Best Color Laser Printers of 2008 under $600

Have you been looking for a good quality laser printer? If you want to get the best quality within a tight budget then look no further! Here we provide you a list of the top color laser printers in 2008 which fall under the 600 dollar bracket!

Knowing what you want

The first rule of thumb even before you actually go ahead shopping for your favorite color laser printer is to know what you want! What are your expectations in terms of print quality? Do you want the printer to print high resolution pictures with high finish? Do you need to print a large number of documents on a daily basis? If so, then would you prefer a laser printer which can take on bulk print jobs. You also need to assess the economical factors like how much you can afford to shell out. Maybe you are looking for a laser printer under 600 dollars but what is the ballpark figure you can afford? Having answers to these critical questions will make you better prepared on your next shopping spree.

Lexmark X520

The Lexmark X520 comes at 699 dollars which is a tad higher than the 600 dollar budget but it is worth every penny spent! This is a holistic all-in-one laser color printer. In addition to the perfunctionary laser printing it also acts as a fax machine and even a scanner. It even functions as a copier and sends email too! Therefore it certainly is a well rounded package and considering these features the price is very reasonable.

Samsung CLP-300N

The Samsung CLP0-300N is priced at an unbelievable 300 dollars – the lowest in our list! The compact and lightweight design is an added attraction in this color laser printer. The good thing about this printer is that it comes along with a network connector which facilitates easy connectivity with your home or office network. The small color laser printer does not take up much room in any interior and delivers more than what you would expect from its price.

Ricoh Aficio SP C210

This color laser printer certainly has a host of qualities considering the price range it comes at! Starting prices of this laser printer model are from 350 dollars and the maximum price is at 1068 dollars. The printer is able to print black and white images with a rapid pace while color images are comparable in terms of speed with some of the best in the market today. The only drawbacks in this color laser printer would probably be in its bulky size and large weight. The significant advantage of the Ricoh Aficio SP C210 is in its ability to handle large paper capacities. One drawback is in its driver which does not automatically detect the optimal color mode.

About the Author:
This Article is written by James Kara Murat from PrintCountry.com, the contributor of Printer Reviews. More information on the subject is at Best Color Laser Printers of 2008 under $600, and related resources can be found at Canon Ink Cartridges.

Laser Printers vs Inkjet Printers

As in many other things in the world of printing, laser printers have come a long way in recent years. They found to be almost exclusively in offices to be available for $ 100 for a user. When the printer manufacturers began marketing their laser printers home users, people thought it was a pretty strange idea. The idea of laser printers that they were clumsy large machines in their offices where the toner cartridges cost a fortune. However, what users do not realize is that they could get rid of worries repeatedly buying ink cartridges while saving money at the same time. Once you get past the initial sticker shock of buying cartridges laser, you will see the figures for an entry-level laser printer on an inkjet printer look something like this:


Typical toner cartridge - $ 50 - $ 60
Page yield - 2,000-3,000 pages
Average cost per page - 2-2.5 cents per page

Typical inkjet cartridge - $ 20 - $ 30
Page yield - pages 400-500
Average cost per page - 4-6 cents per page


Although these are only averages and May not seem very different, generally if you are printing documents, it will probably cost you twice as much to launch an inkjet printer with a laser printer. It is better to think about things in the long term when it comes to laser printers, because only then can you truly appreciate their value. If you buy a laser printer and toner cartridge backup at the same time, when you've finished the second cartridge, you would have increased by about 10 ink-jet cartridges.

Laser printers also offers the advantage of speed. Although inkjet printers have improved their speed in recent years, they still can not match that of laser printers. You May not notice much difference if you print a one-page document in draft mode on your inkjet printer and even though the page on your laser printer. Again, you have to look at the big picture to see the advantages of a laser printer, because when you start printing projects with a large number of pages you will appreciate the speed and quality of a laser printer, giveth thee.

Another advantage of laser printers is their longevity. Most of them last much longer than their counterparts inkjet because they are built for durability and lack the delicate operation found in inkjets. These days, you can probably still find many "old" HP LaserJets of 5-10 years in operation, while the same probably can not be said for inkjet printers and photo from the same period.

So if you're not color printing, then you're probably better off going with a laser printer on an inkjet printer standard. You will appreciate the speed and low maintenance of a laser printer, while saving money on printer ink in the long term.

Karl Smith leaves and breathes ink. He wrote commentaries and printer product troubleshooting guides to http://www.pacificink.com.
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