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Have monochrome laser printers reached their apex? Despite renewed competition in every category--big, little, powerful, inexpensive--is the market a saturated ecological niche with no room for fledgling species? Consider: This month we tested four promising new printers, but only one, Okidata's OkiPage 10ex, made it onto the Top 10 chart. The three misses represent a range of styles and capabilities: a very low cost model, also from Okidata; Tally's first attempt to reach the consumer market; and a well-designed office system from IBM geared for large-format printing.
One safe prediction: The harder it gets for printer makers to stake out new turf, the more likely they'll resort to vicious price competition. Monochrome laser prices have dropped dramatically recently, and we expect that trend to continue.
New Chart Member
Okidata retired the OkiPage 10i, which we ranked first in March, making room for the OkiPage 6e to rise to the top of the small- business/home chart. Meanwhile, the new OkiPage 10ex debuts in fourth place. At $399, this model costs $100 less than the 10i did, and offers nice overall print quality. While text looks good though...