Konica PagePro 1350W review

It made a pleasant change getting the PagePro 1350W out of the box.

Its 7kg bulk felt feather-like compared to the other printers this month. At only 385x250mm it will easily fit on a small desk next to a PC. However, because of this, it's more suited to being a home laser printer, rather than an office workhorse - though the rated workload of 15,000 pages per month is still impressive. Its build quality gives the impression that it can stand up to a hammering.

The Konica PagePro is the quietest printer on test this month. The functional design hasn't left it looking ugly, although the beige case isn't very exciting. We also liked the uncomplicated single cancel button as well as the ready and error lights. At the front, a flap lowers to act as the paper tray.

The first sheet of our text test appeared in 14 seconds with following sheets appearing at 15ppm (quoted 16ppm) meaning the Konica's performance was identical to the Oki's. Quality was flawless. However, adding graphics to the print test almost doubled the first printing times.

Report print quality was inferior to the Oki's, while the background of our 3D graph was rendered almost totally black, with many details being lost. Most other uniform colours were too dark for our liking and sported noticeable banding and grain. The newsletter photos suffered similarly, with grain and banding slightly blighting images. However, most detail was present and you could identify the images.

Finally, the full page photo was a medium grey tone, with only light grain and banding visible.

At 2.2p (standard capacity toner) and 1.8p (high capacity toner) costs per sheet of text, the 1350W isn't cheap to run. The Oki costs 1.3p per page and also starts off with a full tank of toner and produces good quality prints.

Readers who have very little space, or for whom noise is a big problem, should buy the 1350W. For everyone else, the Oki is the all-round better printer - it's equally as fast, produces consistently high-quality prints and is cheaper to run. The Konica looks a little trendier, if style is important for your workspace.