The idea of saving money through better management of printing assets is catching on — it’s even reached the bureaucrats in the U.S. government. More…

Request this free eBook and immediately become a member of Internet.com where you’ll gain easy access to the technical resources you need to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving IT environment.

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

HP just launched a major global marketing program for its Color LaserJet multifunctional printers. The main pitch, “HP LaserJet Pays You Back,” is that users can save up to $2,500 in less than a year by switching to those products. More…

No matter how clever your IT department and how strong your firewall, we have seen that a data breach, particularly one involving sensitive customer data, has a good chance of hitting your company. More…

As smartphones start approaching speed and storage capacity that makes them even more similar to PCs, experts warn they’re going to start seeing the same level of security risks, too. More…

The threat of data hacking by current and former employees is real. Just ask patients at this Connecticut hospital. More…

A few weeks after the information security threat posed by copier hard drives became big news, one manufacturer has spoken publicly about the issue. More…

Sum-up: Solid ink printers with good speed and acceptable consumables costs.

The Phaser 8560 family is one of the latest product offerings in Xerox’s constantly evolving line of solid ink printers. Solid ink printers (Xerox is the only company selling office printers with this technology) have little to do with the more common thermal ink jet printers of the small or home office. Instead, solid ink is a technology in office printing competing with laser and LED machines. We consider it a laser-class technology, and it compares favorably with standard color lasers.

Resolution: Solid ink printers offer what we consider to be excellent image quality. Even the default settings seem to produce pretty accurate color renderings, though this print technology is not intended for those who need exact color matching (unlike, say, Xerox’s own Phaser 7760 series).

These printers work at a variety of speeds, depending on resolution. As we have said, resolution is not the biggest issue when dealing with color quality, especially given the way a solid ink jet deposits ink on the page. On the other hand, if you demand extremely crisp black-and-white type, you’ll have to run at higher than the standard resolution.

This generation of solid ink printers offers very respectable speeds. The 8560 engines are rated for up to 30ppm, both in color and in black-and-white. Numbers don’t tell the complete story here -30ppm are achieved in the “fast” color mode, which is 225 x 400dpi. The default mode is “enhanced” mode, which is 1,200dpi interpolated. On the 8560 printers, that runs at 16ppm, a bit over half the speed of “fast” mode.

In addition, the Phaser 8560 models have two other modes. The “standard” mode prints at 300 x 450dpi at a speed of 24ppm. The “photo” mode has an interpolated resolution of 2,400dpi and prints at 10ppm.

You select a printing mode (other than the default) as an option in the print dialog box. Because solid ink technology is so different from toner, it is hard to make exact comparisons between these resolutions and those of other color printers in this guide. To our eyes, the “enhanced” mode is excellent for demanding design work. The standard resolution sounds low compared with the 1,200dpi claimed by some rivals, but we find that the resolution is totally acceptable, even in “standard” mode. Likewise, “fast mode” resolution (30ppm) is totally acceptable for drafts, memos, and most other internal documents. Again, this is more an issue about type rather than graphics. And while photo-quality printing is not very fast, it runs circles around the real-life photo printing speeds on most regular (liquid) ink jet printers.

Features: These models come with powerful 600MHz processors, ensuring that they will handle images fast enough to keep the engine cranking out pages. Indeed, this printer series is very respectable for everyday black-and-white office printing as well, especially because it is less expensive for printing in black than many rivals.

The Phaser 8560 printers are also very easy to maintain. For example, when you have to change consumables, you need only open the top cover of the machine and slide in blocks of ink that look and feel like crayons. The printer melts those “crayons” and sprays the melted extract onto the paper.

You can’t even make a mistake, as each of the four colors has a unique shape that only fits in the appropriate slot. Replacing supplies on some color printers can be a daunting task, but not on these models.

Per-page prices are moderate and compare well to similar small-workgroup color lasers. An average color page costs about 10.8¢, and a black-and-white page costs 2¢. These prices are for the default resolution, the so-called “enhanced” mode. Costs for “standard” and “fast” modes, since they lay down less ink, are less expensive.

Versions: There are four Phaser 8560 models. All of them come with both USB and Ethernet ports, as well as optional Wi-Fi. They are:

• The Phaser 8560N (street price $699), which comes with 256MB of memory, upgradeable to 1GB, and 625 sheets of standard paper input.
• The Phaser 8560DN (street price $899), which adds duplexing.
• The Phaser 8560DT (at $1,399), which has 512MB of memory upgradeable to 1GB and comes with 1,150 sheets of input.
• The Phaser 8560DX (at $1,999), which comes with 1,675 sheets of input and a hard disk standard.

Each model starts with a 100-sheet bypass and a 525-sheet standard paper tray. Second and third 525-sheet paper trays are available (optional on the lower-end models). The maximum input capacity for the models is 1,675 sheets. The bypass can handle up to 80lb. cover stock, which is heavier stock than 110lb. index. Output capacity is a simple 250-sheet tray.

PostScript and PCL are standard features on all models. Direct PDF printing requires a hard disk, which is standard on the 8560DX.

When it comes to pricing, the Phaser 8560 series is very competitive with its laser and LED counterparts at the low end of the midrange level of the market. But the Phaser 8560 family is really in a category by itself.

One additional plus, these machines are small in dimension and weight, unlike some laser competitors.

However, the Phaser 8560 models are not intended for really high-volume use. Xerox rates them for 85,000 pages per month, but the small output tray is a clear indication that this printer series is better suited for a moderate flow of work. The warm-up time may be an issue as well. It’s considerably longer than that for LED and laser, but this should be a once-a-day issue. The first-page-out time once the machine is warmed up (around 5 seconds in both color and black-and-white) is outstanding.

These machines are capable of producing very good color output and good black-and-white documents as well. They are easy to use and can be pretty fast when it comes to full-color output, though not at the highest resolution. Keep in mind, however, that this series does not have the paper-handling capability to be used in place of a departmental laser printer.

If you plan on printing heavier volume, you should look at the Phaser 8860DN below. But all things told, we really like the Phaser 8560 family. We find its attractive pricing, small footprint, quiet operation, and reasonable sticker prices to be excellent features – so excellent, in fact, that the 8560 family earns our Editor’s Choice Award for a third year.

Xerox Phaser 8560N

Xerox Phaser 8560DN

Xerox Phaser 8560DT

Xerox Phaser 8560DX

30ppm color (“fast” mode)

30ppm black & white (“fast” mode)

As smartphones like the iPhone, Android, Blackberry and others become more and more critical to business, they are becoming a major vulnerability in corporate data security. Such devices can store tons of corporate information, and they are very easy to lose or misplace.

More…

Review the technology spectrum available for IBM i and AIX environments including the latest, next-generation solutions.

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

Businesses rely pretty heavily on antivirus software to keep their networks safe. But is that software doing a good enough job? More…

Microsoft’s dominance of the corporate computing market may have just taken a blow after this recent move by one of its biggest competitors. More…

Turbon AG, a German maker of replacement laser printer cartridges, has lodged a suit in U.S. federal court against Hewlett-Packard. The claim: HP stole the company’s trade secrets for refilling and remanufacturing toner cartridges. More…

Some apps add yet another use for that little device in your pocket that can do just about anything. More…

With the World Cup generating (at least a little) heat these days in the US, this ESPN spot is very topical.  The moral is that if you mistreat your copier, you will get carded. More…

As the presence and importance of wireless devices from smartphones to tablets grows, the problem of printing from them has become more critical. One manufacturer may have a viable solution. More…

Generate 26% lift in response rates using Installation and Purchase Scores for server virtualization.

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

Attract qualified individuals whose primary focus is on people and human service and steps you should take prior to your recruitment efforts.

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

As companies have beefed up their security controls, criminals are using a new method to get their hands on sensitive documents: asking users for access. More…

A recent news story shows how serious the threat of insider IT sabotage is. More…

This week, Microsoft launched Web-based versions of its Office applications. Here’s what a few experts have to say about MS Word Online: More…

Warnings about printers and copiers leaking sensitive data have made a big splash in the news lately. Here are some tips to keep those devices secure: More…

Need a new printer for your office? Here’s how you can make one out of a popular set of toys. More…

Hewlett-Packard recently announced a new method for printing from mobile devices: sending print jobs via e-mail. More…

Do your technicians do real work or paperwork? Learn how to increase worker productivity.

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

Is your record management program discovery-ready?

Click here to read the free whitepaper! More…

An HP exec recently gave a presentation trying to justify something people have been complaining about for years: high ink prices. More…

You’re a bank, and faulty security measures result in a customer’s account being hacked. What do you do? Apparently, you sue the customer. More…

If you need one more reason for instituting an improved data security system, the chance of serious liability (we’re talking over $100 million) has just gotten more real. More…

If your users send and receive a lot of data on company-issued smartphones, look out — your bills might go up soon. More…