Inkjets have taken the nation by storm - but I hate them. Laser printers are faster, quieter, (generally) cheaper and have better quality on cheaper paper. I have always wanted a laser printer, and when I found a P8 for $199 about a year and a half ago on some bid site (probably uBid, but not certain) I jumped at the chance.
The P8 has a small footprint - a true blessing for my already cramped computer desk. IMHO the paper tray slants back an inch or so too much, forcing me to place it a bit further away from the wall than I'd like, but I manage.
There are two exit paths for media: one curls back up vertically where is is held in place, the other shoots straight out the front (where it falls to the floor in my case, as my printer is perched on a ledge-type arrangement) - this is the secret to the small footprint. This does not present a problem in most cases as I generally set the paper to roll vertically, but more on that in a bit.
I don't have a heavy print duty, and my toner cart. has lasted me over a year. I'm not certain how many pages each cart. will last, but I have kept an eye out for replacements and have never seen one on a shelf. Don't know if this will pose a problem when it runs out.
The printer can handle 8 1/2" x 11" and 11" x 14" without any difficulty. The printer can handle envelopes, but not very well: you have to fiddle with the plastic guide to keep the envelopes straight (some printers, notable HP LaserJets do not have this problem) and unless you have the deskspace, you either have to catch the envelopes (which should come out straight rather than roll up into the catch tray) or let them fall all over the floor. I've also had some problems with jamming when trying to feed a batch of envelopes: the source tray doesn't seem to work well with more than a couple). I attempted to print some business cards on heavy cardstock and the toner didn't fuse - even a light scratch with a fingernail would remove large swaths of toner behind.
The printer requires significantly less time to warm up than other lasers: even though I keep mine powered down most of the time I can usually get a page out in under 60 seconds, including power-up.
Xerox has drivers which work under Windows 2000 - even though the drivers don't say "Windows 2000" - available from their website. Technical support it a bit better than the industry average, though I can't comment on hardware repair as it has never come up. Given the low cost of the printer though, it may be cheaper and/or easier to buy a new one should the unit fail out of warranty.
For entry-level/light-duty, this printer does an acceptable job. I would not recommend paying more than $150 or so for the device - $300 is altogether too much. The output looks good even on lower-quality paper - unlike inkjets where paper quality is half of the results.
Prints up to 8 pages per minute True 600 x 600 dpi, 1800 x 600 dpi enhanced Two parallel ports for sharing 250-sheet input, 100-sheet output capacity ...More at Amazon Marketplace
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