Kyocera A4 monochrome and A3 colour printers earn prestigious BLI awards and top ratings

15 February 2013

Kyocera Document Solutions, one of the world’s leading document solutions companies, is pleased to announce that its FS-4300DN and FS-C8650DN printers have garnered Buyers Laboratory's (BLI) coveted Pick of the Year and Highly Recommended awards.

BLI bestowed its Pick of the Year award on Kyocera's FS-4300DN printer as best of the best in the A4 Monochrome Printers for Large Workgroups category. The FS-4300DN also received BLI's Highly Recommended rating.

Handover of the BLI Pick Awards
Handover of the BLI Pick Awards:
Berthold Hurtz, Product Manager KYOCERA Document Solutions Europe and David Sweetnam, BLI

“We’ve come to expect outstanding reliability from Kyocera devices, and the FS-4300DN was no exception,” said BLI’s European Lab Manager Ian Latham. BLI subjected the FS-4300DN to a gruelling two-month durability test, and the printer displayed Kyocera's typical dependability, running smoothly without misfeed or service call. The drum and developer's capability to last for an incredible 500,000 A4 pages impressed BLI as well. Still another plus was the device's productivity, in particular, its output of up to 60 ppm - highest in its class.

However, the highlight amongst the many outstanding features was the new KX 6.0 driver, which now allows users to configure settings from the Printing Preferences dialogue box. “There’s no doubt that one standout feature of the FS-4300DN is the new driver design,” added David Sweetnam, head of BLI’s European lab and services. "Kyocera completely redesigned the graphical user interface to enhance usability. Users need fewer clicks to find the printing options they require and all driver options appear in the same window, arranged clearly and logically."

Exceptional image quality and minimum environmental impact

In the A3 Colour Departmental Printer category, Kyocera's FS-C8650DN was BLI's "Pick." It also received the Highly Recommended rating. BLI cited the device's excellent reliability and productivity, the latter being the highest in its class at 55 ppm for monochrome and 50 ppm for multicolour printing, as factors in their decision. The FS-C8650DN also displayed superior image quality, and its long-life consumables cut waste, reduce environmental impact and lower the total cost of ownership.

Berthold Hurtz, Product Manager with Kyocera Document Solutions Europe B.V was delighted, but not surprised, saying, “BLI put FS-C8650DN's image quality and productivity to the test and the unit didn't disappoint, producing sharp text and superior rendering of pastel shades and fine lines.”

BLI testing: Tough but fair

Throughout the industry, BLI is known for its rigorous two-month testing of office-equipment products, including an extensive durability test for imaging devices during which BLI runs each unit for extended periods at the manufacturer’s maximum duty cycle. Other performance attributes BLI evaluate include ease of use, media handling, productivity and value.

About Kyocera Document Solutions Europe B.V.

Kyocera Document Solutions is one of the world's leading office document solutions companies. Its range of products and services includes Ecosys printers, reliable multifunctional systems, high-quality consumables, a comprehensive portfolio of software solutions and Managed Document Services (MDS). Kyocera Document Solutions provides innovative products built on a foundation of long-life components. Its customers benefit from low total cost of ownership and high efficiency in any workplace. Its solutions portfolio and Managed Document Services division help customers to reduce costs and environmental impact at the same time as improving the efficiency and reliability of common business processes. For further information, visit: www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.eu.

Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera Corporation, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2009. Ranked no. 604 on Forbes magazine’s 2011 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, Kyocera is a leading manufacturer of high-tech ceramics, electronic components, solar cells and electronic office equipment. Kyocera’s long-term growth strategy is to focus on business that supports telecommunications, information processing, environmental protection and the preservation of quality of life.