IT Pro Verdict
Busy SMBs that demand the best output quality and tight access security from their MFP will find Oki's C573dn a worthy contender. Cloud support is minimal and wireless is optional, but this LED MFP still delivers a lot of document management features at a very good price.
Pros
- +
Outstanding image quality; Consumables aren't too pricey
Cons
- -
Wireless not included as standard; Limited remote scanning and cloud support
Don't be put off by its blocky retro look; Oki's MC573dn colour MFP is offering a lot of features for your money. Along with 4-in-1 print, scan, copy and fax operations, its LED-based engine is rated at a true 1,200dpi resolution and has a speedy 30ppm print performance.
The recommended monthly duty cycle of 6,000 pages makes it a great choice for print hungry workgroups and Oki will extend its warranty to three years if you register it within 30 days of purchase. The printer's flat paper path allows it to handle heavy 220gms media and print banners up to 1.32 metres long when you open up the front MP tray and rear output slot.
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The classy output quality of the LED engine makes the MC573dn a great choice for producing marketing material, as it delivers Oki's characteristic vibrancy and high levels of detail. Text quality, even for 6pt fonts, is razor sharp while colour photos and graphics benefit from good contrast and detail.
The driver's Photo Enhance setting made visible improvements by increasing sharpness and contrast giving our test colour photos extra depth. Our only complaint is large areas of single colours show a slight cross-hatching effect.
Despite the numerous consumables, printing costs are within the expected range for this market sector. The four high yield toner cartridges and individual drums plus belt and fuser deliver a mono page for 1.7p and a colour one for 9.1p.
Performance for general office printing is impeccable, with a 30-page Word document despatched in 60 seconds at both 600dpi and 1,200dpi resolutions. It had no problems with our challenging 24-page colour DTP document at 600dpi, but faltered at 1,200dpi where the frequent pauses as it encountered large colour photos dropped speed to 18ppm.
The scanner delivered top quality copies of colour reports and glossy magazine covers but its ADF only supports one-pass simplex scans. Fine if you're running one-sided copies but for duplex copies, it has to pull each page back to reverse it, resulting in copy speeds dropping to 6ppm.
Walk up operations are simplified as the big flip-up 17.5cm colour touchscreen is very clear and easy to use. Its job macro feature will prove handy as this combines groups of scan, copy or fax settings for quick two-tap selection.
Connection options extend to USB 2 and Gigabit but Oki's optional wireless module plugs easily into a side panel and costs around 33. AirPrint is enabled out of the box but only Google Cloud Print is supported, while Oki's Mobile Print iOS app doesn't offer any remote scanning features.
The Windows Configuration Tool remotely manages the printer's fax speed dial and email address lists while those running the ActKey utility can be accessed from the printer's panel as remote scan destinations. Along with 1GB of system memory, the MC573dn has 3GB of eMMC Flash memory which can be used to store custom forms and logos uploaded from the Storage Manager desktop plug-in.
The driver allows a PIN to be assigned to protect confidential prints but for greater access security and printing controls try Oki's free smart PrintSuperVision (sPSV) web server. We tested this on a Windows 10 desktop and used the sPSV web console to restrict access to colour printing, set page limits and control scan, copy and fax operations for selected users and hosts.
Busy SMBs that demand the best output quality and tight access security from their MFP will find Oki's C573dn a worthy contender. Cloud support is minimal and wireless is optional, but this LED MFP still delivers a lot of document management features at a very good price.
Verdict
Busy SMBs that demand the best output quality and tight access security from their MFP will find Oki's C573dn a worthy contender. Cloud support is minimal and wireless is optional, but this LED MFP still delivers a lot of document management features at a very good price.
1200 x 1200dpi A4 colour LED MFP
600dpi colour flatbed A4 scanner
1GB RAM
3GB eMMC Flash
30ppm mono/colour
17.5cm colour touchscreen
2 x USB 2
Gigabit
33.6Kbps fax/modem
2 x RJ-11
Duplex
250-page input tray
100-page MPT
50-page ADF
Rec. monthly duty cycle, 6,000 pages
427 x 576 x 472mm (WDH)
31kgs
3yrs on-site warranty on registration. Options: 11n wireless, £33 ex VAT
Running costs
