Kyocera FS-4000DNBuyerS LaBoratory INc. Lab test report
A Comprehensive BLI Laboratory EvaluationLA
B TE
ST
Manufacturer’s recommended monthly volume: Up to 250,000 impressions.BLI’s recommended monthly volume for optimum performance: Up to 30,000 impressions.More information on the Kyocera FS-4000DN is available through bliQ (www.buyerslab.com/bliQ).
An excellent performer in BLI’s two-month lab evaluation, the Kyocera FS-4000DN completed a 125,000-impression reliability test with no service required and without a single misfeed. In addition, the FS-4000DN is an outstanding value: the unit is priced 32 percent below the average for similar models in this speed range, while its supplies cost per page is 66 percent lower than the average for similar tested printers. The unit, which accommodates up to 8.5" x 14" paper, also provides high-quality output and an excellent feature set. Kyocera’s highly rated KM-NET Viewer utility is included, enabling device discovery and device management for all printers and MFPs on the network. Thanks to its excellent value, outstanding reliability, high print quality and low cost per page, BLI recommends the Kyocera FS-4000DN for mid-size workgroups with monthly print volumes of up to 30,000 impressions.
Kyocera FS-4000DN47 PPM Laser Printer
Test duration: Two months, including a 125,000-impression durability test.
BLI recoMMeNDatIoN
aLSo INSIDe
Test Procedures
Specifications
Certificate of Reliability
Ratings scale: Excellent, Very
Good, Good, Fair and Poor.
Reliability .............................................. ExcellentAdministrative Utilities ............................. Very GoodFeedback to Workstations .......................... Very GoodEase of Network Setup .............................. Very GoodPrint Drivers ................................................ GoodApplications Compatibility .......................... ExcellentImage Quality ......................................... Very GoodProductivity ...................................................FairEase of Use .................................................. GoodFeature Set ........................................... Very GoodToner Yield ............................................ Very GoodCost per Page ............................................. 0.515¢Value .................................................... Excellent
TheKyoceraFS-4000DNiscertifiedhighlyreliablebyBLI,havingcompletedatwo-month, 125,000-impression durability test with no service calls required and no misfeeds.
KM-NET Viewer enables device discovery and device management for all printers and MFPs on the network, including Kyocera and non-Kyocera models. KM-NET Viewer lets administrators sort printers and MFPs by name or IP address and specify which information on monitored devices is dis-played in the utility. Administrators can also select which device conditions prompt pop-up messages on users’ computers.
KM-NET Viewer
Kyocera Command Center, the FS-4000DN’s embedded Web page, provides administrators with information about the device and lets them handle many administrative tasks. Administrators can change the unit’s device set-tings and network settings, view device status, and monitor the unit’s toner
reLIaBILIty eXceLLeNt
— PerForMaNce overvIew
, — and represent positive, negative and neutral attributes, respectively.
and paper supply. In addition, the embedded Web page can be programmed to send e-mail alerts to three recipients, in case of error conditions such as Low Toner, Paper Jam, Cover Open and Add Toner/Paper.
Kyocera Command Center
Users and administrators can send documents to the FS-4000DN for printing via the embedded Web page.
KM-NET for Clients can be installed on users’ computers, enabling them to receive pop-up messages and icon alerts for error or warning conditions and check device status. Audible alerts can also be enabled.
— KM-NET for Clients does not offer pop-up messages or icon alerts to indicate completed print jobs.
The Kyocera Command Center embedded Web page provides users with a very good level of detail regarding the FS-4000DN, including device status, remaining paper and toner supplies (percentages), and paper size. It also lets users change the KX driver emulation they wish to use.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN includes one CD that contains the print drivers and administrative utilities and a second CD containing the User’s guide and other documentation.
Setup and installation of the drivers was easy thanks to the auto-install feature, which automatically creates the printer port and will have users up and running in minutes. Installation required 12 clicks of the mouse.
The FS-4000DN comes with Kyocera’s proprietary KX driver, which combines three drivers in one: PCL XL (a PCL 6 emulation), PCL 5e and KPDL (Kyocera’s PostScript emulation). The KX driver facilitates a more streamlined installa-tion procedure and uses fewer resources on the network. While many users may never switch between emulations, it should be noted that for those who do, switching is not convenient, as it cannot be done from within an application. Users have to close or minimize the application and open the print driver via the Windows Start menu.
The print drivers provide selections for most of the most commonly used features on the main screen and feature graphical changes when print set-tings are altered.
The PCL and KPDL drivers are identical in layout, increasing ease of use in environments where both drivers are used. The drivers offer a good feature set, including booklet printing, collation, N-up printing, proof print, the ability to save print settings, a secure printing option, custom watermarks and poster printing.
The PCL XL and KPDL print drivers feature PRESCRIBE, Kyocera’s page design and control language, which enables graphics, logos and forms (including multi-part forms) to be created independently of the system and saved and updated on the device.
File size remained the same when producing multiple sets regardless of whether “Collate” was selected from the print screen within an application or from the properties screen of the driver.
Noproblemswereexperiencedwithanyofthetestfilesusedintheapplica-tions compatibility tests. Units are tested for compatibility on Windows XP platforms with Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, Microsoft Excel 2000, Adobe PageMaker 7.0, Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and Adobe Acrobat 6.0using25application testfiles,whichcontain text,graphics,halftoneimages, tables, etc., enabling BLI technicians to evaluate memory usage, fileprocessing,fontrenderingandgrayscalecapability.
Output produced by the Kyocera FS-4000DN’s KPDL driver at 600 dpi was very good overall. Text was crisp and cleanly formed, featuring fully formed characters. Circular lines were smooth and fully formed, while closely spacedfinelinesremaineddistinct.
Halftones were visible over an excellent range, featuring distinct transitions between levels and very good coveragewithindot-fill areas. Solidswererated Fair, due to below-average darkness.
—TheKyoceraFS-4000DN’soverallsimplexandduplexprintefficiencyratesfor the KPDL print driver are below average and slightly below average, respectively, when compared with those of similar models in this speed range tested to date.
—First-print times formost of the testedfile types (PowerPoint,TIFF, PDFand JPEG) are slower than average when compared to those of comparable modelstested.Thefirst-printtimefortheWordfileiscompetitive.
— The KPDL print driver processed BLI’s 19-page job stream at 28.18 percent of its rated engine speed, which is well below the average for similar tested units.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN received good marks for ease of use. The control panel is well designed and easy to use, featuring large hard keys for naviga-tion and a two-line, 32-character LDC display.
Technicians found the procedure for replacing toner to be simple and clean.
Loading paper was easy, though the unit does not automatically detect paper size, requiring users to adjust paper size at the control panel or via the embedded Web page. Moreover, the 500-sheet drawers have a guide line that could lead users to add more than 500 sheets of paper and possibly cause the unit to misfeed.
The unit features graphic instructions for removing misfeeds and walks users throughtheprocess,thoughitisdifficulttoremoveapaperjamfromthemisfeed access point located under the drum.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN’s standard memory and maximum memory capaci-ties, at 128 MB and 640 MB, respectively, are higher than the average for similar printers in this speed range.
Although the maximum paper capacity of 2,600 sheets is below average, the standard paper capacity of 600 sheets is competitive with those of the models in this speed range.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN offers a memory card slot that supports CF memory cards and Microdrives (up to 4 GB), providing extra storage on the device in lieu of an on-board hard drive. The CF memory card or Microdrive provides storage for PRESCRIBE forms, fonts and frequently printed documents, as well as printer functions such as proof and hold, secure printing and job storage.
The USB Host feature provides users with a USB port on the printer that sup-ports thumb drives, enabling them to print PDF documents at the device. However,theUSBportislocatedonthebackoftheunitandisdifficulttofind.
The secure print feature allows a user to send a print job directly to the Kyocera FS-4000DN and hold the job at the printer until he or she releases it via the control panel. After the job is printed, the printer deletes the job from memory.
Administrators can lock the unit’s control panel, via the embedded Web page.
KM-NET Viewer and the embedded Web page and can be password-protected bytheadministratortokeepunauthorizedusersfromchangingconfigura-tion settings.
The tested toner yield of the Kyocera FS-4000DN is competitive with the average for models in this speed range tested to date.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN is priced 14 percent below the average for similar tested printers in this speed range, while its supplies cost per page is 52 percent lower than the average.
Buyers Laboratory Inc. • 20 Railroad Avenue • Hackensack, NJ 07601 • USA • (201) 488-0404
Michael DanzigerCEO
Mark LerchCOO
Anthony F. PolifroneManaging Director
Daria M. HoffmanManaging Editor
Lynn NannarielloSenior Editor
Marlene OrrPrinter Industry Analyst
Ben CurryAssociate Editor, Solutions
Tracie HinesAssociate Editor
George MikolayAssociate Editor
Carl SchellAssociate Editor
Lisa ReiderResearch Editor
Marc BussanichTechnical Analyst
Camille DendtlerResearch Manager
Pete EmoryManager of Laboratory Testing
Pia BeddigesManager of Field Testing
Ken NardoneTechnical Manager, Field Testing
Anthony MarchesiniIT Director
T. R. PatrickArt Director
Test Environment
The product has been tested in BLI’s 10,000-square-foot test lab, in an environment monitored by a Honeywell Temp/RH chart recorder, which replicates typical office conditions.
Test Equipment
BLI’s dedicated test network, consisting of Windows 2000 servers, Windows 2000 and XP workstations, 10/100BaseTX network switches and CAT5 cabling.
Test Duration
Products are tested for two months, a portion of which consists of a durability test during which the product is run at its manufacturer-rated maximum monthly volume, with daily volumes evenly divided over the course of the test.
Tested Configuration
Base unit, plus a 500-sheet paper drawer.
Test Procedures
The test methods and procedures employed by BLI in its lab testing include BLI’s proprietary procedures and industry-standard test procedures. In addition to a number of proprietary test documents, BLI uses an industry standard Katun test original for evaluating black image quality and test suites from Quality Logic to evaluate applications compatibility.
PMs/Malfunctions Service Required Meter Count (Impressions)
Impressions Between Service
Meter count (beginning of test) 0
End of test period 125,000
Total misfeeds/misfeed rate 0/Not applicable
Total Service Calls 0
Kyocera FS-4000DN PRINT DRIVER FEATURES
Features KPDL
Auto Feature/Device Detection Yes
Booklet Printing Yes
Collate Sets Yes
Max Paper Sources Per Job 3
Mirror Image Yes
Negative Image Yes
N-up Printing 2 to 25
Paper Gauge No
Print and Save Yes
Proof Print Yes
Quantity Selection Up to 999
Reduction/Enlargement 20 to 500
Resolution Modes (dpi) High Quality, Proof (default), Draft, Custom
Save Settings Yes
Secure Print Yes
Watermarks/Custom Watermarks Yes/Yes
Poster Printing Yes
Send once/print many:Yes. The file size sent to the printer from the PC did notincrease when printing multiple collated sets regardless of whether collate was selected from the Windows print screen within an application or from within the drivers. Output was properly collated.
Density for units in this class tested to date:1.00 to 1.94.
Measurements are based on four readings corresponding to four different solid black locations on the output. The higher the density reading, the darker the image.
Halftone range: Grayscaleisclearlyvisiblefromthe2%to100%dot-filllevels,with distinct transitions between levels and consistent toner coverage within levels.
Typical halftone range for monochrome laser/LED printers:8% to 90%.
The Kyocera FS-4000DN’s print speeds were tested in the default mode (Proof) using the KPDL print driver. First-print time indicates the time it took to RIP an image and deliver the first page of the test document set to the output tray.
Kyocera FS-4000DN’s rated speed:47 ppm
BLI’S TESTED PRINT SPEEDS
ProDuctIvIty
ColorMonochrome
0 502010
Pages Per Minute
42.23
42.31
KPDL
30
Average Speed(excludingfirstpage)
Average Speed(includingfirstpage)
40
Print speed is tested using BLI’s Monochrome Test Original (with 6% page coverage). The test page is printed in a quantity equal to double the vendor’s rated print speed for the device in each mode tested (e.g., if the vendor’s rated print speed is 20 ppm, 40 pages are printed). The Kyocera FS-4000DN’s print speeds were tested in the default mode (Proof) using the KPDL print driver.
BLI obtains the overall efficiency percentage by dividing the tested speed of the device by the rated speed and then multiplying by 100 for each run length. All jobs are based on a 10-page document printed in the default mode (Proof) using the KPDL print driver.
Job Stream evaluationAjobstreamconsistingofninefiles(amixofWord,Excel,HTML, PowerPoint and e-mail) is sent to a paused print queue. All files aremonochrome or monochrome andmixed colorandconsistoffiveorfewerpages(totalof19pages).Timingbegins when the queue is released and ends when the last page of the job stream completely exits the device.
Time to completion of all print jobs (KPDL):86.07 seconds.
Range for monochrome printers tested to date:30.17 seconds to 15 minutes, 1.88 seconds.
Black 640.3 29,200 45.60 0.315¢ 0.515¢1 Toner cost per page is based on Kyocera’s Web pricing for and the tested toner yield using BLI’s toner yield test original
with 5% page coverage.2 he supplies cost per page is based on Kyocera’s Web pricing, BLI’s tested toner yields, as well as Kyocera’s rated yields
Std Interface: 10/100BaseTX, USB 2.0, Parallel, USB Host
Opt Interface: 10/100BaseTX, RS-232C Serial Printer Mgmt: KM-Net Utilities
COMMENTS: Kyocera's ECOSYS technology provides long-life consumables and reduced cost per print. New USB Host feature allows users to plug in a USB Memory stick at the printer to output PDF Documents at the device. Warm-up Time: Less than 15 seconds (From Sleep Mode); First Print Out: Less than 9 seconds (EcoFuser Off); 47 PPM Letter, 38 PPM Legal.
PAPER HANDLING
Std/Max Paper Source(s): 2/5Std/Max Paper Capacity: 600 sheets/2,600 sheetsPaper Size (W x L): 8.5" x 14" maxPrint Area (W x L): 8.1" x 13.6" maxPaper Weights: 16-lb to 28-lb bondStd Output Capacity: 500 sheetsOther Output: Optional Faceup Tray (250 sheets)Bypass (Capacity / Weight): 100 sheets/16-lb bond to 120-lb indexAutomatic Duplexing: Standard
FEATURES
Collation: StandardColor Depth (Bits): Not applicableColor Management: Not applicableFonts: 80 PCL, 80 PostScript 1 Bitmap Font IPP (Web) Support: StandardRIP Once / Print Many: OptionalSecure Printing: Standard*
Other: *Secure Print standard w/RAM Disk or optional MicroDrive
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Display / Characters: INAEnergy Star Compliance: YesNoise Level (Print / Idle): INA / INAPower Consumption: INA maxPower Reqs (V / Hz / Amps): 120/60/7.7Warranty: One-year parts and laborWeight (Base Unit): 37.04 lbs.Dimensions (H x W x D): 12.6" x 15.04" x 15.51"
OPTIONS
500 Sheet Drawer: $2492,000 Sheet Paper Feed: $749Envelope Feeder: $219Face Up Tray: $39RS-232C Interface: $356Additional memory: Priced by Dealer
the leading independent office products test lab and business consumer advocateBUYERS LABORATORY INC. 20 RAILROAD AVENUE HACKENSACK, NJ 07601 201-488-0404 WWW.BUYERSLAB.COM
Copyright 2006 by Buyers Laboratory. Reproduction without written permission from BLI is illegal and strictly prohibited.
CERTIFICATE OF RELIABILITYAWARDED TO
KYOCERA MITA AMERICA, INC.For the performance of the
This is to certify that when subjected to a 125,000-impression Buyers Lab durability test in a networked environment,
the Kyocera FS-4000DN proved to be a highly reliable product.
TESTED
RELIABILITY CERTIFIED
BU
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S LABORATO
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TESTED
RELIABILITY CERTIFIED
®ANTHONY F. POLIFRONEMANAGING DIRECTOR
DATE
December 2006
THE LEADING INDEPENDENT OFFICE PRODUCTS TEST LAB AND BUSINESS CONSUMER ADVOCATEBUYERS LABORATORY INC. • �0 RAILROAD AVENUE • HACKENSACK, NJ 0��0� • USA • WWW.BUYERSLAB.COM
Copyright �00� Buyers Laboratory. This certificate has been reproduced with the written permission of BLI.
