Xerox DocuPrint C20

The DocuPrint C20 is almost the complete opposite of Xerox's other printer this month, the XJ8C. The C20 is a network-ready printer with a price tag to match. The basic model as supplied to us was equipped only with a parallel interface, but it's intended for network connection, with a rated duty cycle equal to that of the HP 2000CN at 5,000 pages per month. It's a little more limited in terms of paper capacity though, with a non-expandable 150-sheet input tray. It has a front panel with an LCD dot-matrix display and the ability to configure most options independently of the driver software. Drivers are supplied for Windows 3.1, 95, 98 and NT, MacOS, Unix and OS/2.

Testing the C20 wasn't entirely problem-free. We used the PostScript driver, since Xerox recommends it for the best quality. However, despite the 8Mb of RAM that the unit sports, it was completely unable to print the photo test at any resolution, with the printer either giving a memory full error or simply accepting the job but flushing it from its buffer without a murmur. The same thing happened when trying to print the PowerPoint presentation at anything other than the default quality settings. Switching to the PCL5 emulation driver produced the same results. Basically, if this printer is to be used for anything but simple jobs, it will need more RAM. There's a single socket that accepts an EDO SIMM, accessible from the front of the unit without having to get a screwdriver out. Other expansion options include a separate Flash memory SIMM socket that will accept up to 4Mb for storing downloaded fonts, and a hard drive option to perform the same purpose: the hard drive will also act as a job buffer, but not as extra virtual RAM.

As well as problems with graphics printing, we also experienced firmware lockups when performing simple tasks such as selecting the 'print demo' option from the unit's front panel. This will presumably be addressed in future firmware revisions, but it isn't very encouraging.

Quality was nothing particularly special, although plain-paper text was dense with little feathering. In general, it was most at home with plain paper, hovering below the middle of the pack with the coated tests.

The C20 is no speed demon, taking nine and a half minutes to complete the 25-page, mono-text test, against the Epson Stylus 900's three and a half minutes. Based on this evidence, there's very little reason to choose this printer over the competition.

Author: PC Pro Labs Team