As one of the earlier color multifunction centers in the less than one thousand dollar price range, the Epson AcuLaser CX11N offers very high performance marks in monochrome mode, but lacks slightly when dealing in color printing. Sluggish print speed is a tell tale marking of these earlier models, and while the CX11N delivers a rapid 25 pages per minute in black and white, color printing tops out at only 5 pages per minute, making high volume color projects tedious to work with.
Another area where color production falls far behind is in first copy times, with monochrome squeezing in at just under 12 seconds, and color falling way behind with 29 seconds of waiting before even your first page. With an additional warm up time of 37 seconds when the device is in full power off mode, these color print specs are unacceptable by today’s standards, however, if color multifunctionality is required only on occasion, and not in high volume, the Epson AcuLaser CX11N should serve just fine thanks to its impressive lineup of features.
With both a USB connection port for single user use as well as an Ethernet port for networking, the Epson AcuLaser CX11N is compatible with any number of connectivity configurations for both Windows bases systems as well as Macs. Scans can be made directly from the device to a computer via dedicated send to buttons with an optical resolution of 600 x 600 dots per inch and an interpolated resolution of up to 9600 x 9600 dots per inch. Color scans rely on a sufficient 24 bit color depth.
A fifty sheet automatic document feeder helps drastically when dealing with large copy and scan projects, though will usually not be necessary for color media considering the slow output rate. The ADF can also operate with legal sized paper, as well as letter sized, and the document glass can be used for smaller page sizes.
Other paper handling abilities include a 180 sheet standard media capacity and a maximum capacity of up to 680 sheets. A depth of 18.4 inches and a width of about 18 inches make the Epson AcuLaser CX11N’s footprint about average for a unit of its caliber. The height of 23.3 inches can be explained by the raised automatic document feeder and floating copy glass, while the weight of 68 pounds is also fairly standard.
A standard memory of 128 MBs should manage most workloads adequately, but for complex print material a memory upgrade may keep the Epson AcuLaser CX11N moving at nominal speed. Upgrades can be purchased separately but cannot exceed a combined total of 576 MBs including what’s on board.
Powerful and productive convenience features such as reduction and enlargement with zoom ratios from 25% all the way up to 400% are implemented in print, copy, scan, and fax functions, making the Epson AcuLaser CX11N at least competitive with similar models on the market. A one year warranty completes the package, and also includes a year of on site repair service, making the CX11N, if nothing else, a safe buy for those who require color capabilities, but not at high output.
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