OKI Replaces the C650 with the New C651 Colour LED Printer

OKI has discontinued its best-selling C650 and replaced it with the OKI C651. The world’s smallest high-performance A4 colour laser printer lives on. For anyone who’s been looking at the C650, the C651 is the one to buy now. It keeps everything that made the C650 a favourite, particularly its reputation for heavy media handling and industrial versatility, and adds optional wireless connectivity on top.

The C650 built a strong following because it did something most compact printers don’t: it handled demanding print jobs that larger, more expensive machines are typically brought in for.

Media flexibility was the headline. The C650 prints on stock as light as 60gsm and as heavy as 256gsm, handles sheet lengths up to 1.32 metres for banner printing, and manages a wide range of label substrates including waterproof, freeze-proof, UV-resistant, and oil-resistant materials. Full-colour barcodes, QR codes, 2D and 3D barcodes are all in scope. For industries like food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and chemical manufacturing, that capability in a desktop-sized machine is genuinely useful.

OKI also bills the C650 as the world’s smallest high-performance A4 colour printer. At 395 x 430 x 290mm, it fits into spaces where most colour printers simply won’t go, and it only needs 2cm of clearance on the front and sides. That small footprint, combined with workgroup-level print speeds of 35ppm in both mono and colour, made it a practical choice for warehouses, production lines, and smaller offices alike.

Durability is another factor. OKI’s LED print engine has fewer moving parts than a conventional laser mechanism, and the C650’s chassis uses metal components throughout in areas where cheaper plastic-bodied printers tend to fail. The separate toner and drum design also means you replace only what wears out, keeping running costs predictable over the life of the printer.

In terms of physical specification, the C651 is a like-for-like successor. Same footprint, same 28.2kg weight, same 35ppm output, same 1,200 x 1,200 DPI resolution, same 250-sheet main paper tray. The LED engine and the heavy media handling are unchanged, so existing C650 users moving across won’t lose anything.

The meaningful upgrade is connectivity. The C650 connected via USB and wired network only. The C651 adds optional Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct via the WLAN Interface accessory, and brings support for AirPrint, Mopria, Google Cloud Print, and mobile printing. In practice this means the printer can go wherever it’s needed without requiring a network cable, and users can send jobs directly from phones and tablets. For production environments where cabling is inconvenient, or teams that move between locations, that’s a real operational improvement.

The C651 specification also lists a dedicated 100-sheet multi-purpose tray, giving you a separate feed path for labels, heavier stocks, or banner media without touching the main paper supply.

The C651 sits in OKI’s C600 series, which is positioned specifically at organisations that need more than standard office printing. The industries OKI targets with this model include engineering, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and retail, all sectors where label accuracy, substrate variety, and printer reliability in less-than-ideal environments matter more than print speed or multifunction features.

Beyond labels, the C651 handles the full range of business printing: reports, presentations, visitor badges, ID passes, health and safety signage, and hazard documentation. It’s one of the few printers in this size and price bracket that covers both ends of that spectrum without compromise.

If the C650 was on your shortlist, yes. The C651 inherits its predecessor’s strengths and adds wireless without removing anything. The higher price reflects the connectivity upgrade, but for a printer that’s going to be used in a demanding environment over several years, the extra cost is easy to justify.

If you’re currently running a C650, the transition to a C651 is as straightforward as it gets. Both printers use the same toner cartridges, imaging drums, and accessories, so any stock you have carries straight over. The only addition specific to the C651 is the optional WLAN Interface, which is what enables the wireless and mobile printing features.

The OKI C651 is available at Printerbase with free next business day delivery and a free 3-year on-site warranty included.

Q: Is the OKI C651 a direct replacement for the C650?
A: Yes. OKI has discontinued the C650 and replaced it with the C651. The two printers share the same core specification, including print speed, resolution, footprint, and media handling. The C651 adds wireless connectivity and a dedicated multi-purpose tray.

Q: Does the OKI C651 handle heavy media and labels?
A: Yes, and this is one of its main selling points. The C651 prints on media from 60gsm up to 256gsm, handles banner lengths up to 1.32 metres, and supports a wide range of label substrates including waterproof, freeze-proof, UV-resistant, and oil-resistant materials. Barcode printing, including 2D and 3D formats, is fully supported.

Q: Does the OKI C651 support wireless printing?
A: Yes, via the optional WLAN Interface accessory. This adds Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct to the standard USB and wired network connections, along with support for AirPrint, Mopria, Google Cloud Print, and mobile printing from phones and tablets.

Q: What industries is the OKI C651 suited to?
A: OKI positions the C651 for engineering, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and manufacturing environments, as well as general office use. Its ability to print durable labels, signage, and standard business documents from the same machine is what makes it particularly useful in industrial settings.

Q: Are the C650 and C651 consumables compatible?
A: Yes, fully. The C651 uses the same toner cartridges, imaging drums, and accessories as the C650, so existing stock carries over without any issue.

Q: Does the OKI C651 come with a warranty?
A: A free 3-year on-site warranty is available when purchased from Printerbase. You’ll need to register with OKI within 30 days of purchase.

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