Minolta's marketing speak says on their website "you get what you pay for" and I can only interpret this as a pun because I would have to disagree. The small price tag is in no relation to the surprisingly good output quality and overall user experience.

The printer sets up in minutes and produces consistent, high quality color images from the get go. There is no configuration besides the driver install and the simple interface that does without a fancy LCD display and says "simplicity" all over it.

The Magicolor is also faster than I had thought producing at least 6 color prints per minute. Loading different media is easy but does require the removal of all previous media. Envelopes print fine but I do notice that the printer leaves little folding marks on the paper depending on the stock.

All in all, I could only find one weakness: the printer comes with "starter" cartdridges which are not all the way full. I felt a little cheated that someone would actually not fill a cartdridge to full capacity but I guess that's the name of the game and other manufacturers are known to do the same.

Since the unit was so inexpensive, we decided to buy the extended Staples warranty for $50 which provides 4 hour technical support and instant replacement if the unit is ever defective.

Go get this printer for your home or small office network. You won't be disappointed and you will get more than you paid for,

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $499
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh