Subscores
The Samsung CLP-325W is a low-cost colour laser printer with Wi-Fi functionality. Designed for small businesses with monthly printing volumes of up to 20,000 pages, the CLP-325W has one highly useful feature that most other printers don't: a "WPS" button that sets up a Wi-Fi connection rapidly and easily. When it was released, Samsung called the CLP-325W the "world's smallest colour laser printer".
Compact and simple: those are the best two ways to describe this printer. At 38.8 x 31.3 x 24.3 cm, it is effectively one of the most compact printers of its kind, a good point for cramped office spaces. The 256 MB of RAM allow for convenient sharing within a workgroup of 20 people.
Setting up the Wi-Fi connection is as simple as pressing the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Set-up) button and the button on your modem. That's it. We tested it out and had no problems with it.
The CLP-325W supports SPL-C, PCL5c and PCL6. It does not print duplex and has no card reader.
The 130-sheet paper tray is simple and practical to use. As this printer was designed for paper from 60 to 163 g/m², it sometimes has trouble handling thinner sheets, which can tend to come out in bunches.
This is not a fast printer. It produces 4 pages per minute (ppm) in colour and 15 ppm in B&W. Compare this with the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw, which prints 20 ppm in both colour and B&W.
The print quality is adequate—perfectly good for basic text documents. However, if you look at the graph below, which is somewhat complex due to the shading, you can see tiny, little dots spattered over the solid colours. This degrades the overall sharpness. They're less visible, however, on B&W prints.
The Delta E 94 graph below, which measures the accuracy of the printed colours, shows a higher of a difference in the blues than in other tones. This could be a problem for companies with a blue logo on their paper heading, for instance. All the other colours have pretty much average accuracy compared to the printers we've reviewed since we began our new testing procedure.
Average Delta E 94 (colour difference): 7.5
The higher the bar, the less accurate.
An ideal reading would be less than 3.
Laser printers aren't made to print photos, but a look at the spotty, imprecise image below will at least give you an idea of the CLP-325W's rendering capabilities:
The CLP-325W consumes 6 watts in sleep mode and 400 watts during use. On average, that would mean a yearly consumption of 6.1 kilowatts for 1,000 pages. While the consumption during use is fairly low for a laser printer, 6 W in sleep mode is much too high. Most printers today go below 2 W.
However, the noise level places the CLP-325W among the quietest printers available today, at 49 dB.
First of all, let's mention that the CLP-325W comes with a 700-page toner cartridge for each colour (instead of 1,000) and a 1,000-page cartridge for B&W (instead of 1,500). It requires four different toners (black, cyan, magenta and yellow), which turns into quite a purchase when you have to change them all at once (about 150 quid). Our advice is to only print in colour when you really have to because the black toner is much cheaper, at only 2.8 pence per page. Multifunction inkjet printers are often the same price as, if not less expensive than, single-function colour laser printers. However, the ink cartridges don't live as long (about 150 pages on Lexmark printers and 500 pages in colour on Canons) as laser toners (2,000 pages on average). The only exception to this rule is Epson's WorkForce Pro series with its long-lasting cartridges (3,400 pages).
Hardware
Compact and simple: those are the best two ways to describe this printer. At 38.8 x 31.3 x 24.3 cm, it is effectively one of the most compact printers of its kind, a good point for cramped office spaces. The 256 MB of RAM allow for convenient sharing within a workgroup of 20 people.
Setting up the Wi-Fi connection is as simple as pressing the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Set-up) button and the button on your modem. That's it. We tested it out and had no problems with it.
The CLP-325W supports SPL-C, PCL5c and PCL6. It does not print duplex and has no card reader.
Controls
The 130-sheet paper tray is simple and practical to use. As this printer was designed for paper from 60 to 163 g/m², it sometimes has trouble handling thinner sheets, which can tend to come out in bunches.
Speeds
This is not a fast printer. It produces 4 pages per minute (ppm) in colour and 15 ppm in B&W. Compare this with the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw, which prints 20 ppm in both colour and B&W.
Quality
The print quality is adequate—perfectly good for basic text documents. However, if you look at the graph below, which is somewhat complex due to the shading, you can see tiny, little dots spattered over the solid colours. This degrades the overall sharpness. They're less visible, however, on B&W prints.
The Delta E 94 graph below, which measures the accuracy of the printed colours, shows a higher of a difference in the blues than in other tones. This could be a problem for companies with a blue logo on their paper heading, for instance. All the other colours have pretty much average accuracy compared to the printers we've reviewed since we began our new testing procedure.
Average Delta E 94 (colour difference): 7.5
The higher the bar, the less accurate.
An ideal reading would be less than 3.
Laser printers aren't made to print photos, but a look at the spotty, imprecise image below will at least give you an idea of the CLP-325W's rendering capabilities:
Energy Consumption & Noise Levels
The CLP-325W consumes 6 watts in sleep mode and 400 watts during use. On average, that would mean a yearly consumption of 6.1 kilowatts for 1,000 pages. While the consumption during use is fairly low for a laser printer, 6 W in sleep mode is much too high. Most printers today go below 2 W.
However, the noise level places the CLP-325W among the quietest printers available today, at 49 dB.
Cost Per Page: 14 pence
First of all, let's mention that the CLP-325W comes with a 700-page toner cartridge for each colour (instead of 1,000) and a 1,000-page cartridge for B&W (instead of 1,500). It requires four different toners (black, cyan, magenta and yellow), which turns into quite a purchase when you have to change them all at once (about 150 quid). Our advice is to only print in colour when you really have to because the black toner is much cheaper, at only 2.8 pence per page. Multifunction inkjet printers are often the same price as, if not less expensive than, single-function colour laser printers. However, the ink cartridges don't live as long (about 150 pages on Lexmark printers and 500 pages in colour on Canons) as laser toners (2,000 pages on average). The only exception to this rule is Epson's WorkForce Pro series with its long-lasting cartridges (3,400 pages).
| Cartridge | Price (recommended) | ISO lifespan | Cost per page |
| CLT-K4092S | £42 | 1500 | 2.8 pence |
| CLT-C4092S | £44 | 1000 | 4.4 pence |
| CLT-M4092S | £34 | 1000 | 3.4 pence |
| CLT-Y4092S | £34 | 1000 | 3.4 pence |
Pros
- Wi-Fi
- WPS button
- Support for SPL-C, PCL5c & PCL6
- Quiet
- Compact
Cons
- No duplex
- No card reader
- Slow start-up
- Energy consumption during sleep mode: 6 W
Conclusion
This colour laser printer's primary selling points are its compact size and ease-of-use. It's a good buy for anyone who's looking for an inexpensive printer that gives reasonably adequate printing quality. Just don't expect many bells and whistles or record print speeds.
OUR SCORE
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