🖨️ Review: Xerox Phaser 3600/B Mono Laser Printer
The Xerox Phaser 3600/B is a black-and-white (mono) laser printer designed to deliver superior performance and reliability for demanding single users and small-to-midsize work teams. While the specific "B" model primarily indicates the base model without built-in networking or automatic duplexing (unlike the "N" or "DN" variants), the core engine and performance characteristics remain consistent across the 3600 family, making it a robust choice for high-volume monochrome printing.
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| Review: Xerox Phaser 3600/B Mono Laser Printer |
Key Performance and Speed
One of the most compelling features of the Phaser 3600 series is its exceptional speed.
Fast Print Speeds: The printer is rated to deliver print results at up to 38 to 40 pages per minute (ppm), which is competitive for its class and more than enough to handle large print loads quickly.
Quick First-Page-Out Time: With a first-page-out time as fast as 9 seconds, users spend less time waiting for their jobs to start, maintaining high productivity.
Robust Processing Power: A powerful 400 MHz processor works efficiently to handle complex print jobs, even multi-page documents loaded with graphics, without causing slowdowns. This is a feature often found in higher-priced laser printers.
Paper Handling and Versatility
The Phaser 3600/B offers ample paper capacity and versatility for a small workgroup printer.
Standard Capacity: The printer typically includes a 500-sheet input tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray (MPT), providing a total default capacity of 600 sheets. This substantial capacity is excellent for offices with regular, large print jobs, as it minimizes the need for frequent reloading.
Multipurpose Tray (MPT): The 100-sheet MPT is sturdy and can handle a variety of media types, including envelopes, labels, business cards, and other specialty media, with weights ranging from $60 - 163 \text{ gsm}$.
Expandability: For even heavier workloads, the paper capacity can often be expanded by adding an optional second 500-sheet tray, increasing the maximum capacity to 1100 sheets.
Cost-Effectiveness and Value
The Phaser 3600 is designed to keep running costs low, contributing to a reduced total cost of ownership.
Low Cost Per Page: By utilizing high-capacity toner cartridges, the cost per page is notably low. High-yield cartridges can output up to 14,000 pages, significantly reducing the need for replacements and overall operating expense.
Cost-Saving Features: The printer includes helpful, cost-saving features like toner-save mode and energy-save mode. While the base /B model lacks standard automatic duplexing, the capability to print multiple pages on a single sheet (N-Up printing) still allows for efficient paper usage.
Ease of Maintenance: The print cartridge is designed to be easily replaceable, and users can choose between standard-capacity and high-capacity options based on their print volume and budget needs.
Print Quality
In terms of output quality, the Xerox Phaser 3600 consistently delivers results that are more than suitable for professional business needs.
Crisp Text: Text quality is generally very clean, dark, and sharp, with even very small font sizes coming out clear. This is ideal for professional documents, reports, and internal correspondence.
Graphics Output: Graphics quality is above average for a monochrome laser. The printer handles detailed images well, retaining detail even in darker areas. While some slight banding may be visible on very large blocks of grey on specific test pages, overall graphics output is more than acceptable for business presentations and internal use.
Conclusion
The Xerox Phaser 3600/B is a high-value, high-performance monochrome laser printer built for productivity. Its combination of blazing speed, substantial paper capacity, and low running costs makes it an excellent choice for a busy small-to-midsize office or workgroup. While the base /B model requires a direct USB connection and lacks the built-in networking and automatic duplexing of its siblings, it offers the same powerful engine and superior print quality at a potentially lower initial cost, making it a powerful tool for rapid, quality monochrome output.
This video provides a review of the Xerox Phaser 3260DNI, which is a related model in the Xerox Phaser family, giving insight into Xerox's approach to small workgroup mono laser