Initial Thoughts And Comparisons

A glance at the specs listed above will quickly show that the Z53 has almost identical specs to the Z43 which we reviewed previously except for its higher print speed and increased duty cycle.

Physically, the Z53 is more robust and has much more rugged input and output trays. The output tray in particular has upraised flaps that prevent pages from curling while they dry. The power supply is also an order of magnitude larger in dimensions, which suggests that the added print speed is thanks to a more powerful print engine. Another sign of this is the sheer noise level of the Z53 when printing: though both the Z43 and Z53 are rated at 45dB(A), the Z53 is noticeably louder, and also rocks a lot more during operation.

Installation and setup of the Z53 is no different then the other Z printers. The Z53 supports both USB and parallel connections and comes with separate black and 3-colour ink cartridges.