If form matters as much as function, this is the printer for you

Tired of replacing ink cartridges after only a couple hundred pages printed? So was I, that's what led me to look into a laser printer. My printing is limited to text documents, occasional map print outs when I get ready to take a road trip, order confirmations from online purchases, etc. If your printing needs are pretty much covered by what I just listed then I think you should take a long hard look at this Samsung ML-1630 laser printer.


The first thing you notice is how slim it is and it's unique form factor, it has a classy look that's brought out even more when you realize it's got a piano black finish to it. After you get used to the lovely aesthetics you then begin to think "Well, I don't see any buttons, how the heck do you work this thing?" When you first plug it in you see that Samsung has taken it a step further by using heat/touch sensitive "buttons" on the top panel, which except for the warning/fault indicators, are backlit with blue LED's which only makes the printer look even more high tech and elegant. Once you absorb all the eye candy it has to offer, it's time to get it installed so you can get busy.


The install is about a straight forward as you can possibly get. I built the machine I installed it on and it's running Vista Home Premium so when I powered it up it attempted to install the driver but I cancelled it and installed the most current driver available off the Samsung website and all was fine. I also installed SmartPanel, which I also got off the Samsung website. I rebooted my rig and fired off a test page and all was well, very crisp rendering on the test page and a nice first impression.


Samsung didn't include a USB 2.0 cable in the box but that was a non-issue as I've got a couple of them on hand. Something they did get right though was to add a strip of foam around the bottom of the printer, in addition to the rubber feet, to further absorb any and all resonant vibrations of the machine. Besides the thin paper tray, the printer feels very solid and well built and you can tell that they used very good quality materials in it's constuction. The paper tray doesn't feel quite so sturdy but given that it's only got a 100 page capacity I guess that's to be expected.


I know Samsung advertises this as a "silent" printer but I don't think I can agree with that claim. That's not to say that it's loud, cause it's far from it, but it is noticeable when it's running. In all fairness, the loudest part of the printing process is probably when the paper feeds, but even that is quiet. Another thing they claim is that the first page will print out in 15 seconds from sleep mode; I had mine turned off, sent it a print job, and 13 seconds later the print out was in my hand! Doesn't get much better than that.


While this printer doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other printers, it's classy looks and the quality of it's prints makes this one hard to beat for the home user looking to upgrade from an inkjet. I highly recommend this product.