Chart Entry; Konica Minolta Bizhub C250P - Kyocera 2160 Printer Manual

Better Buys for Business
A booklet finisher ($3,000) with sorting, stapling, and
G
saddlestitching of booklets up to 60 sheets.
A punch kit ($525) with 2-/3-hole punching that can
G
be added to the booklet finisher
Konica Minolta includes its PageScope utilities for
managing the printer from an administrator's PC, both in
terms of administration and workflow.
As a copier, the bizhub C250P holds up well. Its option-
al job separator tray enables users to separate individual
copies like copier trays do. With its optional duplex unit,
the machine can produce two-sided copies. And its sub-
stantial paper supply supports big copy runs.
The bizhub C250P isn't cheap, but that's not surprising
considering its copying capability and impressive per-
formance levels. It's a hybrid of a strong copier and a
first-rate laser printer. It stacks up well against its more
powerful sibling, the bizhub C352P (see below), offering
similar features for nearly $3,000 less, with the major
concession being slower (but still decent) print speed. If
that extra 10ppm the bizhub C352P offers isn't essential,
the bizhub C250P is an impressive value for those look-
ing for color printing and copying in one package.
Chart entry — page 88
Konica Minolta bizhub C352P
35ppm full color
35ppm black & white
Sum-up: Innovative color model offering solid value and per-
formance.
This new product strengthens Konica Minolta's position
as a key player in the fast-growing high-end color laser
printer field. The $10,150 bizhub C352P outputs at
35ppm in color and black-and-white. It prints at 600dpi
resolution. It's based on the company's popular bizhub
color copier line — hence the "P" to indicate it's a print-
focused machine.
The bizhub C352P is intended to be a workhorse. It has
an impressive monthly duty cycle of 100,000 pages. It has
512MB of built-in memory, which, rather surprisingly,
isn't expandable.
Like its slower sibling, the bizhub C250P (see above),
the bizhub C352P can also be used as a copier and scan-
ner. Its standard duplexing unit (optional on the C250P)
supports double-sided copying, and with the optional
40GB hard drive, it can store scanned jobs for printing at
a later point.
The machine has Konica Minolta's Emperon con-
troller, which features the company's OP architecture.
20 Entire Contents © 2006 Progressive Business Publications. Copying of Pages Prohibited. To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com
(The OP stands for Open Platform.) This controller runs
the print, copy, and scan functionality of the printer using
a common operating system.
The bizhub OP architecture also makes possible the
company's bizhub Open API capability, which allows
third-party software vendors to develop software for use
with bizhub machines. Examples of such software
include PageScope Data Administrator, which manages
device user lists, enables account tracking, and manages
password and security functions; and Web Connection,
which establishes an online status monitoring site.
This printer runs PostScript and PCL printer languages.
Finishing options include:
A multi-position stapling finisher ($1,580) with sort,
G
group, and corner staple functions
A booklet finisher ($3,000) with sorting, stapling, and
G
saddlestitching of booklets up to 60 sheets
A punch kit ($525) with 2/3-hole punching that can
G
be added to the booklet finisher
The bizhub C352P has standard duplexing and can
handle up to 140lb. index paper. It can also print on
envelopes or coated paper, and print 11" x 17" images on
up to 12" x 18" paper to preserve crop marks, color bars,
and margins.
The machine has a dual-tray 750-sheet standard paper
supply and 100-sheet bypass. It offers users the choice of
adding a 2,500-sheet tray, resulting in a maximum paper
capacity of 3,350 sheets.
Konica Minolta doesn't publish consumables costs for
this printer, but we estimate they're very reasonable.
Security functions include job encryption, hard drive
locking, secure printing, address filtering, user authenti-
cation, and scan encryption. Those features will go a long
way toward protecting sensitive information.
This is a solid machine that offers innovative technolo-
gy, good features, and reasonable pricing. Its limit on
memory expansion is a little troubling, since a workhorse
like this could use all the memory it can get, especially if
it's used to run high-volume multiple-user jobs. But it still
rates highly based on its abundant strengths.
Chart entry — page 88
Log on to www.betterbuys.com
for update information and more.