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Entire Contents © 2006 Prog
ressiv
e Business Pub
lications
.
Copying of Pages Prohibited.To Order: 800 247 2185 or www.betterbuys.com
● A booklet finisher ($3,000) with sorting, stapling, and
saddlestitching of booklets up to 60 sheets.
● A punch kit ($525) with 2-/3-hole punching that can
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
fir
st-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 (b
ut 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 f
or color printing and copying in one package.
Chart entry — page 88
Konica Minolta bizhub C352P
35ppm full color
35ppm b
lac
k & 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.
T
he $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.
T
he 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.
T
he mac
hine has K
onica Minolta’s Emperon con-
tr
oller, which features the company’s OP architecture.
(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,
group, and corner staple functions
● A booklet finisher ($3,000) with sorting, stapling, and
saddlestitching of booklets up to 60 sheets
● A punch kit ($525) with 2/3-hole punching that can
be added to the booklet finisher
The bizhub C352P has standard duplexing and can
handle up to 140lb. inde
x 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 mar
gins.
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 tr
ay, 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.
T
his is a solid mac
hine that offers innovative technolo-
g
y, good features, and reasonable pricing. Its limit on
memory expansion is a little troubling, since a workhorse
lik
e this could use all the memor
y it can g
et,
especiall
y if
it’s used to run high-volume multiple-user jobs. But it still
rates highly based on its abundant strengths.
Char
t entry — page 88
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