The OKI C532dn is the latest and the most advanced model of the C500 series from this Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). It is a device that is categorically aimed at the small to medium scale business segment. This means that this device straddles the divide between high end, high volume printers with a slew of features and budget printing devices with barely any features. In a nutshell, the OKI C532dn looks to provide a very stable and efficacious balance between cost, value, quality, and features.
Technically, the OKI C532dn is a colour laser printer. However, instead of lasers, this device uses LEDs for imaging. In fact, the OKI C532dn is based on Oki’s Digital 4 LED Full-colour Electrophotographic Printing Technology. Despite the use of LEDs, the OKI C532dn falls in the laser printing category because the overall printing technology used is nearly identical to lasers.
Strengths of OKI C532dn
The OKI C532dn is a fast machine. It is definitely fast enough to be used by 10 – 20 people together. The rated print speed of the OKI C532dn is 30 pages per minute (ppm) and this remains the same irrespective of whether you’re printing colour or black and white. It is worth mentioning that this print speed ties in with established market segment benchmarks. Moreover, it is higher than many of this device’s competitors in the market right now.
This print speed is supported by a very good paper handling capacity. The device will come standard with a capacity of 350 sheets which can be divided between a 250-sheet main paper tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray. However, the OEM has thought of the consumer by offering options for boosting this paper capacity. Therefore, if you plan on doing some heavy duty printing, then you can take the paper handling capacity of this device to as high as 1,410 sheets. You can do this by adding two more paper trays with the same capacity as the main paper tray i.e. 250 sheets.
In case you were wondering, the print engine of this device also facilitates high volume printing. The maximum monthly duty cycle of this device is 60,000 sheets.
Oki recommends that you print a minimum of 6,000 pages every month. This, remember, is only a guideline. You probably don’t have to be 100 percent on the ball with this. The OEM has also thought of usability from the customer’s perspective. The initial installation of the device is extremely simple and you don’t need to be a technology whiz to get it right. Instructional videos have been provided for all “technical” aspects of using this printer. There are videos for installation and even videos for changing the cartridges. It can’t get easier than this.
If you’re environmentally conscious, you’ll be glad to know that automatic duplexing is a standard feature on this device. This means that you can not only help the environment by reducing your paper consumption by half but also boost your pocket considerably.
What about the primary function of this device though? How does it perform when it comes to the meat of the matter? The answer is a mixed bag. The first of the two-part answer is included in this section but the other one didn’t make the cut and needs to be in the next section. The print output quality of the OKI C532dn depends on what you’re printing. If you’re looking for a printer to print documents of various types, then look no further.
This is the right device for you especially if its other strengths also appeal to you. The text output quality of this device is excellent. The accuracy of the characters comes with minimal errors. If we were to compare this device with others in the same market segment, then the OKI C532dn performs better than most as far as text output quality goes.
Even graphics aren’t that bad but you should beware. You shouldn’t rely on this printer if you want to hand over printed graphics to clients. It will definitely not impress them. Graphics printed for internal use would be more than sufficient for your needs. This device is rated to produce a maximum resolution of 1200 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi).
Weaknesses of OKI C532dn
The other side of the output quality coin is photo printing. You shouldn’t buy the OKI C532dn if you foresee yourself printing photos. You should, instead, look at a higher price range. In fact, if you want good photo output quality with mid to high volume printing, you should look quite a bit higher. The photo output of this device can be best compared to newspapers. The colours won’t be accurate and you can forget about the vibrancy. There will be banding and even fading in places.
Another flaw of the OKI C532dn comes in the form of connectivity options. The device doesn’t come standard with wireless capability and Wi-Fi is fairly common in businesses these days. If you can look beyond that distinct lack of option, you have other connectivity options such as the standard USB 2.0 and Ethernet. Both will perform well if you aren’t a technology buff, particularly since mobile printing compatibility has been provided for. The OKI C532dn is compatible with all mobile devices. It even supports connections with Air Print and Google Cloud Print.
This printer’s running costs may also give you a pause. They’re slightly on the higher side on the globally accepted spectrum for this market segment.
However, the running costs vary on the basis of the source of your cartridge. If you use genuine cartridges i.e. cartridges made by the OEM, you’ll end up spending about 16.64 cents per page. The cost becomes more palatable with generic or compatible cartridges. With aftermarket cartridges, provided they’re reliable, you’ll only spend approximately 12.81 cents per page.
The final flaw of the OKI C532dn is its weight. This isn’t a light printer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it is quite possible that you’ll need three to four people to move this monster around the office. Unless you lift weights, we recommend you don’t try doing this alone because the device weighs 23 Kg.
Key Features of OKI C532dn
All that weight is there for a reason though. The reason is build quality. The OKI C532dn is built with the best materials which makes it very sturdy, robust, and long lasting. You won’t see any cheap, bendy plastic in this device. The weight may also think that this device is cumbersome but that isn’t exactly true. While not super compact, the OKI C532dn is still decently designed. It measures about 279mm high, 571mm deep, and 427mm wide, which is similar to many other products in the market.
The device sports 1GB of inbuilt memory accompanied by a 667 MHz processor. This added to the print engine allows the OKI C532dn to deliver first print in around 7.5 seconds. There are multiple Modes to support various user requirements too. The Quiet Mode cuts sound drastically and the Deep Sleep and Auto-Off Modes help save power, while the Toner Save Mode helps reduce toner costs. There’s even a Private Print Mode to take care of your privacy.
Along with the aforementioned optional paper trays, you’ll get other options such as the Card Release module for more printing security and the cabinet for protecting the device. In order to buy this device, you’ll pay around $450 which is, more or less, average for this market segment. You will get three years’ warranty though, which is more than many competing products. Adding optional components will increase the cost, obviously.
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