A printer is one of those investments that are decisive on the fact of how frequently one needs one. Notably, in India, a small/home office requires a solution that is economical to maintain and manages basic printing at lower running costs.
Still, we can't deny the fact that a dependable alternate would either cost you high, have higher running cost or there will be a compromise in the feature-set. For such users, there's a new affordable laser printer on the block – Pantum P2500W.
It is a compact and cost-effective monochrome printer that's custom made for personal or small office usage. This light-duty printer aims to offer a portable printing experience with all the smarts to make printing fast and effective. Of course, you can't expect the world from an Rs. 6500 printer, so the features and capabilities are limited.
Design
The Pantum P2500W is relatively reasonably compact compared to more feature-packed laser printers. It measures 33.7 x 22 x 17.8 cm and weighs just 4.5 Kgs. Neither too sharp nor too curvy, the printer has a simplistic boxy design. Its form factor makes it easy to put at any desk without taking much space. The two buttons (Wi-Fi, Cancel/Continue) and two indicator lights reside on the bottom right side of the top panel.
The size and shape seem apt for home and small office use as it doesn't take a lot of space and can be carried around safely by a grown-up.
The build quality of the printer is durable. There's no use of flimsy plastic material on the body. Solid metal frame and parts make it feels sturdy and well built. It uses healthy and environmentally friendly materials that meet the requirement of RoHS.
Since it's an affordable office printer, it only includes a USB Type-B, but that doesn't restrict its connectivity as it supports Wi-Fi and Mobile Direct Printing solution for instant printouts across devices in your home or office.
Print speed and performance
Pantum P2500W has a print speed of churning out 22 pages per minute in text printing, a decent print rate considering the price and purpose. For mixed printing with pictures and text, it comes slightly down to 18-20 pages per minute. The first page out time is 7.8 seconds, which is relatively faster-considering the competitors.
The whole process of printing gets slightly faster with the help of the Pantum app. The printer can be paired to the app to print files directly from the phone. It supports myriad file types, including Docx, pdf, xlsx, jpg, among others. The app is, therefore, a hassle-free way of printing documents in a fast-paced environment.
Note that it has a low powered 600 MHz processor plus 128 MB memory produces faster results.
Output quality
The P2500W's output quality is impressive compared to other monochrome laser printers in its range. It offers a high resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi black and white printing quality. While you may not get the best photo prints, it ensures a crisp output with text and graphics. Be informed that it's not meant for photo printing, but it doesn't compromise on the text printing.
At times we noticed a few traces of banding while printing graphics, but that's a common issue on low-cost home printers. However, the quality it produces is suited to most in-house use cases.
Photos also showed traces of banding and dithering, but did a fair job in preserving detail in darker areas; whether photo quality is up to use in client newsletters depends on how picky you are.
Running cost
An essential aspect to consider before buying a printer is its running cost. A 1,600-page standard cartridge saves you more each time you print. Also, you get a high duty cycle for higher printing volume and save even more on the overall cost per page.
Pantun sells a pack of two original refills for Rs 700, an extremely affordable solution. For further savings, there's an automatic sleep mode to conserve energy, hence saving electricity.
Should you buy it?
The Pantum P2500W is one of the few light-duty printers that offer wireless printing for mobile and PCs. It is a value for money option for home workers and small business that focus more on text printing. It aims to offer more practical features instead of an extensive gimmicky set of features.
It is small, well built, and efficient, a perfect alternative to your frequent visit to a printing shop or a neighbor. Not just that, if you're starting with a low budget business, the Pantum 2500W is an apt fit.
No comments yet.