Kyocera FS-920

The Kyocera FS-920's distinctive casing makes a bold statement, and on paper its specifications seem to bear out the self-assuredness of its design. It claims a high native resolution of 1,800 x 600dpi, and is the only mono printer here to offer PostScript support.

Unfortunately, the FS-920 doesn't capitalise on its strengths. The gentle sweep of the casing may look good, but it isn't suited to collecting pages so in use a clip extends from the front of the printer, rather spoiling the aesthetic effect.

Nor does its high resolution deliver the expected benefit: black text was perfectly readable, but not as sharp and regular as that produced by several other printers, particularly with heavy type. In our graphical tests, large black areas came out slightly mottled and, while solid greys were clean and even, transitions from dark to light were a weak point, with greyscale photos marred by conspicuous grainy dithering.

And the bad news doesn't end there: the FS-920 was the slowest of the mono printers on test. It wasn't far behind the Epson, managing 18ppm compared to EPL-6200L's 20ppm for the 5% letter test, but it still isn't a record to shout about. Processing times were average, with a single-page Word document emerging around ten seconds after we hit Print.

So what's the Kyocera's selling point? Value. Although the FS-920 isn't the cheapest printer here, its high-capacity, low-price toner cartridges make it one of the most economic to run. In our price-per-page calculations, the Brother beats it only by a tenth of a penny, and in extended use the Kyocera pulls into the lead thanks to the long life of its internal components. This also makes the FS-920 the most eco-friendly printer on test: most users will only ever need to buy new toner, while Samsung buyers will be installing a new drum every 3,000 pages.

The FS-920 could well find a niche in a document-heavy office role where speed and quality are of secondary importance to budgetary concerns. But being a personal laser, the FS-920 is unlikely to ever print more than a few thousand pages, and at this level of usage the price differential becomes less compelling. The no-frills economy printer is a good idea, but when you compare it to the rest the FS-920's shortcomings outweigh the savings.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith