Xerox Phaser 6010

The Xerox Phaser 6010 (*Est. $200) earns accolades as a basic, solid printer without too many features. With a 30,000-page maximum duty cycle, this printer works well as a personal or home office color laser printer. Simon Williams of Trusted Reviews states that there is "virtually everything right about this machine," and other reviewers praise its energy efficiency. The 6010N version of this model is identical but is network-ready, and the two models are often reviewed together.

The reviews of the Xerox Phaser 6010 show it to be a middle-of-the-pack color laser printer suitable for environments with light printing needs. The editors at TopTenReviews place the Xerox Phaser 6010N in eighth place in their 2011 laser printer roundup, stating that it "lacks the bells and whistles that would make it a top laser printer." M. David Stone of PCMag.com says that it's good if you don't print much and awards the Xerox Phaser 6010 printer 3 out of 5 stars. PC World's Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio concur with this assessment and add that the Phaser 6010N is easy to use with "impressive text and color output." Simon Williams of Trusted Reviews gives the Phaser 6010 a solid 6 out of 10 points.

The Xerox Phaser 6010 is small enough to fit on a corner of a desk or table. At 15.5 inches by 9.2 inches by 12 inches, it has a small footprint and yet reviewers say that it is a strong and sturdy printer, convenient and well-designed. Weighing in at 23.4 pounds, it can be moved by just one person. The control panel is straightforward, with a two-line, 16-character monochrome display, a four-way cursor and a few function buttons. Jacobi and Riofrio of PC World say its menus are easy to navigate, and like that users can configure the printer online.

With claimed printing speeds of 15 pages per minute (ppm) for black and white and 12 pages for color, the Xerox Phaser 6010 is slower than many other color laser printers. In tests, speeds clock in at 4.9 ppm for simple graphics. However, if you don't need documents printed urgently, these speeds are not unacceptable. The Phaser 6010's 150-page standard input paper tray is suitable for the light printing needs which match its relatively slow speed, though heavier volume printing will require the paper tray to be filled frequently. The Xerox Phaser 6010 also has a 10-sheet multi-purpose tray for specialty papers and envelopes. One drawback for the Phaser 6010's use as a business printer is the lack of an automatic duplexing feature. Users can print two-sided documents using manual duplexing software, but this is only available on Windows computers.

M. David Stone of PCMag.com says the Xerox Phaser 6010N has "reasonably high-quality output." With text quality a little below par, the Phaser 6010N produces documents adequate for personal use or everyday business printing. Stone considers the graphics to be on par with other color laser printers but the photo quality is on the lower end of color laser printer quality. However, Jacobi and Riofrio of PCWorld like the print quality of this printer, saying it has impressive text and color output. While they say that the colors are slightly cool and dark, they still look natural and details are sharply defined. Stone highlights a feature of this printer that will be of interest to graphic artists and other users who need accurate color representations. The Xerox Phaser 6010 offers Pantone-approved solid color simulation that enables users to match Pantone colors as closely as possible.

Like many color laser printers, the Xerox Phaser 6010 is Energy Star qualified, due to its energy-saving features. Reviewers highlight that this printer is exceptional in that it uses only 180 watts of power, which TopTenReviews identifies as one of the lowest power consumptions of any laser printer. In addition, Simon Williams of Trusted Reviews comments that this model runs very quietly. One drawback to the Xerox Phaser 6010 is its projected running costs, due to expensive toner cartridges, though this may only be an issue for low-volume offices.

The Xerox Phaser 6010 gets thorough reviews from TopTenReviews.com, PC World, PCMag.com and Trusted Reviewed. Each source puts the printer through a number of performance tests and analyzes the results.