The magicolor 2430 DL has a reasonable price tag and low per-page printing costs, making it a good choice for home and home office users on a limited budget, but its skimpy 200-sheet paper input tray is a notable shortcoming.

The 2430 DL is easy to set up, although at about 44 pounds when loaded with paper and ink cartridges, it's not something you will want to move often. If you do need to move the printer, at least the side handgrips will make the job a little easier.

Output quality is generally good. The 2430 DL supports three printing resolutions: 600X600 dpi, 1,200X600 dpi (the default), and 2,400X600 dpi. Text is sharp, even at small font sizes. Line art is also concise, although some very fine lines may break up. Output quality of grayscale photos and color graphics is good to very good. The only real disappointment is color photos. While the output quality of color photos is generally quite acceptable, and in fact better than many color laser printers, it can't hold a candle to the output you'll get from a dedicated photo printer.

The paper tray can handle a variety of paper sizes and stocks, including letter, legal, card stock, transparencies, and label stock. An optional duplexing unit ($229) is available for two-sided printing. An optional 500-sheet cassette ($299) increases paper capacity to a more reasonable level, but this offsets the printer's budget-friendly price.

The 2430 DL has a port on the front for printing directly from PictBridge-compatible digital cameras and camcorders. It ships with 32MB RAM, which is upgradeable to 544MB RAM. For the best output quality when printing photos directly from a digital camera, or to connect the 2430 DL to a network, you will need to upgrade the memory, preferably to at least 256MB (about $150).

The package includes a power cord, four ink cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), and a CD with drivers and user guide.

Pro: Surprisingly compact. Good output quality. Above-average print speeds. Relatively low per-page printing costs, particularly if you choose the high-capacity toner cartridges. Can print directly from PictBridge-compatible cameras.
Con: Limited paper capacity out of the box, and an additional paper tray is an expensive option. Output quality of some text is a little below average for a laser printer. Output quality of photos can't compete with many dedicated photo printers, although it's better than many color laser printers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Konica Minolta
1 Magnum Pass
Mobile, AL 36618
251-633-4300
http://konicaminolta.us/

Warranty
1 year