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We just purchased a Xerox Phaser 7750GX - we've had it up and running for about a month.

This replaced a Phaser 780 Graphics which always produced good color for us.

The 7750GX is pretty comparible color wise... not spot on like a contract proof, but great for soft proofing and comps.

The big difference for us has been speed... 4ppm for the 780 vs. 35 for the 7750. It's very fast. The output is also less shiny than the 780 - the toner is more of a matte finish. This is noticeable on areas with heavy color coverage. The glossy finish of the 780 always seemed a little odd.

A couple of problems that we're had:

- The printer arrived with the colors slightly out of register. We had a tech come in and work on it but they are still not in perfect register - less than half a point but noticable. I don't ever remember seeing this problem with the 780 and we are still working with our service rep to get it taken care of.

- Also, the software built into the printer had a bug with Quark 6 (Xerox claims it is a bug in Quark) but when we printed a rich black (100%K, 40%C) with SWOP or Commercial Press color correction, the printer output a medium blue. Very strange, but Xerox is aware of the problem and has a software fix that can be downloaded and installed on the printer. They claim that the next Quark update should fix the problem as well.

The 7750GX comes with advanced color calibration software, however, with the exception of basic color balancing, you will need a spectrophotometer to create custom color profiles. However, the built-in SWOP Press and Commercial Press settings have worked well for us.

The printer also has an sRGB color setting that provides very good outputs of RGB web and CD-ROM comps when we need to present them on boards.

Of course, if price is no concern, you can purchase the EX7750 which comes with an EFI Fiery Network Color Server (starting out at around $18,000).

I've heard a lot of people recommending the Okidata printers. We considered the OKI 9500 when we were reviewing printers. We sent a variety of files to our sales rep and had them output the files on the 7750GX, OKI C9500dxn, and an HP (I can't remember the model). Neither the OKI or HP came close to the color of the 7750. I haven't used an Okidata printer to know if through color correction/calibration it could produce better color.

You should definately request outputs to compare for yourself. I suggest having them output your own files that have been printed or that you have a contract proof to really compare the correct colors.

Be sure to also consider operating costs - toner and other consumables - on a per page amount. I'm not sure how many pages the 7750 gets on a single set of toner, but our CFO has reminded me several times that a full set of Xerox toner for the 7750 costs about a grand.

Abu's suggestion is also a good one - our local Kinkos have the Phaser 7750. Make sure that you test out the various color correction settings.