Panasonic WORKiO DP 1820

The award winning Panasonic WORKiO DP-1820 is an exceptional multifunction device that sets the standard for what office equipment should be like. It combines a multitude of functions with a practical usability that sets itself apart from the competition.

As with other multifunction’s in the Panasonic range, scalability is the main selling point. While taking nothing away from the quality of the output, these devices can be built around specific needs or purpose without having to spend money of superfluous features nobody will use.

You can add extra paper trays, full sized keyboard, automatic document feeders, duplexer, finishers, memory upgrades, network scanning modules and a hard disk with secure access functionality.

There are two models in the range, the DP-1820P and the DP-1820E. The P variant does everything here, but the E has the automatic duplexer included. They both have a standard 550 sheet paper tray, which is expandable to 2200, There is also a 50 sheet bypass feature and the options for automatic document feeders and even an inverted automatic document feeder.

The DP-1820 delivers great copy and print performance at 600 dpi. Text is clean and crisp, with only a little blurring at 3pt. Photographs and images were rendered surprisingly well and the 256 level grayscale was accurate and printed without any obvious banding or artifacts even when there was lots of white space. Prints and copies were generated at a respectable 18 pages per minute, which is surprising given the quality of the finish.

The scanner and optional fax are equally accomplished, with both being simple, easy to use and producing good quality documents. With the network scanner, you don’t even have to be near the DP-1820 to do your work.

If you do have to stand in front of it to do something you will find the control panel and LCD screen to be simple and very easy to use. The menu system is informative and simple to navigate, while the buttons are clear and far enough apart to not get in each other’s way.

The industry recognized BERTL award was presented to the DP-1820 for the best 15-19ppm monochrome MFP. They don’t give out these awards like candy, so it means something. Our time with the DP-1820 confirmed that. It is an easy to use, flexible machine that works hard so you don’t have to.