Xerox Phaser 4620V/DN review

Xerox's new Phaser 4600 and 4620 range comprises mono A4 laser printers aimed at large and busy workgroups, where there's a demand for a robust printing workhorse with low running costs and minimal maintenance. All models have a gigabit Ethernet port and can handle a maximum monthly workload of up to 275,000 prints, with those designated 4600 able to print up to 52 pages per minute (ppm) and the 4620 models reaching 62ppm.

Xerox's driver installer is one of the more user-friendly we've encountered on this class of printer.

As standard, the range has a 550-sheet enclosed paper tray with a 100-sheet multi-purpose feed and a 500-sheet output, while all but the entry-level 4600V/N have duplex. The 4600V/DT and 4260V/DT variants include a second 550-sheet tray and all models can be upgraded to a maximum total of five such trays. There are many other upgrades available, highlights of which include a 2,000-sheet high-capacity feeder and a 500-sheet finisher with 50-sheet stapling. If you do buy the 4600V/N, a reasonably-priced upgrade to duplex is subsequently available.

We reviewed the 4620V/DN which, like other Phasers, is built from cream and blue plastics. Though sizeable, it's not unattractive. While not exactly whisper-quiet, the clunks you'd expect from a fast laser seem well cushioned, making them less intrusive for anyone working nearby. The physical installation is fairly easy, involving just the insertion of the supplied photoconductor, toner and waste toner bottle. While it's just possible for a single worker to unbox and lift the printer, it's wise to follow Xerox's recommendation that this part of the set up be a two-man job.

Once switched on and loaded with paper, the Phaser prints a configuration report summarising the installed components, network settings and tray status. Xerox's driver installer is one of the more user-friendly we've encountered on this class of printer, simply detecting it over the network and prompting to install the preferred PCL6 driver by default. There's an option to check online for any more recent releases, too.