The Oki B2200 printer is a small mono printer which produces output just like you would expect a small mono laser printer would. It does this by using a LED optical system, not a laser optical system. Okidata pioneered the LED technology, and has been quite faithful in using it. Here are pictures from Okidata's site showing the difference in the system.
Okidata says:
Laser systems rely on elaborate combinations of rotating mirrors and lenses that must remain in alignment through use. The laser scans from one end of a line to another, then zig-zags down to the next line.
LED technology uses a Light Emitting Diode printhead as a light source within the imaging device. Unlike laser systems, the LED printhead is solid-state and has no moving parts. The LED bar pulse-flashes across the entire page width and creates the image on the print drum as it moves down.
As you can see, there are fewer places where the LED system can go out of alignment than there are on a laser printer. Other than that, the output is what you would expect from a home laser printer going for two or three times the current price for the Oki B2200.
Images from Okidata site explanation of LED vs. Laser technology.
The Okidata site gives $136 for the MSRP, but, aside from one site which seems to think they can get people to pay $200 for the printer, it is retailing online for $47 to $100 dollars.
Okidata says it is compatible with Vista, XP, 2000, NT4.0 Windows OS, and Mac OS 9 and 10.3 and up. Okidata does not list Linux drivers on its site, but I found a Ubuntu forum with a driver .pdf file which posts say works with the Oki B2200.
The B2200 is only set up for a USB connection to one computer. However, there are other printers in the Oki B2200 line which do have networking capability, for prices online from $69 to $220.
Like almost all printers, it does not come with the needed USB cable. Be aware a user noted that it needs a square end USB cable to fit the printer.
Okidata gives it a speed of 21 ppm, after a 6 second warm up. It has one 150 sheet paper tray, with no upgrade available. The output tray holds 30 sheets. Unusually, the paper path turns a full 180 degrees inside the printer, but it does have a manual front paper feed which goes straight through the printer. It takes a single sheet at a time, but can be used for envelopes and heavy stock paper.
It prints on letter, legal, A4, A5, A6, Com 10 and Monarch envelopes and in the manual feed can use up to 32 bond stock. The supplies listed in association with the printer have transparencies for sale, but the product description does not mention printing on transparencies.
It is not a duplex printer, and none of the series have the capability to duplex. It can add watermarks to paper. There are 4 indicators on the printer showing power, online status, paper jams, and other errors. There are 2 buttons, one for power, and one to send it online. The printer does not have a standby mode, so when it is turned off, no energy is used.
Okidata is very sure of their technology, and warranties the LED printhead for 5 years. The printer itself has a 1 year warranty.
It lists a monthly duty cycle of 15,000 pages, but since 15,000 pages is the recommended life of the image drum, I think it would be more accurate to say the printer has a life cycle of 15,000 pages. Across a life of 3 years, that works out to about 5000 pages a year, or a bit over 400 pages a month. So if you think you will average printing about 100 pages a week, this would be a good printer for you. It does not sound suitable for anything larger than a small home office, a casual family printer, or a printer for a student. It prints at 1200 x 600 dpi, weighs a bit over 9 pounds, and has a footprint of 12.6 x 8 x 7.1 inches. When the paper tray is attached, it extends out from the back of the printer and nearly doubles the depth of the printer in space needed. However, you could put it at the back of a desk and have the paper tray extend into the air if you did not have a lot of space. Interestingly enough, Okidata has a total cost of ownership page - and they give the results that this printer does not save you money over 3 years vs. comparable printers. However, if you read through the comparisons, only one of the other printers entered has its original cost entered, and there is no mention of the price of the consumables that should be being compared. Testing is done by GAP Intelligence, and I don't know if this problem is due to poor research on their part, since the page is not actually on the Okidata site. This argues well for Okidata's honesty, but raises questions about the printer costs, covered in the next section.
Continue on to the next page for the remainder of Bright Hub's review of the Oki B2200 printer.