three_ster's Full Review: Dell 5310n Laser Printer
Needing a nice workgroup printer that could be networked to around 10 different computers, we purchased the new 5310n Laser Printer from Dell. There weren't really any reviews out on the market yet, because they had just upgraded from their 5210n, and that meant that we were going to have to trust that with the upgrade came improvements. With a good price quote on the table of less than $600.00, we couldn't pass up the chance to get a great printer for less than the $999.00 list price. There were some basics that we were looking for, in that we needed it to be easy to trouble-shoot, we needed it to handle high quantities of printing, and we really needed it to be quick on the output of pages. This was quickly at the top of our list after looking through some of the unit specifications, and we were very excited at the possibilities of picking up such a fast moving, and easy to operate machine.
Out of the box the machine is really easy to set-up, and it actually comes with a rather large laminated pictorial instruction sheet that helps you get everything up and running right away. The pictures depicting exactly what to do with arrows and numbered instructions helps even the most novice of computer user set up the printer with relatively little hassle. The toner cartridge comes separated from the machine, but sliding the front panel up, it is easy to just slide it right in. There is a lot of protective tape inside of the machine, including around the print tray, but once you take it off, you are pretty much set to go with regards to the printer. Included with the 5310n is a driver disk that you just slide into your CD drive, and it leads you through installing the printer’s drivers on to your computer. This is a pretty easy step as well, and must be repeated on each computer that you want to set up on your network. The great part is that they do give you instructions on the flip-side of the chart that tells you how to enable your workgroup.
Moving past the installation and set-up of the printer, I loaded up the 600-sheet paper tray and flipped it on my the side-switch. It buzzed to life right away, and it was time to try out the printing function. The warm-up time of the 5310n was barely existent, going from turning it on to functional in less than a minute’s time. In recent uses, it warms up even quicker if it already has power, to the tune of being ready in less than 10 seconds after sending out the print job. The 5310n is capable of printing up to 50 pages per minute, and that is extremely quick if you ask me. So most major documents that I have will print off in less than a minute, counting the warm-up time of the machine. This speed helps because with many people hooked up to the same printer, we don't have to wait for one person's job to get through the system before the next one can be sent in. It's impressive to me, and exactly why we decided to go with the Dell 5310n in the first place.
There are several different options that you can go with when purchasing one of the 5310n's. First of all is of course the on-site service hardware guarantees. This is where Dell will send someone out if something goes wrong with the hardware components of the printer. One year of the NBD guarantee comes with the printer in the original price, but you can upgrade it to 2 years for an additional $179, 3 years for $199, 4 years for $349, and 5 years for $449. It's not a bad little option, and I was glad that we got one year with the original price. You can also get extra dell ink cartridges at $170 for the 10,000 print one, or $250 for a 20,000 output unit. It comes with one of the 10k cartridges already, so it isn't a must to have a back up to start with, but if you like to prepare ahead of time, it isn't the worst option to go with. Other little toys you can get along with it are an envelope feeder for a little less than $200.00 or an additional expansion tray so that your printer can hold 500 or 650 more sheets for $250 and $265 respectively.
The Dell 5310n can be hooked up to a PC, Mac, or UNIX platform for use, and has a 2.0 USB and Parallel connectivity. They advertise that you can reach a volume of printing 250,000 pages per month, but I don't think that we will be reaching anywhere near that level of printing. For us this is a great luxury at an inexpensive price, and because it can be hooked up to all of the office computers simultaneously we only need one of them in the office. It is capable of printing on many different types of paper, with the installed drawer being adjustable for up to legal sized paper (8.5 x 14). You can also print on envelopes, recycled paper, transparencies, color paper, or just about anything else you can think of. Besides having the internal tray, it also has an external feed that allows you to print on special paper without having to pull out the drawers and figure out just how to put the paper so it prints correctly. The printer is 10/100 Base Tx with a wireless network adapter, has 128 MB of internal RAM and a memory of up to 640 MB. This means that it can store a number of jobs in the system without too much trouble. All of this is processed at a speed of 514 MHz.
We use several versions of Windows in the office and they are all compatible with the printer, as well as being workable on Windows 98, Windows NT, Apple MacOS 9 and above, and of course Windows Professional XP. There are no delays if you are using an older system to print from, and we have yet to come across any problems hooking up older systems to the printer. We currently have it set out in a main area, so that people can have a central place to pick up their prints, and as luck would have it, the Dell 5310n looks quite flashy and has impressed many people coming into the office. It isn't that large measuring in at about 17 inches wide and 15 inches tall. It has a depth of 20 inches, and isn't too heavy with a weight of 43 pounds. This means that it can be moved around the office, and as long as the central computer it is attached to is on the network, you will be able to use it to the fullest of its capabilities.
I have been really pleased with this printing unit, and I think Dell really created a winner with the 5310n. There is only one small thing that I don't like about it, and that is when it has run out of paper, or needs attention, it has a rather loud beep that can be heard from miles away it seems like. The beep repeats itself a couple of times, but if you make sure you keep it fully stocked with paper and toner, this will never be an issue. On the front of the printer is a display that is right above the buttons that decide your specifications for darkness of the prints, types of paper, level of the toner and paper trays and so on. The digital display will update you on how your toner levels are, and keeps track of just how much paper you have used, or how much is left in the tray. This can be a very nice thing to have if you aren't keeping track of how many prints yourself, and want to gauge just how much life is left in that cartridge.
Ordering the printer from the Dell Online Store was pretty easy and they shipped it out to us in less than a week. Setting it up, and getting quick functionality out of it were some really great aspects of the printer for me. The best parts in my opinion, are that there is a minimal warm up time needed for the machine, that the print jobs go through the system very quickly even if everyone is on, and that the machine prints out documents so quickly. It does all of this in a smaller printer than I am used to on a workgroup level, and has yet to have a single jam in the time that we have had it in our office. Couple that with the great price that Dell was offering the machine, and we have an exemplary tool for a busy office. I don't think I can say enough positive things about this new printer in the long line of Dell printers, and it of course is getting my high recommendation based on its performance. If you are in the market for a printer to put on your network, and set up as the main printing station for a workgroup this is a great option in my opinion.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): under $600 Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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