Konica Minolta Magicolor 1600W

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 3 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 10 stars

  An Outstanding Printer at Twice the Price

  by dog_or_man on January 29, 2011

  Pros: Rugged, reliable, great print quality, affordable.

  Cons: None that I am aware of.

  Summary: Before replacing my HP 1012 laserjet, I spent quite a bit of time -- both here on CNET and elsewhere -- reading the user reviews of various budget-priced machines, mostly ...

  Read more

  Summary: Before replacing my HP 1012 laserjet, I spent quite a bit of time -- both here on CNET and elsewhere -- reading the user reviews of various budget-priced machines, mostly all-in-one ink jets and single-purpose ink-jets because of their low prices. What I discovered was that even those models that enjoyed decent editorial reviews were getting slammed by actual users. (If you meticulously wade through every step of CNET's printer buying guide, the printer that gets recommended more-or-less regardless of which buttons you toggled is a Canon that only gets about 2-1/2 stars from its eventual customers.)
  
  Some folks are better at handling under-performance from their gadgets, and others lose their mind as soon as something goes wrong. I am in the second group. No way was I about to drop any amount of money, however small, on a printer that was being drubbed in the amateur review literature by dissatisfied customers. In due course my search led me to the field of color laser printers, NOT because I needed any such thing, but rather because they were the only machines that people were seeming to like. I just didn't want to have to shell out three or four or even five or six hundred bucks.
  
  Enter the Konica Magicolor 1600W -- which costs significantly less than the prices quoted here, after a relatively un-subtle search on google shopping. (Are we allowed to name vendors or quote prices in these? Sometimes we are in a venue such as this one, and sometimes we aren't, but it suffices to say that you are in for a pleasant surprise vs. the price options listed at the top of this page.)
  
  Out of the box the machine is rugged, sturdy, obviously well put-together. The pictorial instructions are a little excessive (must, not, throw, metal, transit, screws, in, the, garbage!) , but I'd rather that than the opposite, of course. The print quality is, if anything, better than my wildest expectations, and on pure black and white the speed is nothing short of breathtaking -- at least compared with what I'm used to.
  
  One caveat: The folks who are reporting quirky performance would seem, after a little digging, to be having most of their troubles as a result of running non-laser-quality paper through this bad-boy, which strikes me as a bit pointless anyway. (In for a pound, and all that.) If you splurge on a ream of name-brand, high-visibility bright, laser-printer paper, it would appear that you will have no problems with quirky performance whatsoever.
  
  I'll post a follow-up review after I've gotten better-acquainted with this guy, but the initial impressions simply could not be any more favorable. Buy with confidence: you won't be disappointed.

  Show less

  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Quirky at times

  by flrhcarr on April 20, 2010

  Pros: 1200 dpi, Fast warm up. Duplexes (manual) easily, & the alignment is nearly spot on. Under 200.00. You know "it" was printed by a laser, not a "crappy" ink jet. Easy to clear jam path.

  Cons: Chokes on the 2nd single fed sheet of paper often, but using a stack of paper stops that. Only 8 1/2X 14" paper feed (normal). Doesn't like (but will print on) non laser paper (regular non coated I expect to need laser paper).

  Summary: The image quality of pictures & graphics is fantastic. Whether using using an old Print Master version or the newer Elements 8, the colors are rich. Not poppy bright like ...

  Read more

  Summary: The image quality of pictures & graphics is fantastic. Whether using using an old Print Master version or the newer Elements 8, the colors are rich. Not poppy bright like soy ink jet, but this doesn't rub off like ink jets do. It is very fast & overall pretty quiet. It doesn't shake like my ink jets when printing heavy graphics, & goes into standby quickly. Keep in mind that you need laser paper & card stock. It doesn't like ink jet & will choke the next thing you print.
  I don't like that I can't use it on OS less than XP, as I think a printer should just print, but that's me, all of them are that way. There are 21 steps to take to start 19 of them are printed on the box (two are close doors after you open them). I would like a draft mode under 600dpi, but you can set the quality to line art, economy & change your saturation to 2 to reduce the amounts, as well as B&W. I'm not interested in wireless or work group printing, so don't miss it. But it will KVM via USB which is the same thing.
  If you're looking to get into the world of laser printing, this is a fantastic printer to use. There are better models, but I don't see the exact need to pay more. This printer prints everything I've thrown at it, including card stock. I'm going to try 90 & 100# folders next & don't see a problem with it, especially one sheet feed. I've used black laser printers before & they are work horses. Having color just makes it better. I especially like that the "inks" won't dry out like they do on ink jets (which is one reason I went to color laser). The actual cost of toner is cheaper than ink, as you get more copies per unit vs small cartridges. I would be out of ink already on my ink jets & I'm still on the starter toner that came with the package (already installed). Hope this helps

  Show less

  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Great alternative to inkjet

  by FabForrest on July 16, 2010

  Pros: Very affordable, good quality.
  
  Although Mac support is not officially listed (And drivers not provided) the Konica Minolta Magicolor 1680MF Mac printer drivers work perfectly.

  Cons: Very basic. USB only, does not automatically duplex

  Summary: I found this online for $120 (new) and is a great deal for this price, and still would be at the $180 it usually runs for. Although Mac support is ...

  Read more

  Summary: I found this online for $120 (new) and is a great deal for this price, and still would be at the $180 it usually runs for. Although Mac support is not officially listed (And drivers not provided) the Konica Minolta Magicolor 1680MF printer drivers work perfectly.
  
  Anyone considering an inkjet for home would be wise to consider this printer instead. Although an inkjet would better for printing photographs, this printer all around better for general document printing. It's faster and has much sharper text output than almost any inkjet would offer, and has well saturated, good looking color.
  
  Those with a priority of printing photographs should probably stick with an inkjet. Photos on this (As with many color lasers) shows visible dithering. I find this to be acceptable for casual use and images integrated into documents. I prefer to use this printer and save my photos for the traditional print labs.
  
  Features are pretty basic. Auto duplexing would be a nice feature, as would wifi/ethernet, but that is a lot to ask for in this price range for a color laser printer. This is not a professional quality, full featured printer, but for the casual user that just wants to print good quality documents without the fuss and constant changing of ink that is necessary with an inkjet, its a great deal.

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

See pricing