Function One: Printer
As mentioned, the Samsung SCX-4500 is a multifunction laser printer. Although this might make it sound like the perfect addition to a small office, the number of functions housed within isn’t exactly that huge. Instead, you basically get three core functions: Printer, scanner, and standalone monochrome copier. Oh, that was something that I didn’t mention. The SCX-4500 is a black-and-white laser printer and not color. Don’t expect to make any fantastic photo prints using this thing despite its resemblance to its photo printer cousin, the SPP-2040.
Setting up the printer in Windows XP is just about as easy as any other printer. You just load up the appropriate drivers and you’ll be printing spreadsheets with the best of them in about five minutes. The speed is reasonable, but it is nowhere near as fast as some higher-end MFPs. Remember, this machine was designed to be easy on the eyes and not necessarily designed to be the most powerful machine in your home office.
Grayscale performance isn’t the best, so I wouldn’t recommend printing that many images using this machine. Because it is black and white, I’d probably stick to documents, pie charts, and other simple images. Text is very sharp though. I should also note that there is no automatic duplexing.
Function Two: Scanner
A thin lid can be raised on the top of this multifunction printer to reveal a flatbed scanner. This will handle color images, sending the BMP file over to your USB-connected computer. The on-board controls are quite simple and they are very easy to use.
You can probably adjust the settings using the provided software, but at their default settings, a scan of a single page can take nearly a minute. This is far too slow for most people, but the resulting resolution is quite good. You just have to be patient.
To scan to your computer, simply tap the “Scan to PC” touch-sensitive control and away you go.
Function Three: Copier
In stark contrast to the scanner function, the monochrome copier function is quite speedy, as you can see in the video below.
Using the same controls as the scanner, you can adjust basic things like the number of copies, darkness level, and enlargement/reduction. I’m pleased with this end of things.
BONUS Function: Fashion Accessory
Seeing how your desktop computer isn’t a boring beige box anymore, it’s only fitting that the rest of the your technological gizmos should have some spark of personality as well. The Samsung SCX-4500 satisfies this requirement, serving almost like a piece of jewelry for your desk. It’s shiny and it looks nice, much like many Apple computers. If you want to be hip and trendy, you don’t want a bland gray printer. In fact, Samsung told us that they targeted this printer product specifically at the Mac Affluent.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Shop Like a PRO!