Kyocera FS-C5400DN

A4 laser printer with exceptionally low running costs thanks to long-life drums and developers that rarely (if ever) have to be changed. Kyocera call this "Ecosys" because it not only cuts costs but eliminates the waste associated with the all-in-one cartridges used by some other manufacturers.

The FS-C5400DN offers:

  • Up to 35 pages per minute in A4 in colour and mono
  • Up to 9,600 dpi printing quality with multibit enhancement technology
  • Duplex unit as standard for double-sided printing
  • Paper capacity of up to 2,650 sheets from 6 sources
  • Network connectivity with integrated security functions
  • PowerPC 750/733 MHz, 256 MB RAM, optional hard disk
  • Exceptionally low printing costs for ordinary office work


These printers are available for a bit under £1,000 in the UK in December 2012. The printer is certainly not the cheapest on the market but the price is comparable with other machines of its speed and duty-cycle rating. It is more expandable than many printers, taking as many as 4 x 500 sheet feeder trays giving a total capacity of 2,650 sheets, comparable with many copiers.

Typical applications are for heavy colour print loads - sales brochures for instance. Product labelling is another task where this printer should excel - it can produce individualised labels with a colour photo at a low price.

The FS-C5400 is part of series:

The FS-C5250DN is a different and unrelated design. (Its an odd numbering scheme).

Printers in the series take different toner cartridges, this allows Kyocera to vary the value proposition a bit.

There are compatible toners. Using compatible toners might half the running cost again. However be warned that compatible toners run the risk of causing problems in the developer-drum-ITB system that might be difficult to sort out if you don't have some knowledge of how these machines work.

Colour:

Four individual developers and drums form the colour print mechanisms and produce an image onto an Intermediate Transfer Belt or "ITB". Unusually the toners are above the belt, whilst the developers and drums are underneath the ITB and create the image on its underside. The transfer belt brings the image to the front of the printer where a secondary transfer roller pulls it onto the page.

Control:

Control Panel with informative back-lit LCD display and a navigation diamond of buttons. A Menu button brings up prompts in a fairly intuitive manner and one of the options is to print out the whole menu.

When used with it's Ethernet port the printer has a very informative Web-Server offering its control and monitoring options.

Integrated accounting with 100 department codes.

Engine speed or up to 35 pages per minute in A4 for both colour and mono. Reviewers find this speed is pretty much what is experienced in practical applications.

Warm-up time is approximately 60 seconds or less from power on.

Time to first page after power-on and warm-up:

  • Approx. 8.0 seconds or less in mono
  • Approx. 9.0 seconds or less in colour

Engine resolution is 600 x 600 dpi. Multi-Bit Technology provides print quality which Kyocera say is equivalent to up to 9,600 x 600 dpi. Reviewers generally found text was sharp although fonts below 5pt were not completely clear. Colour pictures were felt to be average for current printers.

Paper Handling:

A4 (US letter) paper path running up the front of the printer from a 500 sheet tray underneath. Auto-duplex is built into all printers.

Multi-Purpose Tray:

Input capacity: 150-sheet multi-purpose tray ; 60–220 g/m2; A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Letter, Legal, Custom (70 x 138 mm – 216 x 356 mm)

Tray - 2:

Input capacity: 500-sheet universal cassette; 60–120 g/m2; A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Letter, Legal, Custom (105 x 148 – 216 x 356 mm)

Tray - 3:

Up to 4 optional trays can be added.

Maximum paper capacity including all options:- MP tray, main cassette and 4 Optional trays: 2,650 sheets.

Face Down Tray:

Output capacity: 500-sheet-face-down tray on top of the printer with paper full sensor.

Face Up Tray:

There is no face-up capability.

Duplex:

Duplex as standard. double-side printing is provided as standard 60–120 g/m2; A4, A5, B5, Letter, Legal, Custom (140 x 210 mm – 216 x 356 mm). The duplexer can't handle heavy materials and probably won't work with envelopes.

Processor:

PowerPC at 750/733 MHz


Memory:

256 MB RAM, can be increased to 1,280 MB RAM as an option.

Slot for optional CompactFlash-Card.

USB flash memory slot.

Slot for optional internal print server or hard disk.

Interface:

USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) with B socket

USB Host Interface dedicated for USB Flash Memory device, with A socket.

Network:

FastEthernet (10/100BaseTX) built in.

Option for Wireless LAN (802.11b/g) using option PS159.

Gigabit Ethernet: 10BaseT / 100BaseTX / 1000BaseT (RJ-45)using option PS1109.

Controller language is Prescribe IIc - Kyocera's own print language.

Emulations: PCL6, PCL5c, PostScript* 3 (KPDL 3), XPS Direct Print, PDF Direct Print, with automatic emulation sensing.

System Compatability:

Operating systems:

  • All current Windows operating systems,
  • Mac OS X Version 10.2 or higher,
  • UNIX, LINUX as well as other operating systems on request

Fonts/barcodes: 93 scalable fonts for PCL, 136 scalable fonts for PostScript*, 8 fonts for Windows Vista*, 1 Bitmap font, 45 barcodes (e. g. EAN8, EAN13, EAN128) with automatic generation of checksums as well as support of two-dimensional barcodes PDF-417 under PRESCRIBE (PCL and other barcodes availableas an option)

Power Requirements:

Power source: 220/240 V, 50/60 Hz. IEC C14 Socket.

Power Consumption:

Power consumption:

  • Printing: 608 W
  • Stand-by: 91 W
  • Power-Saving: 10 W

Environment:

Kyocera's claim to fame with these printers is that they only consume toner - so there is much less waste that with most other office printers where developers and drums are wasted as cartridges are used. The drums, developers and Intermediate Transfer Belt in this printer are intended to last 200,000 pages or more. This might often be regarded as the "life of the machine".

Most HP and Canon printers use an all-in-one print cartridge which has the toner, developer and drum all in one disposable unit. The Laserjet CP3525dn which is a comparable printer has cartridges with a life of 7,000 pages asnd then the developer and drum are disposed of. Canon devised this scheme to make problems easy to solve.

A few Canon/HP printers - and many from other manufacturers - use separate toners and developer/drum assemblies. For instance the CP6015 / CM6030 has a separate developer-drum unit with a life of 35,000 pages. The disadvantage is that users need to keep spares of both toners and drums.

The Kyocera idea is that very long-life drums mean problems should rarely happen. Kyocera use an amorphous silicon drum rather than the Organic Photoconductor (OPC) used by most other manufacturers. The material has an indefinitely long life, barring accidents.

Kyocera guarantees the drums and developers for 3 years or maximum 300,000 pages (whichever occurs sooner), provided the printer is used and cleaned in accordance with the service instructions. There is a maintenance kit to restore all the main components (see below)

Unfortunately the maintenance kit is priced just short of the street price of a new printer - and may actually cost more if you have to get a Kyocera engineer to fit it. (see below.

Acoustics:

Noise (ISO 7779 / ISO 9296)

  • Printing: 55 dB(A)
  • Stand-by: 36 dB(A)

Dimensions:

Dimensions (W x D x H) - 345 mm x 518 mm x 510 mm

Weight:

Weight - approximately 35 kg (basic unit ready for operation).

Safety:

Safety standards: GS, TÜV, CE This unit is manufactured according to ISO 9001 quality standard and ISO 14001 environmental standard.

Consumables:

The Kyocera "Ecosys" ide is that printers will only need toner; the rest of the printer lasts "for life".

Toner:

Four colour toners go in the top of the printer. The black toner is bigger, since most documents are predominantly black.

Black toner: TK-570K Toner-kit: Black Microfine toner for 16,000 pages A4

Cyan toner: TK-570C: Cyan Microfine toner for 12,000 pages

Magenta toner: TK-570M: Microfine toner magenta for 12,000 pages

Yellow toner: TK-570Y: Microfine toner yellow for 12,000 pages

Toner yields are given for 5% cover on an A4 page in accordance with ISO/IEC 19798


Drum:

Individual drum units for the FS-C5400 are available as DK-570. A full set of drums and developers are also available as part of the maintenance kit.

Transfer Belt:

The transfer belt for the FS-C5400 is available as part of the maintenance kit.

Waste Bottle:

The waste bottle installs in the right-hand side of the printer (its right, your left when you are in front of it). It is held by a small clip on the left side of the neck. Kyocera seem to supply enough bottles with toners

Waste Bottle: A waste bottle is supplied with toners.

The waste bottle is just a polythene receptacle, about as technical as a milk-bottle. It seems to be supplied free with toners. It's also available as a spare should you need one.

Fuser:

Fusers currently seem to be available as part of the maintenance kit.

Fuser 220 Volt

Fuser 120 Volt

Maintenance Kit:

Kyocera make all the main components of the printer available as the MK-570 Maintenance Kit, which is recommended after 300,000 Pages - it is also known as 1702HG8EU0. The kit contains:

  • Drums and developers for Black/Cyan/Magenta/Yellow
  • Feed Unit
  • Fuser
  • Feed Rollers
  • Ozone Filter
  • Transfer Unit

The MK-570 Maintenance Kit replaces all the parts of the printer likely to wear out.

Some sources say the warranty on the parts in the kit is only valid if they are fitted by a Kyocera engineer.

A problem at present is that the kit costs nearly as much as a new printer, and doesn't include the set of half-full starter cartridges that a new printer comes with. Kyocera trained engineers don't work for nothing, so refurbishing an old printer with the kit is likely to cost more than a new machine. Furthermore one of the problems with predecessor designs is buildup of dust in the electronics and clearing that means taking most of the front off the machine - which will take an engineer with direct experience of the machine an hour or so. Kyocera isn't a commonplace brand and it will take others longer.

Kyocera's Amorphous Silicon drums have also been notorious over the years for failing to last as long as they should- dust build-up, human hair in auger drives and surface scratches or blemishes - how grit and staples get into printers is a mystery but they sometimes do.

With poor availablity and high prices on other parts and Kyocera's current pricing on the MK-570 Maintenance Kit customers might be financially better off buying a new printer when a fuser, developer or transfer belt goes wrong. Kyocera say the warrranty on the drums is 3 years, so that goes some way to improving things - if they don't quibble over what is covered. Somewhere towards 300,000 pages, then, the printer is effectively obsolete - which doesn't seem ecologically sound.

Spares:

Cassette Feed Roller - 302F906230

Cassette Retard/Separation Roller -302F909170 (302F909171)

Cassette Tray Pulley Pickup Roller - 2HN06080

The feed roller clip into the front underside of the printer.

Service:

Kyocera's general idea is that there is very little to service in these machines and that they are considered life-expired at about 300,000 pages. Engineers experience of their predecessors suggests that scratched drums and dust buildup in the HT unit are points to watch out for.

Whats In the Box:

The printer comes with starter cartridges which have half the life of ordinary cartridges.

Warranty:

2-year warranty as standard. Kyocera guarantees the drums and developers for 3 years or maximum 300,000 pages (whichever occurs sooner), provided the printer is used and cleaned in accordance with the service instructions.

Kyocera have a "FS-C5400DN/KL3" which is a FS-C5400DN including a KYOlife 3 years warranty extension.


Options and Accessories:

The main options available for the printer are:

PF-500 Paper feeder: Max. 500 sheets; 60–120 g/m2; A4, A5, B5, Letter, Legal, Custom (148 x 210 mm – 216 x 356 mm)

PF-510 Paper feeder: Max. 500 sheets; 60–220 g/m2; A4, A5, B5, Letter, Legal, Custom (148 x 210 mm – 216 x 356 mm)

Stand

CB-500 Cabinet Stand. Height approx. 40 cm. Used to bring a free-standing printer stack to a comfortable height.

Memory upgrade

MDDR2-128: 128 MB

MDDR2-256: 256 MB

MDDR2-512: 512 MB

MDDR2-1024: 1,024 MB

CompactFlash-Card- 1 slot (up to 4 GB) for forms, fonts, logos, macro storage

USB Flash Memory. Supports direct printing of PDF, XPS, TIFF, JPEG files via USB Host Interface

HD-5A Hard disc 40 GB for easy document management

Optional Interfaces

PS159: Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)

PS1109: Gigabit Ethernet - 10BaseT / 100BaseTX / 1000BaseT (RJ-45)

PS129 Fibre Optic: 100BaseSX (SC)

PS1129 Gigabit Fibre Optic: 1000BaseSX (SC)