Tektronix Phaser 850DX

Improvements to the print heads and resin are noticeable as output quality is superior to the Phaser 840. Colours are more vibrant and the new 'blacker' black resin is, well, blacker, resulting in pin-sharp text and very high-quality mono photos. Overall levels of detail have improved and the 850DX scores over lasers on two counts as stepping across colour fades on the PC Pro test page was non-existent and all test prints were devoid of unsightly banding. Our only criticism was that the Photo mode was a tad over-enthusiastic with the yellow ink, giving a slightly washed-out look to some photos.

The gap between the Phaser 850DX and HP Color LaserJet 4500 DN is now almost imperceptible. The Tektronix option is more expensive but you do get a faster processor, twice the memory, true Adobe PostScript 3 as opposed to PostScript 2 emulation, a 6Gb hard disk and quality Web-based management tools. HP has a slight edge on print quality, and colour print costs are about equal. However, the HP's mono costs are over nine times higher than the Phaser as Tektronix offers free black ink blocks as and when required. Overall, the Phaser 850DX confirms solid ink technology as a viable alternative to laser printing.

Author: Dave Mitchell