The CRN Test Center found the printer very easy to set up. Toner cartridges come preinstalled, although they do have to be removed, stripped of packing materials and replaced before the printer can be used. But because they come preinstalled, there's no mystery as to where and how they fit. The photo-developer cartridge is delicate and light-sensitive, so it's shipped outside the printer and must be installed by the solution provider, but this takes only minutes. After attaching any accessories such as an optional paper drawer and loading paper, the C510 is ready to print.

It's hard to believe such a small printer can print as fast as it does--it literally flies when printing monochrome. A 10-page monochrome Word document took only 30 seconds to print, with the first page ready in just 12 seconds. Of all printers tested over the past year or so, this is actually the second fastest monochrome laser printer of all, beaten only by Xerox's brand-new Phaser 7750.

The C510 is not a single-pass unit, so color printing requires four passes and therefore takes longer than black-only text. A 10-page Word document with color headings took 1 minute 27 seconds to print with the first page out in 19 seconds; many color laser printers are faster, but generally not by much. For comparison purposes, note that Lexmark's C510 prints text in color significantly faster than Samsung's CLP-500. Every other color laser printer reviewed by the Test Center over the past year, all single-pass units, could print color text a little faster than the C510. But all of those printers were a lot bigger and more expensive.

Color graphics and photo output from the C510 look great, and the unit actually prints this type of page faster than HP's Laserjet 3700n and Laserjet 9500. The C510 is also faster than Samsung's CLP-500 color laser printer. The C510 printed a high-resolution photo of a castle in just 34 seconds. That's more than twice as fast as everything else that's been tested over the past year, with the exception of Xerox's Phaser 6250 (which is slightly faster than the C510) and Xerox's Phaser 7750 (which is about twice as fast).

The base model C510 can be had for as little as $599 as a special deal for solution providers only. Lexmark's channel program has been in place for more than 10 years. Basically, revenue determines where a partner falls in the hierarchy. Top-tier partners qualify for face-to-face sales coverage, systems engineering and application specialist support, and market development funds. Profit margins are typically in the range of 10 percent to 12 percent. Interestingly, solution providers can install 10 of these printers in individual offices for less than it would cost to set up one high-end color laser printer that everyone would have to share. The C510 just can't print on wide paper.