We evaluated the printers on the basis of their feature set, build quality, ergonomics, performance and warranty and support.

Features :
Entry level color laser printers don't differ much with respect to features. The print resolution of every printer was the same and none of them had support for automatic duplexing. So we gave points only for certain important features such as the printer's footprint, manual single-sheet feed, support for network printing and print economy. We noted the technical specifications for each printer, but didn't give them any weightage.

Build Quality :
Here we subjectively evaluated the quality of the printer's chassis, paper trays, buttons and cables. We loosed out for solidly built chassis and paper trays. These were rated on a five-point scale.

Ergonomics:
We examined the layout of the control panel and evaluated how easy it was to install toner cartridges. All the three printers had a simple control panel with just indicators for toners, paper jam, ready status and no paper warning and a cancel button. To assess the ease of cartridge installation we noted the type of retention mechanism used and how well the cartridges snapped into position. Points were also given for ease in loading paper and convenience in adjusting the paper size in the tray. On the software front we evaluated the ease of use of the printer's driver and application and the quality of help files and troubleshooting guides.

Performance :
We first switched on the printer and logged the time it took to initialize to ready state. Then we printed a batch of text documents (black), combi documents (color) and a color A4 photo. The print speed was measured with the help of a stopwatch. We also took 'Best Quality' prints of fine text, A4 photo, and combi document on Berga 100 gsm Alabaster paper and evaluated the print quality subjectively on a 5-point scale. Close-up shots of fine text prints were compared side-by¬side for a fair evaluation. Being most important, this section was allotted 50 percent of the overall score.

Warranty and support :
With a robust warranty period you can be rest assured you won't have to shell out a penny should anything go wrong with your printer. In addition to this, it's good to have a service center within your reach. We logged the number of service centers in India and the number of cities in which these are present.Print economy is the next important parameter after print quality for any color printer. However, if the print quality of the models you're considering doesn't differ much, then the price of the printer and consumables become the most important parameter. Here's the print economy math of each color laser printer we evaluated in this comparison.