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+--- Thread: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer (/showthread.php?tid=35301)
Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - Zoidberg - 06-20-2007
Based on reviews at Amazon.com and various sites throughout the web, I purchased the Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer. The price was right (under $240 and no shipping fee); I'd been looking to get something that would allow my wife and kids to print in color from the family iMac (and thus stop drinking my precious, precious inkjet ink with 400 pictures created in KidPix) (a great program by the way, but only the MacKiev version is worth buying).
I had been using a Brother HL-5240, which in itself is a great monochrome printer and highly recommended. Regardless, I wanted cheaper color in a very very small footprint (my office is still a half of a wall in the bedroom, so space is a premium).
The CLP-300 really is amazingly small for a color laser; the toner is in small "cups" rather than big cartridges. You can click on a few of the reviews for more technical details, but I like the setup. It also makes the unit much quieter than I was used to with other toner-based color lasers. My old printer, a venerable but huge Xerox Phaser, was also quiet (it got damaged during our move up re/Katrina; I haven't the space to put it anyway); it uses solid ink (or, actually, resin) for printing. I expected the CLP-300 to be much noisier than it is. A pleasant surprise.
The printer was quickly recognized via the OS' "Print & Fax" System Preference Pane. On my system it's hooked up via an Airport Extreme. First print take a wee bit but it goes quickly enough. FWIW, you can select grayscale in the print dialog if you want even quicker prints or just don't need the color.
The only caveat I've noticed thus far is the printer's utility, called the "Smart Panel". It installs as a menu applet, which seems great -- except that it doesn't do anything. I can't click on it (or, more descriptively, clicking on it doesn't do anything -- there's no reaction at all). I uninstalled it (the installer has an uninstall option) and tried again, but encountered the same problems.
I went to Samsung.com, downloaded a newer version (FWIW, there's no indication as to whether or not it's universal) and still nothing. Not having it installed doesn't affect printing; however, I have no way of checking toner, seeing trouble displays (it's supposed to launch when there's a paper error, when toner starts to run low, etc.). I wish they would have made it a simple stand-alone app or something accessible from the print dialog, as is the case with my Canon printers.
I've sent an email to tech support, will report back when I hear back from them.
(Not ready to post a full review since the printer is "still fresh" and I'm still evaluating, but initial results -- given the expectations of a low-cost color laser -- are promising, save for the situation with the Smart Panel application.)
[ADDED]: Figured out why the Smart Panel wasn't working -- the printer *must* be physically connected to the Mac. It won't work over an Airport connection -- that sucks, but it's not a deal-breaker.
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - anonymouse1 - 06-20-2007
Any idea of the cost per page for the toner?
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - Zoidberg - 06-20-2007
Not really -- I know it's far cheaper than my inkjet. If you click on the reviews link in the first paragraph, I seem to recall a few of them mentioning cost per page. (FWIW, I think that should be a standard comparison factoid.)
[ADDED] Here you go: http://www.newbie.org/xPR-Samsung-Color-Laser-Printer~RD-327454920324
COST PER PAGE
Per Samsung’s specs, the black cartridge should yield up to 2,000 pages at 5% coverage. The color canisters should yield 1,000 pages each. To determine cost per page, you can use the simple formula of dividing the cost of the cartridge by its yield. I’m getting a cost-per-page of about $.03 for text and $.05 for text combined with significant color graphics. I don’t print much with heavy color output (like photos), but I’ve read that the per-page cost for that type of color printing would be around 10 cents a page on the CLP-300.
The black cartridge for the CLP-300 runs $60, and each color cartridge is $50. So I did slap down $210 for my first extra set of canisters. Ouch. It seemed like a lot of cabbage for someone trying to get rid of cartridge costs. But if you do the math on cost-per-page, these toner costs are FAR below ink-jet costs--8 to 10 times less according to some sources.
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - vision63 - 06-20-2007
Now you only have to live long enough to enjoy the printer's value. Looks like a good deal. Wonder if anyone makes "compatible" toner?
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - Zoidberg - 06-20-2007
Having it on for a while, it tends to give off a lot of heat. Not a real issue; I'll just keep it turned off until it's needed. Was used to leaving my Phaser on all the time, since keeping the resin in a melted state was kind of critical.
I wonder why the monochrome laser didn't have the heat issue? Actually, it might be a power cycle thing; I think my Brother HL went into standby after about 5 minutes; the lowest setting for the Samsung looks to be about 20 minutes.
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - hal - 06-20-2007
Come back in a couple of months - initial impressions aren't worth nearly as much as a longer term overview. ESPECIALLY for really cheap stuff.
How long the toner lasts and how much it'll cost to replace is pretty valuable info...
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - Zoidberg - 06-20-2007
No worries; I will.
Re: Initial Impressions: Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer - anonymouse1 - 06-21-2007
Thanks, Zoidberg!