Brother HL-1660e

This mighty cube from Brother is the largest printer on test. It's the latest model in Brother's 16ppm range and brings some useful enhancements to bear. Processing has been beefed up with a 100MHz SPARC chip, memory has been increased to 8Mb, and both PCL6 and PostScript 2 emulations are included as standard. The 1660e takes centre-stage for its selection of local ports as it's the only printer on test to come with a USB port as standard. Unfortunately, Brother currently doesn't supply USB cables and there's a cautionary notice packed with the printer which states it's only been tested on IBM, Gateway and Dell PCs.

The control panel is complex, consisting of eight buttons, with some of them offering dual functions. The LCD display is small but the entire panel can be hinged upwards to give a better viewing position. Standard paper handling is generous as the 1660e comes with a 500-sheet lower cassette fitted with an audible out-of-paper alarm. The flip-down manual feed tray is the largest on test with room for 150 sheets of paper. Capacity can be expanded by another 500 sheets with an optional second lower tray (£200). Workgroups will appreciate the wealth of optional extras. The 1660e can be fully networked with Brother's internal print server card (£270), while a duplex unit (£399) offers double-sided printing to reduce paper costs. Two slots on the front panel can take Flash memory or PC Card hard disks, while the lower slot is for a font cartridge. Two SIMM sockets on the controller accept standard memory upgrades to 72Mb, and Brother charges a sensible £20 for 8Mb.

For print quality, the 1660e failed to make a favourable impression, coming in thirteenth overall. Graphics detail was reasonable for a departmental laser, but the overall effect was marred by noticeable banding and poor reproduction of darker areas. A slight dusting of toner around text characters also reduced its quality scores significantly.

The 1660e is designed for heavy-duty office use. The toner cartridge, the only consumable, lasts for 9,000 sheets, giving low operating costs of 0.98p per page. The main print engine lifespan is quoted at 600,000 sheets with a recommended duty cycle of 20,000 sheets per month.

The Brother HL-1660e is pricey but you get a lot for your money and it looks capable of taking a lot of punishment. However, it loses out to the Kyocera FS-3700+ (winner of the Speed award) which is slightly cheaper, costs even less to run and offers better output quality.