Xerox Phaser 3250

The Xerox Phaser 3250 is a monochrome laser printer that is ideally suited to the home or small office. It is a compact unit with a built-in duplexer for added flexibility.

The Phaser 3250 comes in two varieties. The 3250D base model with USB2 connection, and the 3250DN which adds a network port and PostScript compatibility. This is a small, fast little printer that can support a single user or small workgroup with ease.

The automatic duplexer offers a lot of options for going green, or printing business or marketing material. The print quality is good enough for either. Text is printed loud and clear, with clean, straight lines and black appearing black. Graphs and images are equally good, with even spread, good tone and accurate grayscale reproduction. At up to 28 pages per minute, this printer is no slouch either.

Considering the fact this device is a laser, that prints well at almost 30 pages per minute, it is good value for money. Not only is the purchase price more than reasonable, the consumables are too. You can pick up a toner for around $55, which will last up to 5000 pages. The memory is upgradeable too if you need it for larger or more complex print jobs. It comes with 32Mb built in which is expandable to 160Mb.

Adding to the money saving features are the toner saving mode, which reduces the depth on the page, and power saving mode, which puts the printer to sleep while idle. Both work quite well, especially the toner saving mode if you don’t mind your prints a little light.

Installing the Phaser 3250 is as easy as unpacking it, installing the toner and plugging it in. Connect to a computer via USB, or network if you bought the DN version. It works with all operating systems and the driver suite is complete and easy to install. The Xerox web-based control panel makes up for a lack of direction on the printer itself, and makes maintenance simple. It will tell you if the toner is running out, in advance of it actually doing so, keeping downtime to a minimum.

The Phaser 3250 is a solid, small user mono printer that is great value for money. Despite being budget conscious, there have been no real compromises on quality of built, or the quality of the print. This device is ideal for the budget conscious office or home worker that wants good quality prints without the corporate price tag.