Printer · The Beige Era · 1995
Color LaserWriter
Color LaserWriter brought high-quality networked color laser output to design studios and offices at a very Apple price.
Color LaserWriter: key facts
When was the Color LaserWriter released?
The Color LaserWriter was released in 1995. Apple discontinued it in 1998.
How much did the Color LaserWriter cost?
The Color LaserWriter launched at $6,999 in 1995 — about $14,581 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Color LaserWriter’s specs?
The Color LaserWriter used a PowerPC / printer controller running at 100 MHz, with 12 MB of memory. It ran Driver / firmware support.
Why does the Color LaserWriter matter?
Apple’s color laser-printer family.
Full specifications
| CPU | PowerPC / printer controller · 100 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 12 MB (up to 64 MB) |
| Storage | — |
| Display | None |
| GPU | N/A |
| Ports | Ethernet, AppleTalk, parallel |
| Weight | Varies by model |
| Dimensions | Color laser printer |
| Operating system | Driver / firmware support |
| Released | 1995 |
| Discontinued | 1998 |
| Launch price | $6,999 |
How the Color LaserWriter compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 1,370× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 100 MHz, the clock is roughly 32× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
Launched at $6,999 in 1995 — about $14,581 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
It is the kind of model collectors use to map Apple’s complicated family tree.
Related Printer models
Open the Color LaserWriter in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-27