@TF22Raptor

I only know a good German source for printer tests:
http://www.druckerchannel.de/ranking.php?tabelle=laser_farbe

They take pictures from the printed letter 'a' with the help of a microscope:
http://www.druckerchannel.de/cache_bilder/std/und_beim_normaldruck_keine...

It may sound theoretically, but there are big differences with regard to the precision and thickness, in which laser printers print letters. HP seems to print too thin, at least the monochrome printers.

You also should care about duplex precision and the document authenticity of the toner. For example it can happen, that the toner gets off, if you fold the paper, although it is resistant against finger nails and wetness.

I have heard, that the toner, that Lexmark uses, is document authentic. Samsung is not. But Lexmark tends to print thicker than Samsung, at least, if you compare the monochrome printers.

Unfortunately they never tested a Xante printer.

I would like to know more of those sources.

Thanks Arno anyone out there in Typophile land got any other laser printer recommendations for graphic design use?

I bought a Xerox Phaser 6130 a year ago and the quality is very good. As I recall, it worked 'out of the box'. The setup switch, which I found to be fiddly, is similar to the multi-position switches on mobile phones and cameras, so if you're familiar with those, you'll have no problem. I've not had to replace one of the 4 cartridges, but I'm a light (home) user.

As to whether it's the 'best' or not, I can't say, but it does reproduce text, drawn vector shapes and solid fills extremely well and photographs look pretty good. The problem is that one person's 'excellent', is another person's 'average'. I've used standard laser/copier paper and photographic. The output is very good on both, but it's noticeably better on the photographic paper. I've had a couple of inkjets and in every respect the Xerox is much better. It was reasonably priced, too.

Hi Ian, thanks for the input can the Phaser 6130 do edge to edge A4 (borderless)? and what is the thickest stock you have used in it?

As far as I know, there’s always a border. You can specify no margin in Page Setup, but prints have a 3mm gap all round.

I’ve printed on 120gsm Matt Picture paper. The manual lists various papers including Thick Card stock up to 220gsm, but it wouldn’t accept 180gsm Photo Gloss Inkjet paper. The printer is very particular about paper types; you have to specify the correct paper type in the printer’s menu. I’ll investigate.