Epson AcuLaser C1100 Printer 

Color laser printers have finally become affordable, and this model from Epson is one example. The AcuLaser C1100 is meant for workgroups and small businesses. It has separate cartridges for CMY colors and black. The black toner cartridge gives you the advantage of using the printer for monochrome prints, while the other cartridge ensure that you don't have to get professional color prints done from outside. It has a simple-to-use control panel with a single-line LCD and a few buttons to let you move through its various features. The printer comes with various pre-defined color-printing settings that choose the correct toner amounts required for optimal printing. There is a Toner Save mode to reduce toner usage. The black toner cartridge itself claims a toner life of 1500 pages. A small irksome glitch in the printer was that it kept re-calibrating itself after every 10 prints. The printer has a USB, parallel, as well as Ethernet port for connectivity. Its memory can also be expanded from the standard 32 MB to 256 MB. An optional auto-duplexer unit can also be added.

In our tests, the AcuLaser C1100 matched its rated printing speed of 25 ppm for black and 5 ppm for full-page color graphics printing. Output quality for black was really good, with easy readability down to 2-point font size. It did face problems while printing fine curves though, as there were breaks in the lines. Graphics printing was excellent for full-page monochrome and color graphics.

Bottom Line: A good option for small workgroups, given its reasonable price tag and good print quality. 

Debasish Misra