FS-2000DN review

Kyocera Mita's FS-1920N won a Best Buy award in our last workgroup laser printer test in Shopper January 2006.

The printer remained a favourite until it was recently replaced by the FS-2000DN, so we were eager to see whether this new model is an improvement.

The FS-2000DN is more highly specified than the FS-1920N. It has a higher print speed and, with 64MB, more standard memory. The printer's maximum duty cycle has improved by 25,000 pages per month to a maximum of 150,000, and the standard return-to-base warranty has been lengthened to two years. Most significantly, the new printer can automatically print on both sides of a sheet of paper thanks to its duplexer.

Like its predecessor, the FS-2000DN's drum and developer are guaranteed for three years or 300,000 pages. In practice, it's unlikely that even the heaviest users would need to replace them, so the printer requires only replacement toners. Its starter and full-yield cartridges have a slightly lower capacity than the supplies used by the FS-1920N, but the 12,000-page full-yield supply is still priced reasonably.

Setting up this printer involves fitting toner and a waste bottle. After switching it on, the engine runs for more than 10 minutes until it is primed with toner. During this time, it isn't possible to print a network status sheet and discover the printer's network address, without which it's impossible to complete Kyocera's rather awkward install program.

Once installed, the FS-2000DN performed well in our print tests, reaching its highest speeds in all our timed tests using the recommended KX driver. Printing in duplex mode, it printed our 50-page Draft test at 14.7ppm; just over half the speed it reached in single-sided mode. At 16.9ppm it was fairly quick to deliver our graphics-rich Normal document, but managed only 8.9ppm using the PostScript driver.

This printer's graphics are an improvement over the FS-1920N's. Photos, graphs and illustrations were a little light, but showed precise shading and smooth greyscales. Text was dark, but with less-crisp outlines than the best laser printers.

The FS-2000DN isn't better than its predecessor in all respects. Unlike the FS-1920N, the FS-2000DN can be upgraded only to a maximum paper input of 1,100 sheets. It can't use some of the more advanced upgrades available for expensive models in Kyocera's range, such as an envelope feeder. It's disappointing that the FS-2000DN doesn't have this flexibility, but it is otherwise easy to maintain, cheap to run and fast.