Kyocera Ecosys P6030cdn review

Kyocera is targeting SMBs with its latest workgroup colour laser printer, the Ecosys P6030cdn.

As we’ve come to expect from Kyocera, running costs are low, with mono and colour pages costing a shade more than 1p and 5p respectively. A maintenance kit is required every 200,000 pages, but if print output is around the average monthly cycle of 3,000 pages, it should last more than five years.

Print speeds are bang on Kyocera’s claims. A 30-page Word document took one minute, and our 24-page DTP colour document averaged 29.5ppm at high-quality. Duplexing isn’t quite as nippy, though – the Kyocera printed our 30-page test at 24ppm.

Output quality is good, with pin-sharp text and mono photos revealing plenty of detail in darker areas. Colour quality was equally impressive. We observed no discernible banding, and colour photographs were reproduced with plenty of crisp detail.

The P6030cdn’s 500-sheet lower tray can be supplemented with three more, taking total capacity to 2,150 sheets. Other options include an internal SSD for onboard document management, but the wireless adapter is expensive, costing around £250.

The Kyocera Command Center RX web-based interface lists the status of consumables, and gives access to extra features. It’s possible to enter external mail-server details and create up to three POP users. At regular intervals, new messages received are printed automatically.

The Ecosys P6030cdn churns out fast, quality prints. Canon’s i-Sensys LBP7780Cx has the edge, but printing costs are higher, and Kyocera offers a superior range of optional features.