Samsung CLP-315W – Poor print quality, slow speeds

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Samsung CLP-315W is a color laser printer having wireless connectivity built-in and this lets you connect the device to a lot of computers at the same time. This is one of the smallest printers in this class that I have ever seen and the individual toner cartridges will save you some money as you can replace each one when it is finished. The printer is designed well but the quality and print speed leaves a lot to be desired. My test results showed that the Samsung CLP-315W is about twice slower as compared to average color laser printer. The output quality too is less than what is expected. This device is priced at $250 and for this price, I would’ve expected much better quality.
The design of the Samsung CLP-315W is pretty straightforward unlike some of the other flashier products from this manufacturer. Majority of its chassis is piano dark black with plastic glossy trim around its perimeter. This computer peripheral is 15.3 inches wide, 12.3 inches deep, 9.6 inches tall and weighs about 24.3 pounds. It is really compact for color laser printer. For instance, there is Dell 1320c which is double the weight and size of the XLP-315W and there is no wireless print server built-in.

The top of this Samsung CLP-315W is simple just like the chassis. It has a single power button and a lot of LED lights which indicate wireless connection and notify you of toner shortages and paper jams. I was annoyed to see that the control panel doesn’t have a separate cancel button. If you have to stop any printing job mid-way, the only way to do it is through the OS. On the top, there is a foldout arm for catching the paper that comes out of the feeder. On the bottom, there is a removable paper tray which has a 150 sheet capacity and the size range too is wide up to 8.5” by 14”. I was disappointed to see that there was no manual feed slot that you see a lot in the single function laser printers. However, you can use main input tray for the different kinds of media types like transparency papers, card stock, and envelopes.
Samsung CLP-315W is based on a four toner cartridge system (one back and three colors) which is hidden behind front faceplate’s drop down panel. These cartridges are pretty lightweight and they are easy to replace and remove thanks to the color coded tabs.