As often happens when a company tries to drastically lower the price of a product, there are some tradeoffs. The 125-sheet fold-out paper tray is skimpy at best. An optional 500-sheet paper tray is available, but it's a very pricey add-on.

Built-in RAM is also skimpy, only 16MB, and it's not expandable, so there's no option to improve performance. Additional RAM can speed up printing times, particularly for large jobs and graphics-heavy documents, which frees your computer to perform other tasks. Some graphics-heavy documents may not print; at the very least, they'll tie up your computer for a lengthy interval while the print job is being processed.

Maximum printing speeds are rated by the manufacturer at up to 16 pages per minute for monochrome output and up to 4 pages per minute for color output. Real-world performance for this printer is usually slightly more than half that; not overly impressive, but in line with other printers in this price range.

On the plus side, setup and software installation are a breeze. The setup instructions got the printer up and running on the first try, something that can't be said for many peripherals. The 1500L hooks up to a USB port, but you'll have to supply your own cable (which costs about $20 to $25).

Output quality is average to above average, with crisp black text and generally smooth, vivid color images. The 1500L can handle a variety of paper stocks, including standard letter and legal, envelopes, post cards, and index cards.

The package includes a 125-sheet fold-out paper tray, a power cord, a black ink cartridge, three color ink cartridges (cyan, yellow, and magenta), an imaging drum kit, a get-started guide, printer software, and a user guide on CD-ROM.

Pro: A compact color laser printer at a price that small office/home office users can actually work into their budget. Above-average quality output, with crisp black text and vivid color images.

Con: Skimpy paper tray. Limited RAM, and no option to expand RAM.