| Sub-£100 laser printers are nothing new, | | | | |
| but for that money you'd expect a fairly | | | | As this cartridge can cost almost as much as |
| basic personal laser. Samsung's ML-3050 | | | | the printer it is essential to shop around |
| certainly covers the basics, but also offers | | | | for the best value, try comparing prices from |
| a couple of extras you might not expect. | | | | Samsung with local retailers and an online |
| | | | discounter like Cartcon. |
| At first sight the ML-3050 is nothing | | | | |
| special: a squashed cube in two tones of grey | | | | The ML-3050 is a quick machine for the money |
| with a 250-sheet paper tray sliding out from | | | | and we saw 16ppm for text and just over 4ppm |
| the bottom and a multi-purpose tray folding | | | | for photographic prints. While neither of |
| down from the front panel. This isn't a | | | | these speeds comes close to Samsung's rating |
| single-sheet tray, though, and can take up to | | | | of 28ppm, real-world measurements rarely do. |
| 100 sheets of special media, such as | | | | The text print speed in particular is very |
| letterheads or envelopes. Pages end up in an | | | | reasonable for a printer in this price range. |
| output tray set into the top of the machine. | | | | |
| | | | The printer has a resolution of 1,200dpi, but |
| Also at the top is the control panel, though | | | | this is an enhanced figure and the native |
| there's no LCD display here, just three | | | | resolution is half this. Even so, it gave |
| buttons: one stops a print job, the second | | | | better reproduction of our test photo at |
| switches on toner saving and the last, a bit | | | | 600dpi than with the 1,200dpi enhancement |
| of a sales indulgence, prints a demo page. At | | | | turned on. In both modes it did well for a |
| the back are both USB 2 and parallel ports, | | | | mono laser and text print was particularly |
| again unusual in an entry-level printer but | | | | crisp and precise. |
| useful if all your USB ports are in use. | | | | |
| | | | In conclusion the ML-3050 is a great little |
| The printer is supplied with a low capacity | | | | laser printer, giving quality print at low |
| toner cartridge which is capable of producing | | | | price. It's easy to set up and use and is |
| 4,000 pages at 5% coverage, to reduce print | | | | quick enough for most personal print |
| costs to around 1.7p per page it would be | | | | applications. Samsung needs to look at the |
| necessary to replace this cartridge when | | | | pricing of its print cartridges, though, if |
| empty with the high capacity 8,000 page | | | | its customers aren't to buy new printers each |
| ML-D3050b cartridge. | | | | time they need more toner. |