New York, NY -- If you are a small office or workgroup, chances are you need a printer that can keep up and is reliable. According to a review by PrinterComparison.com’s Sarah Meyer, you may have to look no further than the Samsung ML-2855nd. In fact, she liked it so much, they rated the printer as a Editor’s Choice.
Probably the first thing many will notice when they see the printer outside of its box is its size. When many people think of laser printers, they think of large, potentially noisy machines that are heavy. The ML-2855nd breaks that mold by measuring a compact 14.5x15.4x8.5” (HxWxD) and weighing under 20 lbs. The display is fairly basic with a two-line monochrome LCD and buttons for toggling between menus and cancelling print jobs.
Reportedly capable of print speeds up to 30ppm (a number which was confirmed by Ms. Meyer during her tests), the 2855nd also boasts a resolution of 1200x1200 dpi. The output tray sits atop the machine and can hold up to a 150 sheets of paper at a time. Other paper handling features include a 250-sheet input tray and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray in the base configuration. For an additional $149.99, you can add an additional 250-sheet tray bringing the total capacity to 550 sheets. Another standard feature of this printer is automatic duplexing which should help cut down on paper waste.
Offices will also likely appreciate the high max monthly duty cycle of 50,000 pages as well as the standard 400 MHz processor and 64MB of internal memory. The ML-2855nd can be connected to your PC or Mac via Ethernet or USB 2.0. Management of the machine is made easy via web server through a standard browser.
The aforementioned print speed combined with the overall print quality makes the printer even more impressive, according to Meyer. Even the duplex printing was relatively quick. Looking at the images of printed materials provided by PrinterComparison, this reviewer has to agree; even the prints from the toner-saving mode are highly readable.
The ML-2855nd also boast very low ink costs—a very important feature in these economic times. The standard cartridge, the MLT-D209S is rated for 2,000 pages and priced at $69.99 for a cost per page of 3.4 cents. The high-yield toner, the MLT-D209L is good for 5,000 pages and runs $99.99 which equals 1.9 cents per page.
Overall, the ML-2855nd should be a solid bet for most SMBs or workgroups that find themselves needing to print out dozens of sheets per day. With the price as it is now from Amazon, one could even argue that the low investment and reasonable running costs merit consideration for home offices with moderately heavy print volumes.
