99 of 100 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..., February 14, 2011
This review is from: Samsung Color Laser Printer (CLP-325W) (Office Product) This is my first personal laser printer and I must say Samsung has achieved the impossible with the CLP-325W.
An excellent quality color laser printer, with the easiest network install ever, and a price that made my mouth water - an amazing trifecta!
Okay, with all that hyperbole out of the way...where do I begin?
1. The wireless install was absolutely painless. I powered on the printer, enabled WPS (Wifi Protected Setup) on my router (Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR3700), and then pressed the WPS button on the printer's console. In less than a minute, my printer was online and a test page rolled out! No hassles with specifying my network SSID or password. This was the first time that I'd used WPS, and was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it went.
2. The software install went just as smoothly. I picked the custom install, opted for the wireless connection, let it search for the printer - which it promptly found, and then installed the printer driver and SmartPanel (which lets you monitor the printer's status) - both of which took less than 42 MB of space. Much much less than what HP printers tend to add to your workstation.
3. The printer's status can be accessed either via Smart Panel, which displays the amount of toner remaining (in %), etc. However, the web browser built into the printer is the bees knees. You can pretty much monitor every single fact about the printer from here. For instance, it tells you the rated capacity of the starter toner cartridges (1000 for black, and 700 for CMY); the usage of the fuser, belts, and rollers; networking information; etc.
4. The quality of the printing is not quite as good as the commercial color printers - but what were you expecting? The quality of photos and print however met and even exceeded my expectations. Text is very crisp and sharp even down to 8 points, and photos are very pleasing when rendered.
5. You do need 4 toner cartridges (C, M, Y, K) - but these seem to be reasonably priced compared to the competition, and are also easily available on Amazon. For e.g., Samsung Cyan Toner Cartridge for CLP-325W and CLX-3185FW (CLT-C407S).
Other comments:
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1. The smell for the first night is foul - and strangely enervating/nauseating. Fortunately it dissipates fairly quickly.
2. The user manual supplied with the printer is pitiful. A better one is available on the CD. Interestingly, while the manual didn't display at all in Chrome, it worked fine in IE and Firefox.
3. Ditto for the web browser on the printer. Use IE for a problem free experience.
In conclusion - this might very well be one of the best value-for-money printers out there. I was torn between this one and the HP 1525, but the lower price on this unit, and the reviews on its predecessor (the CLP-315W) tilted the balance in its favor.
I'll update this review should I encounter any problems, but for now I'm a very happy camper.
Updated 03/20:
When this printer's local IP address changes (usually when I reset my router, or also when I unplugged the printer to move it to a new location), my applications can no longer detect the printer. In such cases, the easiest fix is to re-run the 'Samsung Printers > Samsung CLP-320 Series > Maintenance' program installed during printer setup. This will locate the printer at its new address on the network.
Happy Printing!
~Damodar
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting, June 3, 2011
This review is from: Samsung Color Laser Printer (CLP-325W) (Office Product) Compared to color lasers of the past, this one's a champ in size, ease of use, cost and image quality. That said, the Samsung customer service system is ...ah... primitive. As is the cost structure for feeding the thing after purchase. Toner replacement costs and a new image drum exceed the cost of a new one, by about 170%, yet are only acout 160% more images per set. The carts that come in it are good for about 700 images (color). New ones are good for 1000, they say. A full set of CMYK carts is about $220, and a new drum is around $50, if you need it (at about 10000 pix). But a whole new printer is just $150-ish. The math is all &$@%??!!
If the toner carts were reload able for $30 each, the thing would make more sense. Third party toner powder replacement? Messy and most likely lower performance. Do the google.
When I had a problem, I used the Samsung site's customer service system. No reply AT ALL. Nothing. Confirmation that they received it was on the transmission page, but no reply.
Avoid super thick paper. Use premium heavy laser paper, please. Images can be very nice--near ink jet to most viewers. Colors are only a tad lower in vibrance than photo ink jet. It will take a great deal of testing to get used to how it portrays things. Dark images EAT toner quicker. Cost per sheet is in the $0.25 range initially. that's toner + paper computed against bargain initial cost.
You might shave a few cents off that with replacement carts, but not much.
Bottom line: it will be great while it lasts.
Note. Seller was fine. Samsung gets the low star rating.
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37 of 41 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Printer died in two weeks - no replacement - no repair, September 3, 2011
This review is from: Samsung Color Laser Printer (CLP-325W) (Office Product) While the printer is supposed to be under warranty with Samsung, it has not been repaired by the authorized service center as Samsung has a part required on back order! Samsung Customer Service is a NIGHTMARE to work with. Very inflexible. Very hard core on "company policy and procedure." Samsung does not care at all if the customer has a working printer. Samsung's policy for a printer replacement is 3 attempts to repair and 14 business days before they will consider that the printer is a LEMON!
Based on this horrible experience, I will NEVER buy a Samsung printer again. I'm shocked at how poorly this entire process is being handled!
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