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We are also not very satisfied with the C3600's style, but we have never been too taken with laser printers generally speaking. The flat white C3600 measures 371 by 290 by 478mm and weighs approximately 21kg. We wouldn't call it a behemoth, but it's larger than the Samsung CLP315W, which measures only 389 by 244 by 312mm. The C3600 even weighs roughly 9kg more than the CLP-315W, therefore people who have modest desk space will most likely be more happy with a smaller sized machine.
All ports that are needed to connect the printer to your computer is positioned at the back of the chassis, which include a USB and an Ethernet port for networking over multiple systems. One other important feature missing on the C3600 is a front mounted USB port allowing you to connect PictBridge- compatible cameras and also direct printing from your USB flash storage drive.
Considering that it is only a single function laser printer, it is only equipped with few added features, however we applaud Oki for making use of a 400MHz processor along with a hefty 128 mb of memory, which enables the C3600 to manage even larger print jobs as compared to the competition. You can even upgarde the memory up to 640MB.
The C3600's cyan, magenta, yellow and black toner cartridges are individually separated and is placed directly underneath the top cover and is lined up horizontally. This printer is released with 'standard' capacity cartridges. Based upon the claims from Oki, the black cartridge lasts for 1,500 pages and each of the three colour cartridges lasts for 1,000 prints. A replacement black cartridge costs about 35, while the replacement of the colour cartridges is approximately 55. There are also high-capacity cartridges from Oki that can print 2500 black pages at around 50 and 70 for 2500 colour pages. There are also available toner cartridges that is compatible with OKI C3600 at 30% saving. The recommended monthly work cycle for this printer is 35000 pages, which is more than adequate for small businesses.
The C3600 fared very well in a direct output speed assessment with 3 other colour laser printers. It came 2nd best in all our tests, just behind the Brother Hl4040CN, also a single-function printer at thesame price range. The black text were printed at amost a similar speed as the HL -4040CN, generating 15.61 pages per minute, in contrast to the HL-4040CN's 15.66. This couldn't keep up with the Samsung CLP-315W in the colour presentation test, but with this printer, I'm pretty sure that you won't be waiting too long for any document to be printed.
The performance of the C3600 in all our print-quality test looked very promising. The black text appeared as good as we expect to have from a laser printer, with bold line formation as well as smooth gradation along font size scales. Additionally, the C3600 handled our text graphics admirably, displaying excellent signs of colour separation as well as well-defined image distinction, even in some of the delicate blending detail. Not surprisingly, a few of the images appeared slightly smudgy and pixellated, however the general print quality across presentations, graphics as well as simple text increased our overall impression of this specific printer.
The Oki C3600 is fairly substantial and hefty, and it does not boast a plethora of features. However, it does deliver high-quality prints at a fast rate, which makes it among our most liked colour laser printers.
Oki C3600 toner cartridges are to be found here.
Theodore Beach is a long time member of the Cartridge Concept team which specialises in toner cartridges.
