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By James Alan Miller
IBM has plunged headfirst into the network and workgroup printer markets. Chief among its offerings: the new Network Color Printer, a leaner and less costly laser than rival Canon's C LBP 360PS or Digital's Colorwriter LSR 2000.
All three use the powerful Electronics For Imaging (EFI) Fiery XJE printer controller. EFI's controller incorporates a muscular 64-bit, 100MHz RISC microprocessor to handle PostScript processing, while application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) take on data processing as well as input and output duties. Color-rendering dictionaries in the printer enhance color printing by changing RGB into CMYK.
At $8,999, the IBM Network Color Printer costs approximately $3,500 less than the Canon and about $5,000 less than the Digital unit, a substantial savings considering these are nearly identical printers.
The lower price brings with it some differences. IBM uses 16MB of RAM for its base unit rather than the 32MB found in the competition (you can double memory to 32MB for an additional $1,519); and where the others use a 514MB spooling hard disk, IBM's is 341MB.
IBM's color is excellent. Upgrading to 32MB or to the maximum 48MB also gets you print queuing, spooling, job storage and faster print speed for printing large, complex files.
As a print server, the unit can be attached to networks with AppleTalk, TCP/IP and IPX (Novell) network protocols with the AUI and 10BaseT Ethernet ports at the rear. The printer can simultaneously handle parallel and network input.
Print speeds are fast for this 600x600dpi machine-12 pages per minute (monochrome), 3ppm (color) and 1ppm (transparencies). The paper cassette holds 250 sheets of A4, letter, legal and B5 paper.
Although this printer is less expensive than others in its class, it's still pricier than standard laser printers, so make sure your print jobs warrant this level of print quality, speed and networkability. If they do, it's well worth it: Even if you go for the full 48MB of RAM, the IBM Network Color Printer still gives you lots of bang for the buck.
--Info File--
BM Network ColorPrinter
Price: $8,999
Pros: Color quality; setup
Cons: Paper handling
Platforms: Windows 95, 3.1x, NT
IBM Corp.
800-IBM-2468
WinMag Box Score 4.0
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