The Lexmark E312L laser printer may not deliver pages at the speed of light, but it comes about as close as you could possibly expect from a sub-$500 machine.

Aimed at the small business user, the E312L's print speed is listed at up to 10 pages per minute - and I believe it. And, with resolution options as high as 1200 dpi available, those pages are as crisp as the crease in a junior partner's trousers.

The E312L comes with 2MB of base memory, with room to expand that to 66MB for graphics-intense print jobs. In addition to the 1200 dpi setting, the unit reproduces at 600 dpi for standard jobs, and 300 dpi for draft work and toner savings. The regular toner cartridge's service life is projected to be about 6,000 pages.

A total of 75 PCL scalable fonts come preloaded, along with 75 PostScript fonts and 110 TrueTypeTM fonts.

The setup on my iMac was relatively quick and easy - not exactly "plug and play," but simple enough to follow, as long as you include every step outlined in the instructions.

Compared to some of the previous generation lasers, the E312L is quite light, with a footprint that rivals some inkjets for compactness. It's still heavier than your standard inkjet, though, so I wouldn't entertain thoughts of taking it out on a road trip with your portable. That weight seems to pay off in relatively low noise levels - the E312L emits a businesslike hum as it spews out page after page of text, virtually one page on top of the next.

This Lexmark seems well suited for text-heavy, black and white applications like legal offices. The only drawback we noted during testing was the paper feed system.

Although the vast majority of the pages we sent came through the machine quickly and easily (we never encountered an actual jam), the printer did stop occasionally, waiting for the insertion of more paper when a dozen sheets remained in the inlet.

The gravity paper feed system has become almost an industry standard, since it drastically reduces production costs and overall weight, so the best way to reduce IT DIDN'T PRINT panic is probably to invest in a slightly higher quality paper.

The best news about the Lexmark E312L is its price. At a list price of $479, the E312L looks like a pretty good deal for a good quality, fast laser printer. If you're less interested in colour than you are interested in sharp, clean and fast reproduction, this printer could be the workplace workhorse you've been looking for.

More information on the E312L is available at http://www.lexmark.com/canada/thinkagain

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