Samsung CLX-3185FW

This 4-in-1 multifunction wi-fi laser aims to cover all the bases, while remaining compact and simple to use. The wi-fi is easy to set up using a button on the front, which is nice and practical! Samsung is also highlighting the inclusion of DLNA support which allows you to print straight from a TV, computer or mobile phone without having to install any plug-ins. Our test TV showed that the feature doesn't yet work systematically, even though the other products used also claim to comply with the DLNA standard. The 256 MB internal memory ensures easy sharing within a group of over thirty people.

Hardware

While not as compact as the Dell 1130, the CLX-3185FW is nevertheless a compact machine. It's also a very complete colour laser with full printing, copying, scanning and fax facilities as well as wi-fi and/or Ethernet connectivity. Its 130 page paper loader is however a little on the small side if you're planning on using it for big print runs. Nor is this loader the most practical to use. Although we do prefer a touch screen over buttons, you have to admit that this is a simple machine to use. Information is displayed on a two-line screen and the browser button gives easy access to the menus. PCL6 language support will be of interest to companies and there'll be no problems on the driver side (Mac, Linux and Windows all there), but why is there no double-sided function?

Speeds

Although the colour speeds announced in the spec were confirmed in our tests, the black & white speeds given by the manufacturer fell well short of what we measured (9 pages per minute against 16 ppm claimed by Samsung). This is unusual for Samsung, normally rigorous when it comes to announcing speeds. We'll test another sample of the same model to make sure that this one wasn't defective. The speeds we scores it at are down on the Epson CX16NF, which is in the same price range and gives colour speeds of 5 ppm and 20 ppm for black & white. Looking elsewhere, you'll also find more basic, monofunction colour lasers which are a good deal faster: the Dell 1350cnw prints at 12 ppm in colour and 15 ppm in black & white.

Quality

It works slowly but it works well. The colour prints are precise, sharp and accurate. Shading is well reproduced though the printhead line is slightly visible from close up. In black & white, the results are also very good. Irreproachably sharp, the legibility of our test graph is perfect.

Scanner and copier

The scanner is a little disappointing for a 1200 dpi. Quality is fine for text but the colours in photos suffer and there's a real lack of detail. There's a pretty high colour difference (over 9 %) though scanning time (13 seconds at 300 dpi) is rapid.
Copy mode isn't all that fast: 17 seconds for black & white and 36 seconds for colour. As is often the case, copy quality is fine for text and images that don't require too much precision. Our graph however was difficult to read.

Energy consumption & Noise levels

This printer draws 8 watts in standby, which is too much, and 380 watts when printing, which is reasonable for a laser. At 53 dB(A), it's not one of the quietest printers tested.

Cost per page: 13.6 pence

The starter cartridge gives 700 pages colour (instead of the 1000 plus you'll get from a standard cartridge). While Samsung may have squeezed the asking price for this 4-in-1 wi-fi - to the point of selling it cheaper than a lot of the competition - the cost per page for colour prints remains moderate. It costs 13.6 pence per page compared to 12.1 pence for the Epson and 18.3 pence for the Dell 1350cnw.
Black & white prints - 2.5 pence per page - are cheaper than on the Dell and on a par with the Epson.

ISO lifespan for text