Xerox DocuColor 250

The Xerox DocuColor 250 was one of the most popular copiers ever made. It sold in its hundreds of thousands, and many can still be found today. It is a printer and copier, but is also has a scan function, although it is definitely an addon function rather than a primary one.

The DocuColor 250 is a color laser printer that can output up to 50 pages per minute for monochrome and 50 for color. Print quality is excellent in the default 2400 x 2400 dpi resolution. In monochrome mode, blacks and grays are clean and well formed. No bleeding or banding was evident on any of our large text or image heavy documents. Color was much the same, with accurate reproduction and smooth clean lines throughout.

Paper is fed into one of five drawers at the front which can hold up to 3260 sheets. There is also the option of adding a further 2000 with a paper feeder that sits at the bottom. Toner cartridges are also fed from the front, and like other devices in the Xerox range, features two black toners for quick changes. The black cartridge will print up to 30000 standard pages, with the color ones reaching 34000 each.

The screen is bright, and almost a full size PC screen. It is full color with function buttons at the bottom which are well laid out and easy to use. The menu system is intuitive and has been well thought out. Each function of the device is accessible within a couple of choices, so getting lost should be a thing of the past.

Configuration and driver installation is easy, with the software package installing in just over a minute. There is a decent software package to accompany the drivers featuring many tools to improve and enhance printing and copying quality, plus various settings for different finishes.

The DocuColor 250 supports PDL, PCL and PostScript, and will work with Windows and Mac computers. The drivers and software suite will also work with either platform.

As an all round printer/copier the DocuColor 250 is an excellent prospect. It became so popular because of its superior features and print quality. Even though it is now a few years old, there are still plenty of them around and consumables are still produced and sold in numbers.

For a busy office, or even a creative office that needs top-notch prints at all different shapes and sizes, this is an excellent device to try. With a flexible paper handling system, accurate lasers and a duty cycle of up to 300000 sheets per month, the DocuColor 250 can handle anything.