Kyocera 2160 - page 65

Some printers don’t employ the original Adobe

PostScript but instead use a PostScript-compatible print

language developed by a third party.This isn’t a big neg-

ative these days, though some people still feel more

secure with the original.

Most PostScript printers also offer PCL printing. This

printer control language was designed originally by

Hewlett-Packard and is generally used for everyday office

work. Other machines offer only Windows-based GDI

printing, which has a more limited set of capabilities. Its

main disadvantage is that it can tie up your computer

until the page is printed; that is, you can’t “spool”the job

to a server or printer and get right back to work. That is

especially a problem with longer and more complex jobs.

Memory and processors

The relationship and role of memory and controllers are

discussed in the Better Buys Office Laser Printer Guide. We

are not going to dwell much on them here, save to say

that more memory and powerful controllers enhance a

printer’s speed and are essential for more ambitious types

of work. (Controllers are the so-called front end of print-

ers and they process incoming data sent from connected

PCs.)

The good news is that vendors are becoming more gen-

erous with the amount of memory they package into

their color laser printers as standard. Only a couple years

ago, printers with 64MB of memory were in the minori-

ty.Today,however, all but a few of the printers covered in

this guide have at least 64MB of standard memory, with

asubstantial number offering at least 128MB as standard.

“Memory-starved” color printers — those with 64MB of

memory (only a handful now have less) included in the

basic deal — have dwindled to a small minority. Because

color files are bigger than black-and-white files, the need

for memory is greater than that for similar speed black-

and-white printers.

Keep in mind, though, that differing memory compres-

sion methods make it hard to infer too much from the

exact amount that’s offered. Also, memory matters a lot

more for PostScript printing than for PCL printing from

standard office applications.For GDI printing,memory

is not an issue.

Rest assured that you can often upgrade the memory to

morethan you would ever dream of getting, though this

does add some cost into the equation. For example,

OKI’s C9600 and C9800 color printer series will allow

you to boost the memory as high as 1,024MB (one giga-

byte).

Most printers use controllers that are proprietary to the

individual model. However,a few use dedicated proces-

sors developed by a company called Electronics for

Imaging.This company,known as EFI,is best known for

supplying the front ends to connected color copiers

(enabling the latter to double as high-performance print-

ers).

The presence of an EFI controller on a desktop printer

is a good indication that the machine has sufficient horse-

power to deal with pretty serious workloads in terms of

the complexity of files and the quantity being sent in

close succession. That isn’t to say that non-EFI con-

trollers are necessarily less powerful.It’s just that it’s hard

for a buyer to assess the performance of a controller from

specifications alone unless it is made by a recognized

third party that supplies more or less the same front ends

to a variety of different vendors. In short, there is a

degree of comfort in knowing that a controller is EFI-

supplied. However,printer vendors have not been asleep

during the past few years, and several have controllers of

their own that are comparable to EFI’s.

Paper handling

Traditionally,desktop color lasers have come with a 250-

sheet paper tray and have allowed you to add a second

one as an option. Paper capacity is becoming more gen-

erous, however, and several recently introduced models

offer additional standard 250-sheet trays, 500- or 550-

sheet trays, and even a 2,000- or a 2,500-sheet tray in sev-

eral cases. Larger tray capacities are likely to be particu-

larly important if you also plan to use your color laser as

amainstream black-and-white printer.

Often, the standard 250-sheet tray is supported by a

multipurpose tray holding 100–150 sheets. As well as

offering the convenience of a second active paper source,

this tray can often take heavier paper weights than the

main tray. By no means are all machines suitable for

heavy paper or light card stock — be sure to satisfy your-

self that the printer is comfortable with any challenging

materials you want to feed it.

There are now a fairly large number of machines on the

market that are able to take 11" x 17" (or ledger-size)

paper.Typically, these can actually take paper a little larg-

er than that in order to give you the ability to print 11" x

17" images with full bleed (the image going off the edge).

Among other things,this is veryhelpful for producing

proofs of layouts that are being sent out to a commercial

printer.

Another now-common feature is automatic duplexing

(double-sided printing). Nearly all of the printers we

cover now offer this,more frequently as an option, but in

agrowing number of cases as a standard feature.

Previously,even manual duplex was not typically recom-

mended on desktop color lasers because of paper-jam-

ming issues. Shorter paper paths and better paper-feeding

technology have overcome much of this problem.

All models can print onto transparencies,but most

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