The Xerox Phaser 6180/DN is a fast color laser printer geared for small and medium office use. Its relatively low cost might even make it a good choice for home use, but its bulky size may be a challenge in most home environments.

The D and N in the name refer to duplexing and networking, respectively. The unit has a built-in duplexing (double-sided printing) feature, which can save money and paper waste. The printer features a built-in ethernet port for connecting directly to a network. This allows for sharing the printer easily across a network without the need for a host computer. In addition to the ethernet port, there are USB 2.0 and parallel connections available as well. The printer features a 400mhz processor and 128 mb of RAM, which can be upgraded to 1GB if more memory is needed. A 250-sheet main drawer is included, as well as a 150-sheet multipurpose tray for other types and sizes of media.

The unit ships with toner cartridges which have a capacity of 3,000 pages black and 2,000 pages color. High-capacity cartridges are available as well with capacities of 8,000 pages black and 6,000 pages color. Though the high-capacity cartridges are more expensive, the per-page costs are much lower, resulting in significantly lower operating costs. Using high-capacity cartridges, costs are around 2.4 cents per page in black, and 12.2 cents per page in color.

Print speeds are fast for its class, at 17 pages per minute black and 14 pages per minute color. Print quality is excellent, especially black text and graphics, both coming out very sharp and detailed. Color text and graphics suffer from artifacts and color inaccuracies, which is common for color laser printers.

Overall, the 6180/DN is a solid performing printer capable of high-volume use. Its speed and print quality are impressive, and the inclusion of duplexing and networking is a nice bonus. Choose the high-capacity toner cartridge replacements for lower ink costs.