The Computer Blog

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

First Look – Okidata C3200n Color LED Printer

Because of problems with my HP Business Inkjet 1100D, I’ve been looking at low-end color laser printers. This week, Office Depot put the Okidata C3200n on sale, pricing it at $299 after a $100 rebate. That put the printer at the same price point as the HP 2600n, the other printer I had been looking at. Though there weren’t very many reviews of the 3200n, after comparing specifications and print samples and talking over the purchase with my wife, I bought the 3200n last evening and set it up last night.

I’ll post a full-fledged review of the printer soon, but I have been impressed with the printer so far. Set-up was relatively easy and network setup was a snap; the printer talked to the Macs using Bonjour across both the wired and wireless parts of our home network. Color prints are saturated with sharp black text and good graphics quality. The printer is a bit big but not as heavy as it looks, and it takes it about fifteen seconds to warm up. It’s not really noisy nor is it quiet; there’s an audible whirring or buzz when it’s on I might find annoying if encountered for hours. Printer drivers for Windows 98,NT, 2000, and XP as well as for Mac OS 10.2 and above are included on the CD, and it installs a web-based printer management utility that allows for some printer control and presents a printer status, including the amount of toner in each drum.

I’m looking forward to using this printer and posting a review. If I’m lucky, it’ll keep trucking like my HP LaserJet 2100 has; it’s on at least it’s fifth year and has never given me a lick of trouble.

posted by Andy Foster at 8:04 PM

9 Comments:

  • Staples has the Okidata C3200n Color LED Printer on sale this week for $299, and I'm thinking of getting it. I'm looking around for reviews, that's how I found this. The only review I've found so far rated the photo quality as so-so. Could you let me know what you think of it after using it for a few days?

    By Anonymous Monte of MiCHIgan, at 7:28 AM  

  • I really like this printer. It's a bit noisy but not obnoxiously so and takes a few minutes to warm up. After that, printing is fast. Text is black and well defined and color tone is good, though whole page photos print a bit saturated. Using Office Depot Color Laser paper and Hammermill Glossy seemed to make little difference in outrput. Photo quality is good, equivalent to "magazine quality" but haven't tried it with color laserjet photo paper. I wouldn't expect the photo quality to be as good as some photo inkjet printers, but I keep an Epson around to handle the little of that I print. The printer settings have a "Photo Enhance" selection but I saw little difference between selecting it and not on some test prints I just ran. So far, I'm happy with my purchase, though I can't speak to consummables yet and read somewhere that only "starter" cartridges come with this thing.

    By Blogger Andy Foster, at 9:39 PM  

  • This printer really seems to go through a lot of toner cartridges. Every two to three weeks the toner cartridge needs to be replaced. The printer is used to print color checks as well as other documents. Not much color printing though such as pictures and such. Monochrome laser printers make more efficient use of toner.

    By Anonymous Victor, at 4:06 PM  

  • I also saw the printer at Staples for $299, with no rebate needed. My biggest concern is its ability to handle single sheet fed labels. my wife makes DVD's of old TV shows to let her elderly dad watch (he doesn't have cable). She has been printing the labels with a Canon inkjet that has now given up the ghost. How easy is this Oki to single sheet feed a label?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:00 PM  

  • I bought one 2 months ago, and when it ran out of toner in all 4 cartridges after 500 pages I just figured it was due to most printers shipping with "starter" cartridges. I've had no problems with the output quality, but less than a week ago I replaced all 4 toners and less than 300 pages later it's already empty again! That works out to over a buck a page for color prints, and that's more expensive than most *inkjets*. I called Oki wondering if this was an error and they said that their estimate of 1,500 pages in color assumed *double* spaced text with a small color logo in the upper left... to me that seems a ridiculous assumption, but that's just me venting. I've owned several color lasers, and expect at least half of the "estimated" toner life, but 20%?! Sorry, that's just ridiculous.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:22 PM  

  • I've had an HP4500 DN for many years. I paid about $6,600 CAD for it when I bought it, but it's becoming unreliable in some respects (like feeding multiple pages at once), and I'm considering replacing it now that you can buy a color laser for one twentieth what I paid!

    I'm currently considering the C3200N, or the Samsung CLP-510. If the C3200N is really that bad on toner, the CLP-510 is supposed to be better, but has anyone sufficient experience to compare the two?

    By Blogger Supacon, at 1:38 PM  

  • If you compare the color printing quality to Okidata's 5500n, you'll see that the 3200n has some room for improvement. If you are just print photos occasionally or just for your own use, the 3200n is just fine. But I use my laser printing for commercial purposes and I cannot get the photo quality print that I need from the 3200n. An extra $200 will get you much higher quality.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:45 AM  

  • I think somewhere I said I wouldn't use this printer for photos, anyway. That's why I keep my Epson inkjet. It's good enough for photos within a brochure, but I wouldn't use it for much else.

    By Blogger Andy Foster, at 5:20 PM  

  • I have just bought Okidata C3200n for a good deal. I am thinking of using it to print full color brochures or flayers on both mat or glossy paper. As a user of this printer for almost two years, do you think its a good choice quality and cost wise.

    By Anonymous Akbas, at 4:09 PM  

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