Lexmark has a new laser printer, the C720, that’s targeted to mid-volume business workgroups. The C720 can be connected via its standard parallel port or to a network via an internal/external network adapter for operation in Mac, Windows, UNIX, Linux, and OS/2.
The printer can handle 24 pages per minute (ppm) in monochrome and six ppm in color. It sports a two-color highlight mode, which operates at 12 ppm, and a compact duplex option for printing two-sided color documents. The C720 color laser printer is offered in three models: the US$1,999 C720 base model, the $2,399 C720n and the $2,799 C720dn. The C720 base model has a 266 MHz processor, 32MB RAM, and can purportedly handle printing up to 5,000 pages per month on a continuous basis. The C720 boasts a time-to-first-print of 22.5 seconds in color and 15 seconds in monochrome. It operates at 51 decibels, making it the quietest color laser printer in its class and ideal for almost any office setting, according to Paul Rooke, Lexmark vice president and president of its Business Printer Division. The C720n ships with built-in 10/100 Ethernet capabilities, 64 MB RAM and 250 sheets of input capacity. The C720dn includes all the features of the C720n model plus an additional 500 sheets of input capacity and a duplex unit.
The C720 prints at 2400 Image Quality and offers automatic color correction technology. This level of resolution is the default setting and ensures that customers achieve the best output quality, without making any adjustments or upgrades to the printer, Rooke said. Additionally, the C720 offers Lexmark’s new Photo Enhancement Technology, which improves the output quality of photographs to rival that of 35-millimeter film. The C720 also offers a toner saver mode, which uses 20 percent less toner, he added.
The C720 offers up to 750 sheets of input and 250 sheets of output capacity. Its paper handling capabilities include legal, letter, A4, A5 and executive types and paper weights up to 43 pound, including transparencies, envelopes, labels and card stock. The C720dn includes a duplex unit, so users can print on both sides of a piece of paper.
The C720’s toner cartridges (cyan, yellow and magenta) load from the front of the printer. Replacement toner cartridges are available with 12,000 and 7,200-yields for the black and color cartridges respectively. The printer offers a cost per page in monochrome of 1.6 cents at five percent coverage and in color at 9.2 cents for 20 percent coverage, Rooke said.
Lexmark’s MarkVision Professional software is included with the C720 at no additional cost. The C720 can also be combined with Lexmark’s OptraImage 443 multifunction option, thereby expanding its capabilities to include color copying, scanning and faxing.