Xerox Phaser 7100 — Review: Features, Specs
1. Overview & Positioning
The Xerox Phaser 7100 is a color laser printer designed as a high-quality workgroup machine. It supports tabloid/A3-sized printing (up to 11.7 × 17 in / 297 × 432 mm), making it more capable than standard office A4 printers. According to Xerox, it's rated to output up to 30 pages per minute (ppm) in both color and black-and-white.
While the 7100 is no longer widely sold brand-new by Xerox, it remains a popular choice in the used or secondary-market space for small- to medium-sized businesses that need reliable color and good media flexibility.
2. Key Features & Hardware
Print Speed & Quality
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The Phaser 7100 delivers 30 ppm in both color and mono.
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It offers true 1200 × 1200 dpi resolution, giving sharp text, crisp lines, and strong detail for graphics.
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First-page-out times are very reasonable: about 9 seconds for black and 11 seconds for color.
Media Handling
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Input capacity: Standard 400-sheet capacity (via 250-sheet main tray + 150-sheet bypass) for a base configuration.
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Expandable: You can add up to three 550-sheet trays, bumping total capacity to 2,050 sheets.
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Supported media types: wide range, including plain paper, card stock, glossy, envelopes, labels.
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Print sizes: from as small as 75 × 98 mm up to 297 × 432 mm (A3/tabloid) plus banner capability.
Connectivity & Print Languages
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Interfaces: USB 2.0 and Ethernet (10/100Base-T) as standard.
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Print languages: Adobe PostScript 3, PCL 6, PCL 5c, XPS.
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Network protocols supported: LPR, IPP, SMB, IPv4/IPv6, SNMP v1–v3, 802.1X, etc.
Memory & Storage
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Comes with 1 GB RAM standard, expandable (depending on SKU) to support large or complex print jobs.
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Optionally, you can add a 40 GB hard drive via a Productivity Kit for job storage, accounting, and security features.
Duplex, Security & Management
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Duplex (automatic two-sided) printing is optional (available on some “DN” / “DNM” models).
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Embedded CentreWare Internet Services allows remote configuration, monitoring, and job status tracking.
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Security: supports secure print, job accounting, HDD encryption & overwrite (with optional Productivity Kit), 802.1X, IP filtering.
Environmental & Energy Efficiency
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Uses EA (Emulsion Aggregation) toner: lower fusing temperature, more efficient energy use during printing, potentially lower CO₂ emissions per page.
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Rated monthly duty: quite high, with some sources listing up to 52,000 pages/month for certain models.
3. Real-World Performance
Print Quality & Output
In practice, the Phaser 7100 produces very good color output. Its 1200-dpi resolution ensures text is crisp, even at smaller fonts, and graphics are well-defined. For business graphics, marketing collateral, reports with charts, and visually rich documents, the printer does a solid job. The PostScript support helps with accurate page rendering.
Speed & Throughput
At 30 ppm, the Phaser 7100 is no slouch. It handles moderate workgroup loads well. With the optional duplex module, two-sided printing helps save paper and doesn’t significantly slow down typical print jobs.
The 1 GB RAM is helpful for complex or large print jobs, but very heavy document workflows (large PS/RIP jobs, very large graphics-heavy files) might stress the memory, depending on configuration.
Reliability & Maintenance
Because this is a laser printer from Xerox, it's relatively robust. The toner cartridges are high-yield options (for example, color cartridges yield up to ~9,000 pages for some SKUs). However, being a used / older model in many deployments, maintenance and parts availability should be considered before buying.
Some users on Reddit mention issues: for example, a color banding problem due to imaging units rather than toners. Also, with older units, securing a service contract or ensuring replacement imaging units or drums are available is important.
Cost-Per-Page & Consumables
Genuine Xerox toners for the 7100 (CMYK) are relatively expensive but offer high yields. The cost per page will depend heavily on how much color is used. For graphics-heavy or mixed printing, it's more economical than many cartridge-based color printers; for mostly monochrome, a mono laser may still win on cost.
If you add the Productivity Kit (HDD), you can use features like secure printing, job accounting, and reuse disk for stored print jobs, which may be valuable in business settings.
4. Business & Office Use Cases
Given its capabilities, here are ideal business scenarios for the Phaser 7100:
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Mid-size Workgroups / Departments: Teams that need reliable color printing for reports, charts, training materials, and marketing hand-outs.
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Creative or Marketing Teams: For producing internal drafts, proof outputs, or short-run collateral — the PostScript support and high resolution helps.
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Graphic Designers / Layout Artists: The printer’s 1200 dpi and broad media support (up to A3) make it decent for design proofs.
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Small Print-on-Demand Use: With high capacity trays and optional finishing, the 7100 can support light print shop tasks.
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Finance / Accounting: Track cost-per-page with accounting features; control who prints in color; deploy secure printing.
5. Strengths & Advantages
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High print speed (30 ppm) for a color laser, especially one that supports A3.
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Excellent print quality with 1200 × 1200 dpi and PostScript 3.
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Flexible media handling, including large size and heavy stocks.
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Good expandability — optional trays, memory, and productivity kit.
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Enterprise features: network printing, security, job accounting.
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Lower environmental cost: EA toner reduces energy use, and optional job storage helps minimize waste.
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Long-term viability: For used market buyers, this model represents a robust, proven workhorse.
6. Drawbacks & Limitations
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No built-in duplex (in base model) unless you choose a DN / DNM version.
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Large physical footprint and heavy: roughly 44 kg, which may not be ideal for tight office spaces.
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Older model: since it's no longer sold new, warranty coverage and parts could be limited unless buying used or refurbished.
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High toner cost: despite high yield, color toners are still expensive, especially for heavy color printing.
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Warm-up power: like many color lasers, this printer uses more energy when warming up due to fuser and other components.
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Limited support for modern mobile printing: depending on firmware and drivers, newer mobile or cloud print workflows might be less seamless (though Ethernet helps for core workgroup use).
7. Reliability & Real-User Feedback
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Positive reviews: ITProPortal rated the Phaser 7100 as a “best buy” for an A3 color laser thanks to its good speed and graphics output.
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User-reported issues: On Reddit, some users mention color anomalies (e.g., cyan not printing correctly in highlights), which they attribute to the imaging unit rather than toner.
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Service and parts: As a legacy model, service and replacement parts may be limited; buying used should include checking for a valid service path or having a maintenance contract.
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Security concerns: Without the optional HDD (Productivity Kit), some advanced secure-print or job-accounting workflows are not available.
8. Comparison to Alternatives
If you're considering the Phaser 7100, here are some alternatives and how the 7100 stacks up:
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VersaLink C7000: A modern color printer from Xerox with up-to-date security, higher efficiency, and better supply-chain support, but potentially lower paper size flexibility.
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Color LaserJet A3 Models (HP / Brother): More modern models may offer faster speeds, lower running costs, or built-in finishing, but might not match the 7100’s PostScript fidelity or print quality for graphic-heavy jobs.
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Large-format Inkjet / Photo Printers: If print quality (especially for images) is your top priority, an inkjet photo printer or a proofing machine may be a better choice, though with slower speed and different cost profile.
9. Deployment Tips & Best Practices
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Use accounting mode: Enable usage tracking if your organization wants to control color printing costs.
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Optimize driver settings: Set default print profiles for common tasks (draft, color graphics, high-quality) to avoid overuse of high-resolution mode.
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Schedule regular maintenance: Even used units benefit from regular cleaning cycles and drum / imaging unit replacement.
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Check firmware: Confirm whether the printer has a current firmware version — this helps with security, stability, and network printing bugs.
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Secure printing: If sensitive documents are printed, use PIN-based secure-print features (with HDD kit or built-in scripting, depending on model).
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Paper management: Use the correct media weight and size for each tray — e.g., have a tray for letter-size plain, another for A3 / heavy stock — so you minimize jams and optimize print quality.
10. Final Verdict
The Xerox Phaser 7100 is a powerful, flexible color laser printer for workgroups that need tabloid / A3 print capability, excellent output quality, and scalable functionality. While it's not the newest model, its 1200-dpi resolution, PostScript support, and strong media handling make it a solid choice for in-house print production, marketing collateral, and design-proofing tasks.
If you're looking for:
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Reliable color output on large formats.
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A machine to serve a workgroup with moderate to high monthly usage.
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A durable printer that can grow via trays and finishing modules.
Then the Phaser 7100 is still very relevant — especially in the used or refurbished market.
If you're more concerned about:
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Newer security features out-of-the-box.
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Maximizing energy efficiency.
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Seamless cloud / mobile-first printing.
… then you may want to evaluate more modern printers such as the VersaLink or AltaLink color models.
Xerox Phaser 7100 Driver & Software Download
Driver Download or the Installation for Windows Operating System:
How to install the driver for Xerox Phaser 7100 :
- First, you need to click the link provided for download, then select the option “Save” or “Save as”. Clicking “Save” is for downloading the file. Meanwhile if you choose “Run” or “Open”, the file downloaded will be automatically installed after the downloading process is completed.
- For your information, the driver file that you download will be saved in a certain folder that you have set before, especially in the self-extracting form or (.exe format).
- The last step is double clicking the downloaded file that has the format EXE file for the decompress process. Then, the installation will be automatically started.
How to uninstall the driver by using Control Panel.
- Come to the Start menu, then you need to choose Control panel --> choose the driver and click “Uninstall a Program.”
- Wait until a page is appear with the list of the installed program. Then you need to double click the program that you want to uninstall.
- At last, choose “Yes” and “Ok”. The uninstall process is completed.
Driver Download or Installation process for Mac Operating System:
How to install driver of Xerox Phaser 7100 in Mac:
- First, you need the file of the driver. When you have already completed the downloading process, it will be saved in the certain folder. You can see it at the computer settings.
- Second, you need to double click the downloaded driver file and mount it on the Disk Image.
- The third step is that you need to double click again the mounted Disk Image.
- At last, double clicking the packaged driver file. Do not worry, the installation is about to be started automatically.
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