Colour laser printers keep getting faster and the new C780n from Lexmark is no exception, its A4 engine spitting out up to 29 colour pages per minute (ppm) or 33 in black and white.

It also boasts an input capacity of over 1,000 sheets and affordable, easy-to-change consumables, making the C780n a good choice for small businesses looking for a general-purpose colour-capable printer.

Maximum resolution from the single-pass Lexmark engine is 1,200x1,200dpi, driven by an 800MHz processor with 256MB of memory that’s upgradeable to 768MB using industry-standard Dimm modules. PCL and Postscript emulations are both provided, along with direct PDF printing with the first page of any document typically appearing in around 10 seconds.

A 500-sheet paper drawer is built into the base of the printer with a fold-out 100-sheet multipurpose tray for envelopes and other odd-sized materials. A second 500-sheet drawer can then be added underneath (£220 ex Vat) along with an optional duplexer unit (£295 ex Vat) to produce double-sided documents.

There are no other finishing options, but if paper handling is important you might want to consider the next model up in this series, the C782n, based on a similar but slightly quicker (up to 38ppm) engine. Starting at £725 ex Vat the C782n is more expensive but it’s possible to expand the input capacity to 3,000 pages and add a variety of finishing options, including a document sorter and stapler.

We found the C780n very easy to set up and use. It needs a couple of people to lift it out of the box, but it is otherwise a reasonably compact device with a USB2 interface provided for direct PC/server attachment. However, we used the alternative 10/100Mbits/sec Ethernet interface to connect to our network with DHCP used to obtain an IP address automatically.

Support for mixed Windows, Mac and Unix/Linux networks comes as standard with, as well as configuration options on the front panel, remote web-based setup facilities. Network monitoring and management using Lexmark’s own Markvision software is another option.

Changing the consumables is simple, with four toner cartridges that just slot in place behind a front opening door. As shipped the cartridges are rated for up to 6,000 pages but high-yield replacements (10,000 pages) are available at around £79 ex Vat for black and £122 ex Vat for each of the colours. Used cartridges can also be returned at no cost for safe disposal.

Inevitably graphics professionals may find fault with the print quality and end up tweaking the various settings. For most general business documents, however, it should be more than adequate with good colour reproduction using the default settings even on photographs and other images. Direct printing from a USB memory stick is another useful feature and we also liked the ability to send documents and hold them, pending the input of a security code by an operator standing in front of the printer. It’s also possible to limit access to the colour facilities, although we doubt whether many small companies will take advantage of this option.

The one-year on-site warranty can be further extended and with its fast engine and easy-change consumables, the C780n is a good general-purpose printer, that can be shared on a small-business network and do away with the need for separate mono and colour devices.