Epson LQ-350 vs OKI Microline 5520

Detailed Technical Comparison & Buying Guide

Epson LQ-350 Epson LQ-350
VS
OKI Microline 5520 OKI Microline 5520

Epson LQ-350

✅ Extremely reliable and very low running costs.
❌ Noisy operation and limited to monochrome.

OKI Microline 5520

✅ Excellent build quality.
❌ Slightly higher running costs.
Feature Epson LQ-350 OKI Microline 5520
Number of Pins 24 Pins 9 Pins
Printing Columns 80 Columns 80 Columns
High Speed Draft 347 cps (10 cpi) 570 cps
Draft Speed 260 cps (10 cpi) N/A
Letter Quality Speed 86 cps (10 cpi) N/A
Copy Capability 1 original + 3 copies 1 original + 5 copies
Mean Time Between Failure 10,000 Hours 20,000 Hours
Ribbon Life 2.5 Million Characters N/A
Print Head Life 400 Million Strokes/Wire N/A
Paper Feed Path Single sheet rear, Continuous paper rear, Paper output rear N/A
Control Emulations ESC/P2, IBM PPDS N/A
Noise Level 53 dB(A) N/A
Interfaces Parallel, USB 2.0, RS-232 USB, Parallel

⚖️ Expert Verdict

Comparing the compact Epson LQ-350 to the high-speed OKI 5520 is a matter of volume. The OKI is an absolute unit of speed, designed for high-traffic environments where machines run all day. The Epson is a compact specialist for low-to-medium volume letter-quality work. For a busy industrial hub, the OKI 5520 wins on sheer throughput. But for a small professional office that needs crisp, multi-part documents without taking up half the desk, the Epson LQ-350 is the smarter, more refined winner.

What Owners Are Saying?

Epson LQ-350

William S.
"Still the best for multi-part invoices. Loud as anything but it never dies. 24-pin head makes the text surprisingly legible for a dot matrix. Frugal on the ribbons and proper tough."

OKI Microline 5520

Arthur P.
"High-speed performance for multi-part documents. It’s an absolute beast in the back office. Security and reliability are sorted. If you need speed in impact printing, this is the one."

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