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The Techtronics Phaser 450 looks very much like a conventional laser printer and is not much bigger than most work group printers.

   But this colour dye-sublimation printer has far more dazzle than any boring black-and-white laser printer.

  Set-up and software installation is as simple as one expects with most printers. There are provisions for the direct connection of both Macintosh and PC computers with an optional upgrade for an Ethernet connection.

   Most users will want to shell out for the network option as full colour prints over a serial or parallel cable can be laboriously slow.

   The basic unit comes with 16 megs of RAM which can be upgraded to 64 and is both PostScript and Pantone compatible.

  There were, however, a couple of minor irritants. The unit I tested came with the PhaserMatch colour calibration software, an option which requires a minimum of 48 megs of RAM and an Ethernet connection.

   When I went into the easy calibration mode, I found the process to be a little less than easy. It was a bit difficult to tell what the software expected me to do.

 The results were much worse than what I had seen in the uncalibrated prints, while the advanced mode worked well and was actually easier to use.

  There was also a distraction with the image positioning when printing on letter extra-sized paper.

   The images were always indented about half-an-inch from one of the narrow sides of the paper.

   I assume this was done to provide room for a colour control strip which is printed if the appropriate option is marked in the print dialog box.

 It would be nice to be able to use all of the paper when making a print without a control strip.

  Why such niggling complaints? I could not possibly let anyone get away with a perfect review.

   The Techtronics is a stunning piece of equipment. It offers a good value in the most basic configuration and has some great upgrade options.

   By adding 16 megs of RAM, the printer can use four-colour ribbons rather than three-colour and can print on larger letter extra-sized paper.

   By adding 32 megs of RAM, you can add PhaserMatch software which is used to calibrate the printer to match a press or to simply improve the unit's colour accuracy.

  The 450 I tested was loaded with a three-colour ribbon only. Still, the image quality was very good and easily outdid the Kodak 8600, the Phaser's nearest competitor.

 Fine details were easily reproduced in both photographs and text. There was a slight colour cast to neutral tones, but less than what I have seen in other three- colour dye-subs. Upgrading to a four-colour ribbon should correct this problem.

  All of this great quality was easy to see due to the letter extra-sized paper to which I have referred.

   Letter extra paper is a whopping 9.6 by 13.3 ins with a printable area of roughly 9 by 12.125 ins. By comparison, the Kodak 8600 has a maximum printable area of just 9.6 by 7.5 ins.

  With a list price of a little under $54,000 for the basic unit or $73,000 for the full ride with Ethernet, PhaserMatch software - and 64 megs of RAM - it is unlikely that we will see everyone replacing their boring laser printers with a Phaser 450. However, in comparison to other dye-subs on the market, the Phaser is competitively priced.



Phaser 450 defies convention and proves real dazzler