Konica Minolta rolls out
workgroup-friendly color laser
Konica Minolta Magicolor 5440 DL
The product: This Magicolor workgroup printer supposedly owes its peppy vendor-rated 27-page-per-minute (ppm) color and monochrome speeds to its four lasers, whereas competing models have only one. Realtors and insurers, take note: a PictBridge port allows you to print photos straight from compatible digital cameras, though you'll have to shell out $149 more to enable that function. The straight paper path and single-pass design prevents pages from crumpling during printing, and a new polymer toner aims to sharpen print quality.

The 5440 DL comes with a 500-sheet main paper tray, plus a 100-sheet auxiliary tray. You can also buy two more reams of capacity. Combined toner and drum cartridges appear simple to change. Other features:

• Windows, Mac, and Linux compatibility
• Ethernet networkability
• 64MB of RAM, expandable to 576MB
• Maximum 2,400x600dpi

The price: $1,299

The prospects: Konica Minolta wants your department to dump your grayscale laser workhorse for this color laser. Like most printers, the 5440 DL probably won't match its vendor rating, but the price is fair if it achieves even two-thirds of its rated 27ppm speed. You might as well add color to your workflow.

By Elsa Wenzel, associate editor, CNET Reviews