The Kyocera FS-1030D is a double sided mono laser printer that provides value for money for individuals or small workgroups. It features a print speed of up to 22 pages per minute, 1200 dpi print quality and both USB and parallel interfaces. Once again, it continues the use of Kyocera's ECOSYS technology, which focuses on using recyclable consumables to save money.

Many laser printers use an imaging cartridge that integrates a drum, developer and toner into a single unit which is replaced each time the toner is exhausted. Kyocera printers instead feature a ceramic and metal drum with tiny ceramic particles that continually polish the drum during printing. This, Kyocera claim, allows the drum to remain in use for up to 100,000 pages. The initial toner pack will print 3600 pages (5% coverage) and replacement toner costs $129 and will print up to 7000 pages (5% coverage). When the drum has reached its lifecycle, it can't be replaced and you'll need to purchase a new printer.

The FS-1030D is quite compact for a laser printer and measures 378 x 375 x 235 mm, making it ideal if you need to save office space. Alternatively Kyocera offers a cabinet complete with wheels and storage, as an optional extra. The design is fairly straightforward, with only two buttons on the top of the unit sitting below four LED lights, which are used to signify the unit's status (when refilling the paper tray for example). The LEDs also display power, current jobs, paper status and toner levels. There is no on-screen LCD display, so all your printing options will have to be adjusted via your PC.

The printer uses a 250 sheet paper tray, which slides out from the bottom front of the unit. Above this is a 50 sheet multi-purpose tray which sits at a very steep angle when it's open, which can make access a little difficult. The multi-purpose tray can hold A4, A5, B5, Letter and Custom sized paper.

Features and Performance

Just like the FS-2000D installation for these Kyocera models is quick and efficient. We were up and running with the driver installed and the printer connected via USB in a matter of minutes. In addition to the drivers and printing software, Kyocera also includes a library of documentation and manuals for easy reference.

The FS-1030 has 32MB of memory as standard, although this can be upgraded to as much as 288MB. It's a standard duplex printer and worked well printing double sided pages. Network connectivity isn't standard, but it is available as an optional extra. Internal wired Ethernet will set you back $175 while internal wireless networking costs an extra $729 - both act as print servers.

In terms of speed, Kyocera claim the FS-1030D is capable of 22 pages per minute in draft mode and their figures aren't far off the mark. We managed about 20 pages per second in this mode, while a six page duplex document in the same quality managed 44 seconds. It's not the fastest laser available, but the speeds are above average.

The quality of prints the FS-1030 produces are also quite notable. They won't blow you away, but text printing in particular is very good, with clear lines and fine detail. Graphics are also above average, with no major banding to report. Shading is a different matter; the FS-1030D could have done better in this regard, although this is a problem attributed more to laser printers themselves than this actual model.

With a top resolution of 1200dpi (1,800 x 600) the FS-1030D is best recommended for individuals who require quality prints at relatively quick speeds.