- Fast, compact Black & White Laser Multifunction Printer with easy Built-in Wireless setup.
- Fast 21 ppm speeds and quick first page out time for less time waiting.
- 10,000 Monthly duty cyclefor more reliability from your printer.
There''s a lot to like about this Samsung SCX-3405FW Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax, and one of the best parts was that it could be set up so quickly. In fact, I had it printing from a Windows 7 notebook and a MacBook Pro within ten minutes of taking it out of the box, and that was a surprise in itself.
The wireless connection was easy to set up, and once the unit was online and the paper was loaded, everything worked quite efficiently. For those who want the quick facts, the good and the not so good, here they are.
Pros:
* Very solid all-in-one SOHO solution where space is at a premium.
* Extremely fast setup with either Window 7 or Mac OS X
* Connects via built-in wireless 802.11; USB 2.0; Ethernet 10/100 Base TX
* Fast printing, over 20 pages per minute (ppm); verified
* First print out in less than 10 seconds from ready
* High-resolution black & white printing; about 1,200 x 1,200 dpi
* Holds about 150 sheets standard 20 lb. letter paper
* Prints on plain paper, envelopes, labels and other paper stock
* Auto document feeder (ADF) holds up to 40 sheets
* Fax modem speed at 33.6 Kbps (not verified)
* Warranty: 12 months, parts & labor
Cons:
* Built-in LCD display is a bit small at 16 x 2 line; hard to read
Details & First Impressions:
The printer was packaged very well, and it only took a few minutes to unpack it from the carton and review the contents. Its desktop footprint is very small; at 15.8" wide and 11.5" deep it takes up little more space than my Windows 7 notebook, and at 11.7" high it''s not very obtrusive at all. It weighs less than 18 lbs., so it''s easy to move. There was no real user manual, but here''s one available online for download from Samsung. Besides the printer itself, is came with the following:
CD software
A quick installation guide
A full network installation guide
French display panel sticker
An AC power cord
A USB cord
A phone cord (for fax)
A warranty booklet
Did a brief overview of the basic setup, plugged in the power and the included USB cord (wireless would come later). The instructions indicated to shake the toner cartridge, so I did. Paper loading was easy, and printing the first documents from a Word document in the Windows 7 notebook with embedded images and graphics was impressive, with clear and sharp details and good grey scaling. Did the same with the MacBook Pro with equal results.
Tackled the wireless setup next, using the included manual. All went fine, but it''s suggested that you have the details of your own wireless network handy for reference.
In Use:
This all-in-one printer, scanner, copier and fax system is perfect for the small office & home office (SOHO) environments, especially where space may be at a premium. It''s extremely quiet in it''s operation, more so than any office printer that I''ve encountered, and once can actually make a phone call without leaving the room when it''s printing.
Scanning was tried only on the Windows 7 notebook, and with the software installed it''s quite simple once you learn the interface. You just right click Smart Panel in the Windows task bar, select Scan Manager, select the printer you want to use, and then click Quick Scan. Once the Quick Scan dialog appears, you set the Save Location, the File Name (default is the date and time the scan is performed), and the File Format, which will be the default file type for each consecutive scan. Your choices are TIFF, PDF, BMP, and JPG formats. After entering this info, click OK and then click Scan to scan the document to the PC.
Will admit that I did not use the fax feature on this all-in-one unit, and for the primary reason that I personally have very little (if any) use for it. Scanning directly to email can be done, which is something that I find quite useful, as do the people with whom I correspond. It''s nice to know that it''s there if needs change in the future, but it''s not something that I''ve done in years.
Copying documents is straightforward, and you can also prints multiple image copies from the original document onto a single page. The actual number of images is automatically determined by the size of original image and paper size. Copy speed is the same as printing (about 15 to 21 ppm in letter format), and there are a number of different options that you can choose. Just remember that your results will be in blank & white.
The original toner cartridge is limited, so plan on getting one soon. This seems to be an industry-wide practice now, somewhat irritating, but that''s just the way it is, so please don''t shoot the messenger. A new cartridge should give you about 1,500 printouts, and the proper replacement toner cartridge for this unit is the Samsung MLT-D101S/XAA Toner 1.5K Yield (ML-2165W, SCX-3405FW, SF-760P). It can be ordered here on Amazon or probably picked up from your local office supply store.
Summary:
Color laser printers can be very expensive, as can be their toner cartridges. This is a personal choice, but for color printing, especially when dealing with photos, I prefer using a separate photo-grade inkjet printer. For document processing, a good monochrome high-speed printer, especially if it''s an all-in-one, is a far more economical and functional choice for daily needs.
When looking at this printer sitting next to me right now, the first thought is how compact it is, smaller than my old HP LaserJet 4L from years ago, yet far faster, much quieter and with far better ergonomics and controls. The second thought is one that dominates: this all-in-one is very quiet. It''s one of the easiest printers that I''ve encountered to set up, and the results that I''ve been getting are surprisingly good. It''s compact, fast, efficient and quiet, which makes it ideal for any SOHO environment. If you need an all-in-one and can forego color printing, this for the money, this Samsung SCX-3405FW is an excellent choice, and is easily worthy of a 5-star recommendation.
7/3/2012
Buy Samsung SCX-3405FW Wireless Monochrome Printer Now
I''ve owned many Samsung printers over the years which is the reason I turned to them again when my beloved mutlifunction printer of 7 years finally kicked it this year. This new variant has given me nothing but headaches since it arrived.
First, lets talk about the little pop out panel. It is super tiny and so are the buttons. I have really small hands and I think the buttons are too small, so I can''t imagine normal man hands using it. It''s difficult to read the menu and navigate. My previous model had a big screen on the top, so this is definitely a negative for me.
Next, wifi connectivity is erratic. It does it, but it frequently just loses connection for no apparent reason. I''ve got a whole network of computers and other printers which aren''t losing connection, just this one. It''s a pain to constantly reset it.
Another annoying problem is that the fax goes off in the middle of phone calls. Someone calls; I answer the phone; we''re talking for 10 minutes and then bam fax noises screaching in your ear. Now I can''t keep the fax cord plugged in all the time. I plug it in only when I''m going to make an outgoing fax.
And the most annoying factor, which is happening with all printers these days, is the ridiculous microchip that limits the amount of prints you can get out of your cartridge. The older models didn''t have it and you could print until the toner turned faded so you get every bit out of it. When you consider the cost of these things it''s absurd to limit the use. I''m definitely not getting the amount of pages it claims and it''s stopping me from printing when there is most likely quite a lot of toner still left in the container. Yes, there are some hacks you can apply to the printer or buy new chips, however you shouldn''t have to mod your own device to make it work.
So, it gets 2 stars because it turns on, makes copies, sends faxes and sometimes prints when it has connection to the network and isn''t limiting my toner usage. It is definitely a step back in quality, user friendliness and efficiency that I had grown to love in the older Samsung devices.
Read Best Reviews of Samsung SCX-3405FW Wireless Monochrome Printer Here
This Samsung Wireless Monochrome Laser Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax all-in-one is a good choice for home or small office use. We are almost addicted to printing at our house and, with the demands of two students and projects for my wife''s small business. Using an inkjet cartridge based printer can get very expensive, especially when most of the output is fine in "black & white" or grey-scale. This all-in-one allows us to cut down on our printing costs while giving us handy features like scanning and faxing. Here are my observations:
What''s Included: Printer, "Starter" Toner Cartridge (pre-installed), Power Cord, Installation CD, Quick Start Guide, Installation Manual, French Control Panel Overlay (English is pre-installed), USB Cable (a nice surprise) and Phone Cord
My Setup; We live in a very old house that is not well suited to wired networking (supported, but cable not provided) and all four us use laptops on our wireless home network. After unboxing the printer, removing the numerous tape strips hold the moving parts down, reading the quick install directions, and shaking the toner cartridge (as instructed), I powered up the unit and pressed the glowing "WPS" button and then acknowledged the connection in my wireless router by entering the printer code shown on the LCD screen. The printer was then connected to our network in a matter of minutes. Next I installed the software drivers and management programs (Samsung Easy Print Manager, SmarThru Office 2, and Samsung Scan Assistant) on our PCs (Vista and Windows 7), and the printer was "found" quickly by the software.
Software notes:
* Easy Print Manager; lets you access the device setting settings and advance functionality (like Alerts, Scan to PC settings, etc) You might need this Username "admin", and this Password "sec00000" the first time you want to change the settings
* SmarThru Office 2; Document management package, I don''t intend to use it
* Scan Assistant; Presents a scanning interface (similar to the TWAIN screen when accessed from graphics programs), you can select "Custom Install" to enable "OCR" (Optical Character Recognition to save documents in "Text" formats)
Pros -
+ Small Size; relatively compact for an all-in-one
+ Print Quality; sharp and clear text and graphics
+ Print Speed; very fast printing
+ Scan Quality; full color scanning to the PC is sharp and accurate
+ OCR Accuracy; surprisingly good accuracy on the test pages I tried, very near 100%
+ FAX; basic send/receive work well, more advance features can be set in the "Easy Print Manager" options (address book, etc)
+ Copying; B&W/Grey-Scale works great, either single page or via the automatic document feeder
Cons -
Poor Wi-Fi Reception; this seems to have a very weak antenna since it needed to be move much closer to my wireless router than my other Wi-Fi devices
Physical Quality; the plastic foldout paper trays feel very flimsy and I am concerned about their longevity if they get "bumped"
LCD Screen; this is the biggest issue for me, as it is very hard to read
Misc -
* "Starter" Toner Cartridge; this is partial cartridge that will not last long, use Samsung MLT-D101S/XAA Toner 1.5K Yield (ML-2165W, SCX-3405FW, SF-760P)
* "Power Save"; I extended this from "1 Minute" to "30 Minutes" in the "Easy Print Manager" options to avoid having to go physically "wake up" the unit between scanning jobs (a personal preference)
This nicely augments our networked color inkjet printer for home use and is generally a very useful multifunction device.
Recommended!
CFH
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This is a satisfying all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier. I have no need for a fax machine, although it is a convenient feature to have available if it is ever needed. It has a good, but not great, build, but always works when I need it. Despite a few setup issues, I''m please with its performance.
There are three ways to connect this device -USB, ethernet, and wireless. My preferred choice was wireless -but it did not go well at all. In order to setup the wireless connection, you need to connect the device to a PC using the USB cable. After well over an hour -possibly 90 minutes -I only managed to connect it wirelessly to my router once. But after the printer went into "sleep" mode, it would not wake up on its own and the wireless connection was lost. After several failed attempted to reconnect it, I decided to use the ethernet option -since the router was only four feet away! -and have not looked back. The printer immediately obtained an IP address, and after two months, I have not experienced any issues with a drop or lack of connectivity, even after rebooting both the router and the printer. While wireless would have been convenient, it simply didn''t work out for me.
The device comes with a software suite installation CD. Needless to say, the software is very fat -and take a very long time to install. There''s no option (from what I could tell) to install only the parts you need. For example, if you don''t plan on using the fax features, the fax features of the software are still installed. The software itself remains fairly hidden on your PC when running, and provides the usual status updates regarding jobs. What is odd, however, is that you cannot adjust settings on the printer while connected via Wireless or Ethernet. You need to connect the printer via USB, or you need to adjust settings using the device''s front-panel menus.
From a design perspective, the printer does not have a particularly solid build -very lightweight plastic, especially on doors and panels. There is no paper-cassette, only a paper tray, so paper capacity is somewhat limited. This is, at best, a lightweight/light-job printer. The front panel keypad can be lifted out to an angle for easy viewing. While it has status lights to show current status, the LCD does not illuminate, which makes it difficult to view.
From a performance perspective, printing is what you would expect. Quality is good. Warm-up time from sleep-mode is very respectable. It prints a page fairly quickly. My only complain is related to "paper out": when the printer runs out of paper, it thinks there is a jam, and you need to open the upper doors to "clear" this error status. Scanning is also good. The default quality of scanning is 300 dpi, which can be increased to 600 dpi, and the printer scans in both b&w and color. A great feature is being able to scan to a PC -which means you don''t need to open any software on the PC. You select the PC destination using the front panel keypad, scan the document, and the document will be sent to the "My Documents" directory of the destination PC. This functionality is so easy, my wife figured it out without having to ask me how it works. Copying is good, and very handy. The device has autofeed, so if you have a multi-page document that needs to be scanned or copied, you can load the entire document and then scan or copy the entire thing.
From a user perspective, "it always works".
It is important to note that the toner supplied is only a short-duration toner cartridge -it won''t last long at all.
Better setup, a slightly better build, and a dedicated paper cartridge would make this good printer even better. Otherwise, it is a reliable networked printer that has not given me any trouble in over two months. If you need a multifunction device, this is recommended.
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I was hesitant to try the Samsung SCX-3405FW Printer because the the stock photo makes it look big and bulky. I was wrong! The printer is definitely more compact than what you see in the picture and I will try to get an actual pic up here for you so that you can see for yourself! Set up is a total breeze with Win 7 it took maybe all of 5-10 minutes from the time I opened the box. The unit itself produces lightning fast copies and seems to be holding it''s own for household use. However, the con....there is always a but.....the toner is expensive. You will get a trial size with the printer, but you are looking at an additional $70 or additional dollars in toner to get you set up. I guess I am spoiled with my HP printers coming with ink!
