of the energy usually
required for laser printing.

All four printers produce crisp
copy at 20 ppm in black and white and 5 ppm in color. The simplest, the
Magicolor 1600W ($229), is a Windows-only printer with a USB 2.0
interface and 200-sheet input tray; its rated duty cycle is 35,000
pages per month. For $329, the Magicolor 1650EN adds PostScript 3 and
PCL6 emulation for Mac and Linux as well as Windows systems, as well as
Ethernet network connectivity and an optional 500-sheet second input
tray.

Need to replace more than merely a printer in your office
lineup? The Magicolor 1680MF ($379) adds flatbed copying and scanning
capabilities to the 1600W chassis, while the model 1690MF ($449)
combines the 1650EN’s extra office functionality with fax as well as
scanning and copying, with an automatic document feeder to speed
multipage jobs.

[Author]

February 13, 2009 at 3:31 PM