As good as an $800 HP for less than half the price
Written: Mar 02 '03 (Updated Mar 02 '03)
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Pros: Quiet, fast, dependable, great price, easy memory expansion
Cons: Instruction manual must be downloaded from the web (PDF).
The Bottom Line: Well made, feature rich, nothing can touch it for this price.
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| Jakeblack's Full Review: Samsung ML 1450 Laser Printer |
OVERVIEW
This printer looks like a much more expensive HP, and prints at just as high quality, no jam ups, etc. The paper tray holds an entire pack of paper (550 sheets). It prints at about 14-15 pages per minute, at up 1200 DPI resolution. It comes with 4 MB of internal memory (expandable to 68 MB total). The user guide must be downloaded from the Samsung website. It takes some doing to find it on the site. Once you do, it is just a matter of downloading a PDF file, and the instructions are very detailed and well written. The print from this machine looks fantastic. It defaults to 600 DPI, but set it on 1200 DPI and it is as high quality as any other print I have seen. I would say this printer is suitable for 1-3 users, the specs say about 12,000 sheets per month of volume. Some other specs:
CONNECTION
USB or standard printer cable.
COMPATIBILITY
-Windows 95/98/NT4.0/2000/Me/XP.
-Linux
-Supposedly Mac compatible but I have heard of problems there, so if you are a Mac user make sure you check things out carefully.
SIZE
Roughly 18" deep, 8" high 14" wide. It's fairly compact, about the same size as your mid range HP desktop lasers. However, it is not a "compact" desktop, that you can sit on a narrow shelf. It needs a decent sized space to sit on.
PROCESSOR
- 66MHz RISC processor
NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
- PCL 6 Emulation Compatible / PostScript 3 Emulation Compatible (option)
- Network interface: Ethernet 10/100Base Tx
- Protocol: IPC/SPX, TCP/IP, AppleTalk, SNMP, HTTP1.1, DLC/LLC
PAPER HANDLING
- In addition to 550 sheet cassete that is standard, optional additional 550 sheet tray, also 100 sheet multi-purpose tray
OTHER FEATURES
- Toner Save button (saves 40 percent on toner)
- N-up Printing (up to 16 pages) / Poster printing
- Watermark, overlay printing
- Manual Duplex
MEMORY EXPANSION
The memory expansion is 72 pin EDO RAM, you can get it pretty cheaply almost anywhere (I bought a brand new 32 MB expansion for $39 off the web. Got it at CDW.com, but you can find it many places on the web.) To install the memory, you have to take out two screws and remove a panel on the side of the unit. VERY easy. You have only one expansion slot for memory, so to max it out you need a single 64 MB board. I got the 32 MB, totalling mine to 36 MB, and I have printed huge stuff off, with lots of graphics, no problem. Adding memory was easy. I recommend however that you print off the user guide from the Samsung web site, it gives very clear instructions on how to do it, so you can make sure you have no problems.
TONER CARTRIDGE
In my searches on the web, the toner is between $88 and about $100, depending on where you buy it. Again, I don't mean to plug CDW, but for those curious I found it there for $88. The toner also includes a new drum integrated into it; but who cares? This is a part that usually breaks down/needs maintenance on printers anyway, and getting a new one with each new load of toner is not a bad thing, as far as I am concerned. Toner is supposed to be good for 6000 sheets if you are using toner saver, etc. (the starter cartridge that comes with the printer is good for about half that). I am still on the starter cartridge and have printed several thousand sheets already.
PAPER PATH
Smooth, not a single jam up yet for me. Envelopes, legal size paper, special forms, etc. All work great. Envelopes and special forms feed in the front, you flip down a small door and pull out an extension and the tray for special forms is all set. Even if there is a jam up, there are only two doors to flip up to clear it. Very simple.
FINAL WORD
This printer is sturdy, reliable, and for the $250 I paid for it...what a value! For the same $250 I can get an HP 1000, with only 600 DPI, only 150 sheet paper tray, etc. I have been an HP bigot forever, never bought anything else as far as printers are concerned, but the price difference here was so huge..I had to try it. I had heard good things about Samsung products. I am very pleasantly surprised that the Samsung has worked extremely well for me. Samsung has engineered a very good printer, loaded it with functionality, and made it easy to expand. It's an excellent choice for the money. I don't see anything that can touch it for this price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
Jakeblack
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Member: Jake Black
Location: USA
Reviews written: 43
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
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