Epson EPL5700L review

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Verdict:

Decent print quality that belies its low price, though output is very slow for a laser printer.

Review Date: 1 May 2000

Price when reviewed: (£198)

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Epson's EPL5700L is the latest in a long line of capable printers.

The 5700L adds USB, and comes in quite a lot cheaper than its predecessor at £169 - one of the cheapest around. Its front-mounted paper tray and minimal control panel make a stylish statement on your desk.

Ease of use

Installation using USB is simple, as long as you remember to reboot. Thereafter, you just set everything to the best settings and let the driver get on with it. Paper jams (of which there are very few) are easily cleared.

Print Quality

Text at an enhanced 1200dpi resolution is crisp, with good blacks. Greyscale shows some tartanning and a few streaks, but handles the tricky bits of our tests very well.

Performance

At 203 seconds for the complex single-page tests, the Epson props up the rest of the group - even slower than the Tally. Bizarrely, it fares particularly badly with our plain text test, taking 20 seconds longer than the next slowest to complete the five-page test.

Overall

Angular styling and decent paper-handling, coupled with a solid construction, make the 5700L feel like a sound printer. It's just a shame its performance is comparatively slow. Still, at the price - £25 to £30 less than the next cheapest, depending on where you shop - you can forgive this weakness. Running costs aren't bad, either, and our experience of its predecessor suggests it will enjoy a long and reliable life. A good choice if you can't afford the superior HP 1100.

Author: - David Dorn

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