The Konica Minolta bizhub C35 multifunction laser printer has become a household name in terms of all-in-one printing and imaging. It's a good product, but has its drawbacks.
In copying a passport - the first test for this machine - the document came out just like the original, if not better. After that, colleagues in the office could not resist the C35 - one after another, they somehow all had something to print or copy.
Konica Minolta claims its bizhub, part of its 'outstanding colour multifunction' range is 'feature rich'. It's right. The features make it dynamite in a fairly small package, compared to other office all-in-ones.
The bizhub C35 boasts of print speeds up to 30 pages per minute in black and colour, a first print out in under 13 seconds, a 50-sheet reversing auto document feeder, a monthly duty cycle up to 120 000 pages and a print resolution up to 600x600 dpi.
In comparison with its peers - the Dell 2330d, the RicohAficio MP C2050 and HP's Colour LaserJet CM3530 MFP - the C35's print speed fares well.
While the C35 manages 30 pages per minute, its Dell counterpart churns out a total to 33 pages, while the Ricoh Aficio affords 20 pages in the same time. On the other hand, the HP offering hits 31 pages.
Though the C35 print resolution is dazzling (600 x 600dpi), a comparison with other products shows the bizhub trails in this respect. The Ricoh Aficio MP C2050 and Dell's 2330d boast print resolutions of 1200 x 1200dpi; while HP's Colour LaserJet has the same resolution as the bizhub.
The specs don't do it justice, though, as it suffices for general office use and the print quality is as good as it needs to be.
The 4.3-inch colour touch-panel, status display and the customisable 'MyTab' feature makes navigation simple while the standard 120GB hard drive allows for digital document storage.
Besides the standard G3 faxing, network scanning, network printing, and copying capabilities, the C35 also provides a host of other standard features including a variety of security functions, reverse automatic document feeder, and double-sided printing.
The C35 uses Simitri HD toner with biomass. The polymerised toner is claimed to have considerably less impact on the environment during its production, use and recycling. A step closer to greening your office.
According to Konica Minolta, the biomass content is actually CO2 neutral during recycling. It generates 33% less CO2 than conventional toner manufacturing.
It's not all fun and games, though, as figuring out the C35 bizhub requires some brain surgery. Simple functions like scaling document size up or down can be a nightmare.
The machine holds more paper than your average printer. However, sometimes the C35 indicates a paper jam when there isn't one. The caveman way around this is to open the tray and close it again.
Which brings us to another flaw. The power switch. It's located next to the paper tray, which means opening or closing the tray can trip the power, resulting in having to start any job afresh. Even if you're on page 499 of 500.
Honestly, I couldn't understand the logic. Or lack thereof.
Also, from a mechanical side, the tray is just too difficult to manoeuvre. You would think someone had locked it. One could get battle scars operating it.
As printers go, it's an easy to use and reliable machine. It isn't going to make waves, though.
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