Inkjet & Digital Printing
BLI Honours The Top-Performing Colour Printer Products With “Pick” Awards
Tuesday 23. June 2009 - After subjecting a wide range of colour printers and printer MFPs to a battery of rigorous lab tests, BLI has announced the winners of its Spring 2009 "Pick" awards in the colour printer category, with eleven products from seven vendors taking top honours for their outstanding performance in BLI testing.
The tests evaluate products for a variety of important performance aspects, including reliability, image quality, productivity, print drivers, feedback to workstations, administrative utilities, ease of use, network setup, toner yield and more.
The exceptional performers chosen as BLI “Pick” winners are:
Canon Inc.
Canon i-SENSYS MF8450
Outstanding Small Workgroup Colour Multifunction Printer, Spring 2009
Hewlett-Packard Company
HP Officejet Pro 8000 Wireless Printer
Outstanding Business Inkjet Printer, Spring 2009
HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-In-One
Outstanding Business Inkjet Multifunction Printer, Spring 2009
InfoPrint Solutions Company
InfoPrint Color 1824 Series
Outstanding Small Workgroup Colour Printer, Spring 2009
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 II GA
Outstanding Mid-Size Workgroup Colour Printer, Spring 2009
Lexmark International, Inc.
Lexmark C540n
Outstanding Personal Colour Printer, Spring 2009
Lexmark C544 Series
Outstanding Small Workgroup Colour Printer, Spring 2009
Sharp Electronics
Sharp MX-C311
(also sold as Sharp DX-C311)
Outstanding Mid-Size Workgroup Colour Multifunction Printer, Spring 2009
Xerox
Xerox Phaser 6280 Series
Outstanding Small Workgroup Colour Printer, Spring 2009
Xerox Phaser 6128MFP
Outstanding Personal Colour Multifunction Printer, Spring 2009
Exceptional Ease Of Use And Robust Feature Set Lead To “Pick” for Sharp
A hybrid product from Sharp, the 31-ppm MX-C311 provided an outstanding performance in BLIs two-month lab test, earning a BLI “Pick” in the mid-size workgroup colour multifunction printer segment.
“The MX-C311 is unlike anything weve seen in our testing of A4 colour MFPs, providing outstanding multitasking, robust scanning, superior colour output and exceptional ease of use,” said BLI Manager of Laboratory Testing Pete Emory. “The control panel has a sleek, full-colour 8.5-inch touch screen that is easy to read and a menu structure that is identical to that on Sharps newest A3 MFPs, which eases the transition from one product to another.”
BLI Senior Printer Analyst Marlene Orr added, “The unique business model employed by Sharp allows dealers the option of providing preventive maintenance as with a traditional copier or to allow customers to replace routine maintenance items on their own as is common with printer-centric MFPs, making the MX-C311 a good fit for both customers who prefer traditional all-inclusive service contracts and those who prefer the more do-it-yourself model traditionally associated with printers.”
“Sharp is very proud to be honoured with this distinctive award in this strategically important growth category,” said Keiichi Katsuta, President of the Division Sharp Information Systems Europe. “BLI is known for its rigorous testing methods, so winning this Pick award speaks volumes about the innovation, quality and reliability that went into the MX-C311 and DX-C311.”
Konica Minolta Takes “Pick” For Mid-Size Workgroup Colour Printer
An outstanding performer in BLIs exhaustive testing, the A3-size Konica Minolta magicolor 7450 II GA was a clear winner in the mid-size workgroup colour printer category. “In our extensive testing, the magicolor 7450 had faster than average first-print-out times and above average efficiency, making it a good choice for general business colour,” said Tony Maceri, BLI senior test technician. “Because it supports up to 12.25″ x 47.24″ for banner printing, has a PictBridge connection for printing photographic images directly from a digital camera and includes colour-matching software, the magicolor 7450 II GA is also a good fit for users with more complex needs.” The unit features Konica Minoltas polymerized toner and advanced colour controls, including support for SWOP, Commercial Press, Eurocolor, TOYO, DIC and SNAP press emulations, as well as standard RGB source profiles to further allow users to control colour output.
Canon Wins “Picks” For Small Workgroup Colour MFPs
The 17-ppm Canon i-SENSYS MF8450 offers a combination of productivity, ease of use and feature set unlike many products in this class, helping it to earn a BLI “Pick” in the small workgroup colour multifunction printer category.
“In addition to its flawless reliability test performance, we were impressed by the wealth of ease of use features that Canon has added to the i-SENSYS MF8450, such as the swivel-mounted 3.5-inch colour TFT screen and a scroll wheel for fast data entry when carrying out scanning tasks,” said BLI European Lab and Research Manager David Sweetnam. “The ability of the device to pull multiple jobs off the network at once also ensures that bottlenecks are kept to a minimum when the device is shared in a busy environment.”
“Canon is honoured that BLI has recognized our commitment to deliver on our promises”, commented Mr Anil Jagpal, Product Planning Manager, Canon Europe Ltd. This BLI “Pick” award demonstrates that Canons range of printers are able to service business customers needs at all levels. From extreme energy efficiency to speed to design, the i-SENSYS range will continue to set the standard in Canons drive towards being best in class.”
Lexmark Honoured With Two “Picks” For Colour Laser Printers
The highly-recommended 21-ppm Lexmark C540n and the 25-ppm Lexmark C544dn gave strong performances in BLIs testing, leading to their selections as “Picks” in the personal colour printer and small workgroup printer categories, respectively. Offering very good ease of use, the units employ compact toner cartridges, which some users might compare to inkjet cartridges in terms of the shape and the way they are installed.
“Like all Lexmark printers weve tested, the C540n and C544dn are easy to set up and manage on the network thanks to Lexmark MarkVision Professional, and the included Status Messenger provides very good feedback on status and errors,” said BLIs Orr. “Further contributing to their selection as Picks is that both units excelled in our rigorous tests, demonstrating flawless reliability, good colour output and very good productivity. The C540n and C544dn also provide a very good feature set and good overall economy, from their low purchase price to a competitive to low cost per page.”
“Businesses demand products and services that enable them to create a powerful customer experience, and the Lexmark C540 Series of colour lasers do exactly that,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. “These models offer a wide range of valuable features, a new, attractive design, and brilliant colour output, making them welcome additions to a desktop or small workgroup. Lexmark is proud to have its C540 Series recognized with BLIs prestigious Pick awards.”
InfoPrint Solutions Company Wins For Small Workgroup Colour Printer
The 25-ppm InfoPrint Color 1824dn excelled in BLIs lab test, earning a “Highly Recommended” rating and receiving a “Pick” for its reliability, ease of use and value. “The InfoPrint Color 1824dn is an outstanding and economical choice for small workgroups,” said Orr. “This device provides high-quality colour, is extremely easy to use and manage, and has a lower acquisition cost than most of its competitors. The unit also has an above-average feature set, including standard automatic duplexing, a Coverage Estimator to inform users of toner coverage on printed documents and an Eco-Mode to reduce power consumption, while a USB port on the control panel allows users to print files from a USB flash drive.”
“InfoPrint Solutions is focusing its efforts on helping customers cut their office printing costs and reduce their carbon footprint, paramount in today’s economy” said Benoit Chatelard, General Manager of InfoPrint Solutions EMEA. “We are pleased to have been recognised once again with these prestigious awards from BLI which validates our strategy of consistently delivering high-quality solutions that meet customers demanding needs.”
Xerox Wins Two “Picks” For Entry-Level Colour
In the personal multifunction printer category, the Phaser 6128 earned BLIs “Pick” award for its admirable performance and user-friendly design. “The Phaser 6128 MFP consolidates print, copy and scan in a small footprint and provides good overall output quality at a low price, making it a great choice for low-volume users,” said Orr. “We also like the convenient side access for replacing toner and the open design of the output tray, which makes removing printed pages easier.”
Receiving a BLI “Pick” in the small workgroup colour printer category, the Xerox Phaser 6280DN provided an excellent overall performance in BLI’s tests. “The Phaser 6280DN is a solid choice as an entry-level colour laser printer. The unit offers above average output quality and fast speeds at a low price,” said BLIs Maceri. “And, as weve come to expect from Xerox printers, the unit is easy to set up and use; the control panel and the drivers are very intuitive and software installation takes only four mouse clicks.”
“The Xerox Phaser 6128MFP and Phaser 6280 are designed to meet the demanding needs of small businesses-high-quality colour, ease of use, speed and exceptional capability-all at an affordable price,” said Mark Boyt, Manager, Office Product Marketing, Xerox Europe. “These Pick awards reinforce the priority we place on delivering innovative products and value to our customers.”
Economy And Ease Of Use Lead To HPs “Picks” For Inkjet Products
Based on the same engine, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 and Officejet Pro 8500 All-In-One Series earned BLI “Pick” awards in the business inkjet printer and inkjet multifunction printer categories, respectively.
“Both the Officejet Pro 8000 and Officejet Pro 8500 are easy to set up and use, with highly automated installation, easy-to-use print drivers and very good feedback regarding errors, thanks to HPs outstanding utilities,” said Maceri. “The touch-screen interface on the Officejet Pro 8500 is also a very nice feature we dont usually see on low-priced units like this one.”
“The Officejet Pro 8000 printer and Officejet Pro 8500 All-In-One breezed through our reliability test with no misfeeds or malfunctions,” added Orr. “And both provide good business colour output and offer a low cost per page, making them good value for low-volume environments.”
“HP is very pleased to receive these awards for the HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One series and HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer,” said Andy Binder, director of market development, Inkjet and Web Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “At HP, our goal is to deliver innovative products that help small and medium-sized companies manage, protect and grow their businesses. We designed these products to meet our customers unique needs, helping them save up to 50 percent on printing and energy costs versus competitive laser printers.”