Samsung Monochrome ML-2950ND Laser Printer Review
By: Michael Phrakaysone
There are some of us who come from aged inkjet printers and are on the market for an upgrade. For us there is really no need to spend much on a printer so we’re looking for something specific. Think of it as graduating and moving on. Inkjet while good for basic requirements are usually slow, noisy and replacement cartridges can add up over time. When you do swap out cartridges, you may require head cleaning before prints will look normal again. Some of us have just outgrown inkjets and need something faster and better to meet our needs.
Today I will be reviewing one of the printer models from Samsung that is affordable and has the time saving duplex printing feature (double-sided prints) that other printers often do not have unless you’re willing to pay up for it. It also has a network function for those who want to use it on their existing network. Introducing the Samsung Monochrome ML-2950ND laser printer review.
About Samsung
“For over 70 years, SAMSUNG has been dedicated to making a better world through diverse businesses that today span advanced technology, semiconductors, skyscraper and plant construction, petrochemicals, fashion, medicine, finance, hotels and more. Our flagship company, SAMSUNG Electronics, leads the global market in high-tech electronics manufacturing and digital media.
Through innovative, reliable products and services; talented people; a responsible approach to business and global citizenship; and collaboration with our partners and customers, SAMSUNG is taking the world in imaginative new directions.”
Samsung ML-2950ND Product Overview
Today’s business needs a printer that’s economical, yet doesn’t compromise on performance. Packed full of eco-friendly functionality, it’s easy to save money on your printing with the Samsung Mono Laser Printer ML-2950ND Series.
Get more from every page with Duplex printing
Double your print output. Or, halve your paper costs. Either way you look at it; there is no denying that Duplex printing is an essential feature for both business and personal printing. It provides loads of cool and creative ways to fulfill print jobs, from single-sided formats to double-sided booklet formats, and really delivers a professional look and feel every time. The double-sided printing capabilities will also massively reduce costs and ensure that your paper supplies last longer. This then helps reduce waste, and minimizes your impact on the environment. So, it is definitely a win-win situation with Duplex printing.
Being eco-friendly just got easier
Make hitting your environmental goals a whole lot easier with Samsung’s new Eco Mode, which also includes a Results Simulator to check how well you are doing. The Eco Mode features a one touch Eco Button, which conveniently serves as your default setting once activated, and reduces paper consumption with Duplex printing, 2 or 4-up printing and a Toner Save setting. Thanks to the Results Simulator, you can really appreciate how much good work you are doing. The simulation shows levels of carbon dioxide emissions, electricity and paper usage. The Eco Mode is an easy and effective way of keeping track of your printer consumption – which is better for you and the planet!
Work better with Fast Speed printing performance
Print documents (small or large) quickly thanks to Samsung’s Fast Speed printing, which is made possible with the 533 MHz CPU and 64MB memory. Perfect for getting important work documents printed with high quality and zero fuss, the faster printing speeds will also help boost office productivity and enhance workflows. A reliable and superior printer like this will quickly become a must-have business tool - you’ll wonder how your business ever functioned without one.
Connect with your colleagues
Connect everyone in your office to one network and keep everything running smoothly. They’ll share a common printer and you’ll save time from servicing multiple machines. And with the Ethernet interface you can increase your performance by hooking it up to the network. Improve your communication skills with the Streamline work with easy-to-use printers laser printer and keep your lines of communication open.
A top printer that’s low on noise
From a company that knows its business, the new Samsung Streamline work with easy-to-use printers printer can work flat out at a mere 50 decibels, an office-friendly volume you won‘t be hearing our competitors shout about. With a standby volume of 30 dBA, it signals an end to colleagues having to scream to be heard, even before their printing has begun. Doors can stay open along corridors as the ML-2950ND outperforms the other leading printers copy after copy.
Ideal for small, stylish spaces and busy places
Finally, your desk can look stylish because of your printer, not in spite of it. The Samsung ML-2950ND laser printer has an elegant exterior design, sure to fit in with any workspace. Its top cover looks chic and polished while offering dust-free protection. Spiff up your space with a desktop accessory that actually helps you work better.
Samsung ML-2950ND Product Specifications
General
- 533 MHz Processor
- 64 MB Memory / Storage
- Compatibility Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 2003 Server / 2008 Server, Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.6,Various Linux OS
- High speed USB 2.0, Ethernet 10 / 100 base TX interfaces
- Noise Level General Noise Level Less than 50 dBA (Printing) Less than 26 dBA (Standby)
- Duty cycle (monthly) up to 12000 pages
- General Dimension 348 x 338 x 197 mm (13.7" x 13.3" x 7.7") Dimension
- 7.2 kg (15.8 lbs) Weight
- Up to 28 ppm in A4 (29 ppm in Letter) Speed (Mono)
- Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi Effective Output
- First print out time (Mono): Less than 8.5 s (From Ready Mode)
- PCL6, PCL5e, SPL Print Emulation
- Built-in Duplex Print
Consumables
- Standard: Average Cartridge Yield 1500 standard pages. High yield: Average Cartridge Yield 2500 standard pages (Ships with 1000 pages Starter Toner Cartridge) Declared cartridge yield in accordance with ISO / IEC 19752
- 1-piece Cartridge
- Model CodeMLT-D103S, MLT-D103L
Paper Handling
- 250-sheet Cassette, 1-sheet Manual Tray Input Capacity
- Paper Size: Paper Handling Media SizeA4, A5, Letter, Legal, Executive, Folio, Oficio, ISO B5, JIS B5, Envelope (Monarch, No.9, No.10, DL, C5), Custom
- Plain, Thin, Cotton, Recycled, Archive, Colored, Pre-Printed, Label, Bond, Thick, Thicker, Envelopes, Cardstock, Transparency Media Type
Features and specifications are subject to change without prior notification.
First Impressions and Overview
This Samsung laser printer comes in a standard corrugated box with standard Samsung design philosophy and graphics, meaning everything is simple for the consumer. The strange thing is that there are no grab handles on this box and that was a bit of a dissatisfaction to see because you have to lug the box from the bottom.
Before the box is fully opened, the internal flaps contain information pertaining to the contents of the box and a quick installation guide which I thought was nice to have. Inside the box you really don’t have a big bundle. All that is included is the printer, software CD, warranty card information and a standard power cord. No USB printer cable is included with this printer which still upsets me to this day because many manufactures are doing this when the cable costs cents to manufacture and when you go to a computer store, they charge you an inflated price ($10 or more) for one cable which is preposterous.
The printer is covered in a plastic bag and protected in the box by foam inserts around the corners of the printer and once unpacked you will notice that this unit is not fancy by any stretch of the imagination and some may consider it boring as the color is just matte white and gray.
The ML-2950ND is not a heavy unit so it’s not too taxing when moving it around. The majority of the construction on this unit is composed out of hard plastic and some metal for the paper tray and internals. You have a couple of access points located in the front for access to toner location and access to the rear for times when and if you experience some sort of paper jam and need to remove it located on the back of the machine.
On the very top of the machine the first thing we can see is the flap that is the output tray extension. This piece can be extended out when you print and folded back in after you are done to prevent dust from entering the compartment. To the right of this we see the control panel where there are four buttons along with two LED’s. From top to bottom is the toner LED, status LED, Eco, demo/WPS/print screen, cancel and power on/off buttons.
Coming down to where the Samsung logo is located is the front cover which gives access to the toner location. The toner LED that is on the top of the printer will blink yellow to indicate that it is low and needs replacing. Simply remove and insert the new toner, fitting correctly one way, close the front cover and you are good to go. Included in the package is a printer toner for the ML-2950ND but it's a starter unit that is good for 1,000 pages. An optional high yield toner can be purchased that can allow for 2,500 pages. The good news is that the ECO function that is with the ML-2950ND will likely help preserve toner and allow for more than 1,000 pages.
Below this we come across the front paper tray that is able to be pulled out for easier access. To the right is the variable paper level indicator. The ML-2950ND can hold 250 sheets of paper and additionally 1 sheet can be manually fed into the smaller compartment just above the lower paper tray. Simply push to lower the compartment, insert paper and press Print screen or Demo page, or WPS button each time you print a page. The manual feeder can hold special sizes and types of print material, such as postcards, note cards, and envelopes. The compartment has paper width guides that allows you securely place whatever media you insert.
On the sides of the unit are breather holes and one where an internal fan is exhausting out heat from the unit to keep it in cool operating temperature and prevent it from overheating.
Last we come across the back of the unit which holds the Network port, USB 2.0 port, and power receptacle port. Also the rear cover can be accessed here that allows you to clear paper jams if they happen at the rear.
Is it any good?
Cold start the Samsung ML-2950ND by pressing the power button on the top of the machine and the machine will be ready to print in under 20 seconds. The printer gets ready within this time frame with the exhaust fan and other components spinning at full speed, at this point it's the only other time noise is around 50dBA. Once in standby the volume decreases to less than 26dBA and is not distracting.
From the time you send an item to the printer, it takes the ML-2950ND about 7 seconds to start printing from your send execution.
The biggest selling factor that I feel is inside the Samsung ML-2950ND is its automatic dual side printing function. This function alone saves not only paper, but time as well, and we all know that time is money. The implementation of duplex printing is simple to enable through the printer’s control panel once you have installed the driver and its software. In the printer control panel there is an option to enable duplex printing (three different values) and once set, it works wonderfully well. When a document is sent to be printed it prints the first page, places it in the output tray, sucks it back in, prints the other side, and comes back out again. All of this works without fuss and without any problems or misalignment's.
I do notice that the ML-2950ND prints faster if you’re doing single side prints, however, automatic duplex printing only adds an additional few seconds. It’s not an inconvenience. I have to say that I love this feature. Add that with the ECO button and that saving increases further. In the control panel there is an option to use the ECO mode driver that allows you to remove images, convert to grayscale and it maintains a counter that tracks C02, Energy, and Paper % saved.
Print quality is very good, especially for a printer unit that is very affordable. Prints are clear, sharp and readable even at size 4 font. You are able to have the flexibility of changing settings like the darkness of the prints and more. And the 64MB of internal memory makes printing complex text and images easy without any fuss or hiccups.
Conclusion?
I think for those looking for a reason to upgrade from their older inkjet printers need to look at the Samsung ML-2950ND as a viable solution for their needs. It’s within your means (can be found under $100CDN on sale), it prints out automatically on both sides of the paper without any issue, its speedy at 29ppm, and it has an ECO mode function that helps to save toner in the long run. With the printers control panel everything is simplified and easy to understand. Sure it might not be fancy looking but it's not meant to be that way, it's meant to get the job completed and it does it with ease.
Recommended.
