Kyocera's FS3820N might be smaller and less substantial than many network-ready laser printers, but it's by no means a lightweight. Offering good value for your money, the FS3820N has fast print speeds, good to excellent text output quality, and decent quality for line art and photos. Its low per-page printing costs will make your budget happy, too.

Although this printer is primarily designed for workgroup use, it makes a great addition to a home office that has above-average needs. With a rated monthly output of 125,000 pages, the FS3820N is a workhorse in any setting. It ships with a standard 500-sheet paper drawer and a 100-sheet multipurpose paper tray, so you won't have to waste much time reloading paper--one of the most tiresome and thankless office tasks. The FS3820N can handle a variety of paper sizes and stocks, including letter, legal, envelopes, transparencies, and labels. An optional automatic duplexer, available for less than $300, can handle letter and legal paper. Additional paper drawers, sheet feeders, and envelope feeders are also available.

The FS3820N warms up in less than 10 seconds, even after a long idle period, and it outputs the first page of a print job less than 10 seconds later. After the first page, it can output up to 29 pages per minute. This is not the fastest printer around, but it's definitely no slouch either.

With print resolutions of up to 1,200 dpi, text quality is above average to excellent even at small font sizes. Line-art and photo quality are fine for business use, although they don't quite measure up for high-end graphics use.

The FS3820N ships with 64MB of RAM, which is upgradeable to 320MB for handling large or graphics-heavy print jobs.

Set-up is a bit time-consuming, but not overly difficult. Unlike some network-ready printers, the FS3820N doesn't automatically configure itself, but the included instructions are easy to follow. The FS3820N offers parallel, USB 2.0, and Ethernet 10/100 connectivity. The package includes a starter toner cartridge, a power cord, a parallel cable, a set-up guide, and a CD with drivers.

Pro:  Fast print speeds. Good to excellent output quality for text, even at small font sizes. Low per-page printing costs.
Con:  Print quality of line art and photos is only average. Takes a long time to warm up when first turned on.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Kyocera Mita America
225 Sand Road
Fairfield, NJ 07004-0008
973-808-8444
http://www.kyoceramita.com

Warranty
2 years