Kyocera Mita Ecosys FS-3800N review

Although externally the FS-3800N is identical to the FS-1800N, it has some significant performance advantages. The engine speed is upped to 24ppm from 16ppm, and this network model is equipped with 32Mb of memory versus the FS-1800N's 24Mb. This should be enough for most office printing needs, but a further 240Mb can be installed if necessary. Additionally, a powerful 200MHz PowerPC processor ensures that print jobs aren't held up once they reach the printer.

The FS-3800N is more than capable of handling heavy workloads, thanks to its massive monthly duty cycle of 100,000 pages. The £57 toner cartridge is good for 20,000 pages and this gives the advantage of the joint-lowest running cost on test - along with the FS-1800N - of just 0.3p per page. This is achieved by using a long-life imaging drum, which lasts the life of the printer at 300,000 pages.

Paper handling is average, with a 500-sheet tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray as standard. However, the FS-3800N's modular design allows many options to be added at a later date, such as three more 500-sheet paper trays, a duplex unit and a 2,000-sheet output stacker. PCL 6 and PostScript 2 drivers are included as standard, as is PrintMonitor 2.4, which allows remote administration over a network or the Web. It also provides fault diagnosis, consumables status and event logs.

In our demanding suite of tests, the FS-3800N just about lived up to its engine speed. The first page was delivered from sleep mode in an average 27.9 seconds, but 50 pages of text took a mere 133 seconds, equating to just over 22.5ppm. A respectable 17.7ppm was reached for the 23-page DTP test - only the Lexmark T522n, HP LaserJet 4100n and Tally T8006 were faster. The Excel and DTP documents were also printed with haste, earning the FS-3800N the silver medal for performance.

Print quality wasn't as impressive, with graphics reproduction letting the FS-3800N down. Its inability to produce smooth transitions made images appear blotchy, and the gradient test showed the same effect combined with stepping. Text quality was fine and the Excel spreadsheet was readable, despite the yellow shading being converted to vertical shaded bars.

The FS-3800N is a quick printer but the excellent HP LaserJet 4100n scored highly all round and costs just £1 more.