The small office I work for leased this machine in January of this 2005 after looking at several other comparable products. With just about 6 full-time and 2 part-time work stations and a new emphasis on communicating with various constituencies, it was time to upgrade from our black and white Toshiba sans the finisher.

Of course, the dealer is just as much a part of your experience of the product as the product itself when leasing, but I would suggest this copier for certain growing organizations that will continue to do key print jobs out of house. But be prepared to grow out of this machine too, though, as color copies are not crisp enough for high-profile presentations and mailings. Don't expect to get more than what is realistic out of this machine.

We also use this machine with the finisher (an in-kind donation from our dealer) which can saddle stitch, staple, hole punch and fold letter or ledger size sheets. The product is pictured here with the finisher. The finisher is a must for any booklet projects, menus or event programs. I've also put the finisher through high-volume jobs (+1000) and have never had an issue with jams. Toner is CMYK cartridges (about 1' long) that are, thankfully, very easy to change, but the toner will flake on regular photos, particularly after a few copies of the same document.

This machine is our primary office fax, network printer, copier, and scanner. We have saved money on printing fliers and inserts in-house but, as I said, have sacrificed quality at times. Complicated documents can take a while (up to 5 minutes in some cases) to for the machine to set up and print. According to Toshiba, the 3511 has a faster warm-up time than competing convenience color devices, extensive network scanning, duplex printing included as standard, high monthly duty cycle, 999 copy capability and 3,700 sheet maximum paper supply, and ease-of-use for physically challenged users.

The paper trays are very easy to pull out and close. Four trays (including one side feed, 50-sheet maximum tray) hold letter, legal or ledger size paper of varying thicknesses. Main tray holds 2-3 reams of 24 lb. letter stock, and side feed tray is perfect for holding letterhead or lightweight cardstock.

Details
Copy Method, Digital
Max Monthly Volume, 150,000

Copy Speed (CPM):
35 PPM Black and White
11 PPM Color

Warm-up Time:
35 Seconds, Black and White
16.2 Seconds, Color

First Copy Time, 6.8 Seconds (Letter)
Multiple Copying 1-999
Duplex Standard
Copy Process Toshiba Revolver B&W/Color Printing System
Scan Once Print Many
Xenon Lamp Scan Resolution 600 dpi X 600 xpi (B&W and Color)
Print Resolution 2400 dpi x 600 dpi (B&W), 1200 dpi X 600 dpi (Color)

Paper Sizes:
Letter (8 1/2 X 11")
Legal (8 1/2 14")
Ledger (11 x17")

Printer:
10/100 BaseT Ethernet Interface
Standard Print Speed 35 PPM Black and White 11 PPM Color
Wireless 802.11b LAN Adapter Optional

Dimensions (HxWxD):
30"X26"x29"
Weight 247 lbs.
Black Toner Yield 27K (T3511C - Cyan) (T3511Y - Yellow) (T3511M- Magenta) Color Toner Yield 10K (T3511K- Black)

Most important to me were the review categories that appear below:

I needed something that could print on cardstock, high-gloss papers and other nonstandard mediums. And although I was sold this copier primarily for this reason, it has failed me miserably. It melts high-gloss stock and the tonor won't stick to anything thicker than 50+ lb. cardstock. Don't kid yourself on this "feature."

I needed a duplexer that didn't jam and could print out quickly. And I got it with this machine. Yay! Though duplexing from the side feeder is a little bit annoying, duplexing from the auto feed trays is very easy.

I needed something that worked well on a Peer-to-Peer network.Yes, I know. We're living in the dark ages, but I needed drivers and software that were easy to install on multiple PC's using a P2P network. Not only does the Toshiba 3511 work well, but it also allows you to control which drivers different employees can use. This way, an internet hopping hourly employee won't eat up lots and lots of color clicks but your boss can internet hop as much as he/she likes and do the same.

I needed something EXTREMELY user-friendly. Forget about "physically challenged users" Toshiba talks about . . .what about my anti-technology staff? I did NOT want to be running to the damn copier every single time someone wanted to scan, fax, copy in color, collate, etc. In all, I rate the Toshiba at about a 8 out 10 for this. Although I am still called upon for basic functions and set up, most of the staff will at least attempt to solve their own technical issues with this machine first. The easy to read interface gets all the credit with great easy to read instructions for locating jams, changing toner and paper, etcetera.

I needed something easily controlled from the workstation. Toshiba should be commended on this software. It is SO easy to use with clearly marked tabs for everything from saving preset settings for monthly reports and other recurring print jobs, watermarking (with a good range of transparency) and collating. Most of the staff has even figured out how to make it do what they want it to do as well. Furthermore, Toshiba offers all drivers and necessary information online on a website that is easy to navigate.

Overall, my best advice is to shop around as much for your dealer/tech support as for the product. I happen to work for an office with a semi-techie onsite (me!) but some offices might save time and money by skipping this middle step and moving on to a printer with higher resolution graphics and the capability to print on diverse paper weights.


Recommended: Yes