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Panasonic KX-CL400
18 ppm Monochrome, 18 ppm Color Printer
What’s Inside?
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Product Dynamics
This Japanese electronics giant has earned and white Panasonic KX-CL400 desktop
an enviable list of accolades for its WORKiO printer boasts a 1,200 x 1,200 dpi resolution,
range of MFP products. Panasonic has been a PCL Ethernet-enabled network print engine,
praised for being ahead of the curve in areas and Web-based administration. Under the
such as security, user interface, and hood, a 400MHz RISC CPU runs the show.
document management utilities. But what’s There are also extensive upgrade options that
been missing in its digital imaging WORKiO include true Adobe PostScript printing, 40GB
office products family is an economical laser hard drive, and direct printing of PDF files.
color printer that makes some of this
technology available to small- and mid-size Other significant design features include:
businesses.
Easy consumables replacement
The wait is over. Competitively priced, the Quick start up/warm up time
recently launched Panasonic KX-CL400 fills Photo mode
in this gap in its product line. It offers features
Duplex printing (optional)
that have been found previously in its higher-
end WORKiO products — such as IPv6-ready
Ethernet port, network configuration, and
induction heating-based fuser technology. BERTL analyst inspecting the user-replaceable
Out of the box, the 18ppm color and black components of the Panasonic KX-CL400
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Design Considerations
Ease of Maintenance:
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Design Considerations
Duplex Unit:
IH Technology:
Pressure
Roller
Heat Roller
Heater Belt
Fuser
Roller
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Paper
Design Considerations
Automatic Color Detection: Motherboard slides out from the rear of the
Panasonic KX-CL400 .
The Panasonic KX-CL400 thrifty operational
theme extends to its ability to manage color
costs. Like other Panasonic color WORKiO
devices, the Panasonic KX-CL400 also
automatically switches between black and
CMY toner on a per page basis. If only
monochrome pixels are detected, the printer
uses only the black print cartridge. By
restricting color print cartridge usage to color
documents, the Panasonic KX-CL400 keeps
its operating and maintenance costs within
the budgets of smaller businesses or
departments in larger enterprises.
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Device Management
Web Access:
Through their browsers, users can access the Users can take advantage of the emulated
Panasonic KX-CL400 with various levels of console display to check current
operating status of the Panasonic KX-CL400.
functionality depending upon their
authorization level. Administrators have more
configuration and management ability — e.g., then at least check whether the printer is
configuring IP addresses or alerts — than a processing another job.
general office user.
The Panasonic KX-CL400 lets Web users
Probably the most important feature in a reprint jobs stored on the devices hard drive
device management utility for an end user is (optional), a feature typically found on higher-
the ability to see the current status of the end devices. The browser interface lets them
device before deciding whether or not to view the list of stored jobs and they can select
submit a job to print. the ones to be printed.
We would have liked to have had the ability to While this feature may at first seem more
view the current queue of jobs waiting at the sizzle than meat in a smaller office, with
device. Helping matters somewhat is an employees either working from home or at
emulated console, which redisplays the same other offices, the ability to initiate a job
messages shown on the real LCD. Users can remotely will likely find uses. For remote
users, Panasonic also have a
unique feature for “email printing”. It
adds a port to the driver that
involves the email client on the
individuals computer to send the
print job direct to the printer using
email as the delivery agent. This
then bypasses firewall problems.
Device Management
From the Web server, administrators can This feature is especially useful for warning
configure the Panasonic KX-CL400 to email purchasing departments or the dealer
device events when error conditions occur or directly that printer is running low on a
resource threshold limits are reached. specific consumable item and replacement
will be needed shortly. This can eliminate
Roving administrators therefore are not down time and therefore increase efficiency
necessarily tied to a specific monitoring and productivity.
console: they can view alerts from any
Administrators configure the Panasonic KX-CL400
mobile device (Blackberry, iPAQ, etc.) that to email critical device events.
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Device Management
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Device Management
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Device Management
Configure by Network:
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Device Management
Device Monitor:
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Security
What is IPv6? It is a next generation Internet The optional hard drive kit supports secure
addressing scheme that uses a sequence of mailboxes. From the printer driver, users can
eight numbers, where each number can select to use the “Confidential Print” option,
range up to 65,535 in value. Current IPv4 and assign a password. To retrieve and print
addressing is based on four numbers or the jobs, users enter the password at the
“octets,” where each value is no more than printer console. For added security, the
255. Panasonic KX-CL400 can be set to
automatically clean image data by overwriting
Since IPv6 addresses are longer and larger in freed disk blocks with zeros and random data.
value, they support a larger universe of
addresses than the current format. The Network Security:
security advantage in IPv6 is that a brute
force attack — such as a denial of service — The device supports IP filtering, restricting the
would be harder to launch. This would all be printer to connect with endpoint addresses
of theoretical interest — i.e., something the falling within a specified range. The printer
networking industry should eventually adopt also has “port disabling” features which are
— except that the driving force behind IPv6 is used to close down an unused port which
the U.S. Government, which will not buy non- otherwise could be vulnerable to attack.
IPv6 network devices after 2008. Panasonic
The Panasonic KX-CL400 is ready for IPv6. The device also
supports IP filtering.
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Print
Printing is powered by a 400MHz RISC We liked the way in which Panasonic has
controller which comes equipped with built a status monitor function into the printer
128MB RAM (expandable to a maximum of driver window itself. This is more time
512MB.) conscious than web-based alternatives
offered by competitors which force users
Standard connectivity choices include
who wish to know if the device is ready to
Ethernet 10/100BaseT, high speed USB 2.0
receive a job to open up a browser, enter
and Parallel IEEE 1394. Supported
the IP address and view the web server
communication protocols include TCP/IP,
status window.
LPD via both RAW and Port 9100, SNMP,
DHCP, IPX/SPX, Appletalk and IPP
We also liked the ability to choose preset
(Internet Printing Protocol).
template layouts with a single click from the
main tab, another productivity enhancing
The device comes with PCL 6. PDF direct
feature which most competing units require
print capability is part of the PostScript 3
several mouse clicks to accommodate.
upgrade kit.
The remaining tabs offer lesser used
PCL Driver:
printing attributes including custom color
This PCL driver offers a high degree of settings, special effects and profile creation.
functionality and is well designed, making
operation easy for average users. From the
main printer driver tab (shown below) users
can carry out the majority of jobs without
ever having to go to another tab.
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Print
Job Delivery Options: main advantage for this feature is to
store commonly used (but not changed)
With the hard drive option, users can send files. This might include Company
the print job to the device for storage and Brochures, Product or Services
later print. Under the driver’s Job Type tab, Brochures, Cover Sheets, etc.
users have three delivery options.
Check then print mode, the user
Confidential print mode, the user can releases a single copy of a multi-copy
assign a numeric password to the job. If it acceptable, the user can release
document, safeguarding the job from the rest of copies. This feature, more
access from other users. The job is commonly referred to as proof print can
released at the console by entering the be a valuable cost and time saving
password. This feature is an important feature allowing users to send complex
attribute for those out of line of sight of multi-set jobs once across the network,
the device, who without the capability but allowing them to check that the first
may have run the risk of printing set is correct before committing the
confidential information only to find that remaining sets to print, thus avoiding
by the time they are within eye sight of unnecessary additional trips to the
the device that another user has picked printer before committing a job to print
up the document. While this type of
activity may in the past have been more Watermarks and Overlays:
of an irritation, it can now, post data
security acts like HIPAA, SOX, GLB Under the Effects tab users have the ability
have serious consequences for the to add watermarks and overlays to
company who fails to secure the integrity documents. While watermarks are a
and security of confidential and private common feature on desktop printers, some
information. devices do not provide overlay addition, a
valuable feature that allows users to store
Memory print mode, the document is common background whole page layouts
stored on the hard drive: any console like letterhead designs, electronic forms for
user can release it. But this ensures that inclusion without the user having to build
the document is not inadvertently picked them into the print document, thus reducing
up and discarded by another user. The ripping time.
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Print
Direct Printing System: Users first set up the application, specifying
the default settings for the utility including
Panasonic’s Direct Printing System (DPS) is the printer/s to be used, the settings to be
available for the Panasonic KX-CL400. It is applied and the quantity of job copies. We
a Windows-based application bundled with were impressed by the feature that allowed
the optional PostScript kit. us to specify whether jobs arriving at the
application are automatically processed
The Direct Printing System lets desktop using the default settings or whether the
users send PDF files directly to the dialog window (see below) is to open,
Panasonic KX-CL400 without having to first allowing the user to change settings on a
convert them into PCL or PostScript file job by job basis.
formats.
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Print
Direct PDF Print: Parallel Print: This feature, as the name
suggests allows long-run multi-set jobs to be
We set up multiple DPS hot folders with split across two or more printers, thus
some set to automatically process jobs creating a cluster printing solution without
arriving while others held jobs and opened the need for expensive third party software.
the dialog window. This is how we would
expect real life users to utility the feature, To accommodate the printing of secured
setting up a one touch route and a route PDF files, the DPS also includes the ability
with more flexibility to accommodate to enter the PDF password which unlocks
different job demands. the PDF prior to printing.
We were able to send a PDF file to the DPS We found the direct PDF print function easy
system via multiple different routes, 1) Drag to use. We also measured significant
and drop PDF icons into the DPS active file productivity advantages when printing large
frame, 2) drag and drop the icon over the PDF files. Giving a numeric productivity
application shortcut hot folder portal, or 3) advantage is simplistic as the time saved
right click while selecting the PDF file and includes the time usually spend waiting for
select to send the file to DPS. This diverse Acrobat to pen, then the PDF file to open,
range of delivery options is more flexible before you even Start spooling and ripping
than some competing direct PDF utilities the document. With the Panasonic’s DPS
which require users to open the web we simply dragged the PDF onto the
browser or desktop application and browse application, selected the quantity, printer of
to the PDF files. choice and that was it.
Print
Color Quality:
Summing Up:
The Panasonic KX-CL400 is a very capability, allowing walk up users to simply
competitively priced color laser network inert a pocked-sized USB drive with PDF and
printer with an impressive range of utilities other files directly into the device, with users
designed to make the entire printing and able to browse to the file and print without
device management experience as user having to go near a desktop. This would be a
friendly as possible. valuable resource in service print
environments such as business centers in
We were impressed by the image quality airports, hotels and internet cafes etc.
across a spectrum of office color tests.
Productivity enhancing features were in There is a lot to like about this compact color
abundance including remote job notification, printer and it will be tough to beat.
and direct PDF printing.
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