Relatively few color laser printers can print at up to tabloid size (11 by 17) size, and even fewer of those are moderately priced. The OKI C831n is a welcome addition to the group, providing good speed and low running costs at a price that won't break the bank.

As an LED-based printer, the C831n uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of lasers as a light source, though LED printers are still considered laser class. The C831n, off-white with gray trim, measures 14.2 by 17.6 by 21.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 82 pounds, large enough for it to need a separate table. Its front panel includes qa mono LED screen, a 4-way controller, and an alphanumeric keypad.

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The C831n's standard paper capacity is 400 sheets, split between a 300-sheet main tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose feeder. It supports two optional 530-sheet trays ($379 list), for a maximum paper capacity of 1,560 sheets. It has a duty cycle of up to 75,000 pages per month. The C831n lacks an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper; one is available as a $299 option, or (better), the OKI C831dn ($1929 list) is the same printer as the C831n but with the duplexer added.

The printer offers USB, parallel, and Ethernet connectivity; I tested it on an Ethernet network with its drivers loaded on a PC running Windows Vista.

Print Speed and Output Quality
I timed the OKI C831n on the latest version of our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at an effective 7.9 pages per minute (ppm). That's in line with its rated print speed of up to 35 ppm for both monochrome and color printing, about what we'd see if it were printing solely text pages. (Our test suite consists of text pages, graphics pages, and pages of mixed content.) It's essentially tied with the 7.7 ppm turned in by the Editors' Choice Xerox Phaser 7100/N, rated at 30 ppm for monochrome and color printing. I timed the Dell 7130cdn Color Printer SEE IT at 8.1 ppm, while the Editors' Choice Xerox Phaser 7500/N SEE IT tested at 7.1 ppm.

Text quality was average for a laser-class printer, good for typical business uses except ones requiring very small fonts.

Graphics quality was average for a color laser, suitable for general business use including PowerPoint handouts, though I might hesitate to hand them to clients I was trying to impress. Dithering (graininess) was a common issue. The printer had trouble printing very thin lines in two figures. One illustration showed misregistration (a misalignment between different elements of the design).

Photo quality was a bit below par for a color laser-class printer. A monochrome print showed a tint. Dithering (graininess) was common, and there was some loss of detail in both bright and dark areas. The C831n can print out recognizable photos from files or Web pages, but I'd hesitate to use it to print out company newsletters and the like.

Running costs are a strong point with the C831n. The cost per page is 1.8 cents per monochrome page and 7.9 cents per color page; the color figure is particularly good.

If you need a laser-class printer for printing out color at up to tabloid size, the OKI Data C831n should be on your short list. It has good speed, a low sticker price, and low running cost, especially for color printing. Its color output quality isn't up to that of the similarly low-priced Editors' Xerox Phaser 7100/N, but it should be enough for many businesses. Its output quality isn't in the same league as the Editors' Choice Xerox Phaser 7500/N, but then again, neither is its price. As a low-cost tabloid laser-class printer with low color costs, the OKI C831n has much to recommend it.