Epson Aculaser CX21NF review
Epson's Aculaser CX21NF is a large and heavy workgroup colour laser, and the most expensive printer here.
High-yield toners make it cheap to run, and with a 500-sheet paper tray and a 45,000-page duty cycle, it can serve the needs of a small office or a one-man operation with heavy printing requirements easily. The installation disc doesn't work properly under Vista, but you can explore it to find and install the drivers. Alternatively, you can download the latest versions from Epson's website.
Buttons on the front allow you to switch between copy, scan, fax and maintenance modes. This system is clear and easy to use, but we would have liked the option to make copies by pressing a single button. Changing toner cartridges can be tricky if you want to remove them before the end of their lifespan. Only one cartridge can be reached at a time and you'll have to use the built-in menus to rotate the one you want into reach.
The CX21NF printed our mixed-colour document at a steady 4.8ppm. Print quality was excellent. Colour charts and illustrations were rich, solid and intense, without a visible grain. Photo-quality images were smoothly shaded with realistic reproduction of skin tones and natural colours. Mono text was of a high quality and printed at 22.1ppm; the fastest of the three colour laser printers here.
The 600dpi scanner captured fine detail well, and low-resolution document scans produced sharp and legible text. Some photos were a little dark, but Epson's powerful scanner driver provides all the tools to make any corrections you require. Photocopies were also a little dark, but this was easily corrected.
The CX21NF has an incredibly low mono cost of 1.1p and mixed-colour costs of just 5.6p, making this one of the most economical printers around. Its TCO for three years of medium use is just £1,359. Combined with outstanding print quality and fast print speeds, the CX21NF earns its Best Buy award, although users who need an automatic duplexer should look at Lexmark's X544dn.
Basic Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rating | ***** |
| Maximum native print resolution | 600x600dpi |
| Max optical resolution | 600x600dpi |
| Output bit depth | 24-bit |
Quoted Speeds | |
| Quoted speed, mono A4 | 25ppm |
| Quoted speed, colour A4 | 5ppm |
Tested Print Speeds | |
| Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 36s |
| Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 55s |
Physical and Environmental | |
| Standard printer interfaces | USB, 10/100 Ethernet |
| Optional printer interfaces | 802.11 b/g wireless printer server C12C824373, £92 |
| Size | 667x460x467mm |
| Weight | 41.1kg |
| Noise (in normal use) | 57dB(A) |
| Duty cycle | 45,000 pages |
| Power consumption standby | 17W |
| Power consumption idle | 27W |
| Power consumption active | 897W |
Paper Handling | |
| Maximum paper size | A4 |
| Maximum paper weight | 210gsm |
| Standard paper inputs | 1 |
| Standard paper input capacity | 500 |
| Maximum paper inputs | 2 |
| Maximum paper input capacity | 680 |
| Duplex (code, cost if option) | No |
General | |
| Printer technology | four-pass colour laser |
| Language(s) | Emulations: ESC/Page-Color S, Adobe PostScript 3, PCL5c, PCL |
| Supported operating systems | Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/XP-64/Server 2003/Vista, Mac OS X 10.2.8+, Linux, Citrix, SAP |
| Maximum printer memory | 576MB |
| Other laser features and options | 4,500 page black C13S050319, £50, 5,000 page cyan C13S050318 , £63, 5,000 page magenta C13S050317, £92, 5,000 page yellow C13S050316, £71, photoconductor unit C13S051104, £163, |
Buying Information | |
| Price | £544 |
| Price per mono A4 page | 1.11p |
| Price per colour A4 page | 3.4p |
| Price of 2nd paper cassette | 500-sheet C12C802181, £147 |
| Warranty | one year onsite |
| Supplier | http://www.kikatek.com |
| Details | www.epson.co.uk |
Tested Scan Speeds | |
| Full scan area preview | 7s |
| A4 document at 150dpi | 7s |
| A4 document at 300dpi | 11s |
| 6x4in photo at 600dpi | 14s |
| 6x4in photo at 1200dpi | N/A |
| Single 35mm negative at 2400dpi | N/A |
Tested Copy Speeds | |
| Time for single A4 mono copy 1.0 | 19s |
| Time for single A4 colour copy 1.0 | 31s |
| Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0 | 36s |
Copy Features | |
| Maximum number of copies | 99 |
| Copier zoom range | 25-400% |
| Max mono copy resolution | 600x600dpi |
| Max colour copy resolution | 600x600dpi |
Fax Features | |
| Fax modem speed | 33.6Kbit/s |
| Fax memory (maximum mono pages) | 200 |
