Konica Minolta Printing Solutions U.S.A. Inc. on Wednesday introduced its magicolor 2430 DL color laser printer, which it says is an affordable color alternative to conventional inkjet printers. Priced at US$499, the Mac and Windows-compatible printer outputs up to 20 pages per minute in black and white and five in color, produces 2400 x 600 dot per inch resolution on any grade of paper, and features PictBridge support for direct-from-camera photo printing.
The magicolor 2430 DL measures 16.9 x 15.6 x 13.4 inches — 20 percent smaller than the 2300 model it replaces. It measures 48 pounds, about 30 percent less than its predecessor, and outputs about 25 percent faster. It boasts a monthly duty cycle of up to 35,000 pages per month, and costs less per page to output than inkjet printers, according to Konica Minolta. The printer uses separate cyan, magenta, yellow and black toners, which last up to 4,500 prints and cost $69.99 each (the larger black toner costs $84.99), and a separate $149 drum cartridge, which needs to be replaced every 45,000 pages.
Konica Minolta also makes a Windows-only 2300W model for $399, but the 2430 DL sports cross-platform support for Windows, Mac OS X v10.2 and higher, and Linux operating systems, and features a 10/100base TX Ethernet interface in addition to a USB 2.0 interface. An optional duplexer is available to facilitate two-sided printing. Other options include a 500-sheet lower input feeder and memory upgrades to expand the 32MB standard RAM to up to 544MB.