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Unlike some other multi-function devices, the Samsung SCX-4500 does not include a fax capability, which counts against it for small office installations. Perhaps this was one of the tradeoffs for the small size.
Rather than an LCD display on the printer, the SCX-4500 features what looks like a blue LED display that shows a counter that can be used to represent number of copies or number of pages printed.The SCX-4500 features 8MB of memory with support for a wide variety of operating systems including Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista, Linux, Mac OSX 10.3/10.4.
The multi-function device is advertised as being quiet and features a noise level of 45 dBA. The built-in paper tray can accommodate up to 100 sheets of paper and 30 sheets of paper in the output tray.
The toner that is shipped with the device is a starter toner, which yields roughly 1000 pages. The standard toner should last approximately 2000 pages.
Performance Recent consumer electronics seem to favor designs with hidden buttons or touch screens. The SCX-4500 is no different in this respect and has removed standard buttons that provide tactile feedback. On the right-hand side of the printer is located a panel with an LED dot display with some embedded buttons. To preserve the styling, both the display and the buttons seem to lie under the piano black coating. The controls and display are slightly reminiscent of those on a microwave oven.Although esthetically pleasing, the display is on the simplistic side and fails to provide much information, while the buttons lack tactile feedback. Because the buttons are built into the piano black panel, it's hard to center and press the right button. Sometimes a harder push is required to activate a button.
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Adding to the coolness factor, there is also a blue progress light on the side of the flatbed scanner.
Moving on to the paper input tray. This tray is designed such that it is entirely built into the multi-function printer. A button must be pressed on the side of the printer, which then ejects a cartridge from a slot. This cartridge must be filled with paper and loaded back into the slot. In this way the paper is completely hidden inside the printer. This maintains the clean look of the device and is the first time I've seen a printer that doesn't have paper sticking out! The cartridge for the paper is quite slim but is rated to fit up to 100 sheets. Visually, this is a nice feature, but becomes annoying when it is necessary to print on both sides of a sheet (duplex printing). Samsung also provides a neat little software application for the SCX-4500 called "SmarThru". This piece of software allows quick access to scanning, copying and printing. In scanning mode it is possible to scan directly to an application installed on the PC such as Photoshop, rather than doing it directly within the application. In copying mode it is possible to access copy functions from the PC, although it would be more convenient just to access the copy button on the device itself. The printing mode allows file browsing and printing directly from the SmarThru application. In terms of speed, the printer warm-up time seems to be relatively short and printouts arrive quickly. Speed should not be a problem with the printing side of this device. The scanning speed was also quite good when testing at 300 dpi. Quality wise, black text was nice and sharp as would be expected from a laser printer. Similarly, for graphics the quality was good although the dots can be observed if you look closely at the printout, which is also expected from a black and white laser printer. Scanning to PC was average for the device, with the scanned image having some banding and hatching issues. Copying quality was very good. The copy of mixed graphics and text was very clear at the default settings with good dynamic range and clear details in darker areas. Samsung markets the SCX-4500 as being a quiet device that goes silent immediately after printing, copying or scanning has ceased. In addition, it doesn't wake up at random intervals to cool itself down with a fan. In operation it is also relatively quiet compared to other laser printers. Conclusion  |
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