Customer Reviews

Dell 2130cn Color Laser Printer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Update:

As of Jan 2012 this unit is still running properly, so it appears that it *can* be reliable, once you assemble it from reliable components.

Update:

Well... third time seems to be the charm, after swapping out two printer bodies and two duplex units this printer is FINALLY working properly, so I'm bumping it up to three stars.

Still, it took a lot of my time and effort to get things working; if you want to make the attempt I HIGHLY recommend purchase from direct form Dell so that service and support are available.

Original 1 Star Review:

In the 6 months I've owned this printer (purchased direct from Dell) I've been able to run 420 pages through it in duplex mode - which is the only mode in which I have a use for it.

I'm now on my second printer body and second duplex unit - you finally get one to work, then other quits, usually in the form of sensor errors that continue to report paper jams when paper path is clear.

You then have to remove and re-seat various components - often 5-10 times - before the printer "discovers" things are OK, then you run another 20-30 pages through it and it again reports a (non-existent) jam.

Least anyone wonder, I am *very* experienced with a wide variety of laser printer, have tried various types of paper, and spent several hours on the phone with Dell support - based on my experience this printer's design is just a dog if you attempt to run duplex mode.

I bought this printer 3 (THREE) days ago from AMAZON. Printer functions perfectly as it should but emits a high frequency/pitch noise. I called Dell regarding this issue and it turns out that any DELL products bought from any place except DELL have NO warranty. NONE. YES, ZERO warranty for a new product by DELL from Amazon. The technician was trying to tell me that I need to BUY a new diffuser on a brand new product and that by buying their product, there is still no guarantee that it would solve my problem.

Amazon should have a disclaimer on DELL products that says NO WARRANTY.

I own the printer w/ duplexor and have run 2100 pages thru the unit with about 1000 of those duplex. The printer warms up fast and prints fast even when duplexing.

The included drive works great over the network and has many cool feature such as the ability to print in booklet mode where the print driver re-organizes the print job so you can fold over an 8 1/2 x 11 page an make a booklet that is doublesided.

The color is great and the color supplies are low cost from Dell and even cheaper from aftermaket suppliers.

If you use an aftermarket cartridge you have to select tell the printer to use non-oem carts.

I have had 0 paper jams, 0 dupelxor jams or issues.

When printing I dont have the whine noise, but it is not a quite printer but this is really a business peinter and at the price is a much better printer.

Printer is now discontinued but while it was available it was a work-horse and very affordable print per page IF you did not use Dell-brand toner.

I bought this printer after reading many reviews and it seemed like a sound purchase, although I was duly warned by the reviewers who noted that Dell will not honor warranties when you purchase thru Amazon. I wish I had paid more attention. Here are my problems:
I have never gotten the colors to register and find the registration process difficult to understand and to access. There is a white line around my cyan based colors where they don't register with the others, and no amount of adjustment in the tool box has helped it. I am a designer and high quality prints are of the utmost importance to me. The colors are no where near the colors shown on screen, and I have used it with 3 different computers to the same disappointing end. It is not a monitor issue, the previous printer I used (Konica Minolta Magicolor 2300) was very good indeed on delivering great color match.

The toner cartridges do run out fast but as noted by others, they are inexpensive and I have not noticed much difference between Dell and off-brand toners in the color quality (or lack thereof). If you just want bright color you will certainly get that, but accurate color is much harder, particularly when the colors required are neutrals. I realize this is an inexpensive printer but I am so profoundly disappointed I don't know what to do.

I have used this printer in my home office for over two and half years. It is the best product I have purchased from Dell. There has been no jam or noise issue. The duplex module (purchased separately) works flawlessly. But most importantly, I can buy a whole set of compatible toner cartridges for $45 from Amazon. They work just as well as the the $300+/set OEM toners.

This model has been replaced by the newer 2150CN. I don't know if it prints better since I don't own one. But you should buy 2130CN while it is still available from DELL SMB, even at a slightly higher price. I believe that the biggest upgrade in 2150CN is the microchip technology in the toner cartridge. There is NO 3rd party compatible toner cartridge available to date! The cost to replace a set of toner cartridges is more expensive than the printer itself!!! Although I understand that Dell wants to make toner sales as cash cow, they charge way, way too much for a few ounces of graphite powder.

If you are in the market for a color laser printer for home or business, get 2130CN while you can. It is not only a superb printer, you save the cost of the printer itself (compare to all current Dell models) every time you replace a set of toner cartridges.

I have had no problems with this printer. Not one jam after a couple thousand of copies have been run through it. It has run flawless for a year. I also own a Dell 1700N which has worked perfectly for several years. The 2130 is a full featured printer. I do not use duplex. My only gripe is the cost of toner. The four replacement toner cartridges will cost as much as the printer if you stay with Dell. I am goosey about using anything else. For some reason the colored toner has been consumed at the same rate of the black toner. Not sure why as 70% of my copies are black and white. Supposed to get 2500 pages from the toner cartridges.

I have not owned an inkjet so it is hard to compare this printer with other laser printers and inkjets regarding cost of toner replacement and how many pages you get.

I purchased this printer new from Dell business direct about July of 09. Set up was fast and easy. No brainer when I bought it at less than $250.00 from Dell with shipping!
Has run virtually flawlessly over the entire history.

It is on a USB direct line as it does not need to be on my home network so I can't comment of network setup etc.
Purchased Dell because of the price and Warranty from Dell. Also the review from other users buying non dell very inexpensive replacement toners made this very economical to run. The color tones and saturation are indistingishable from the Dell toners.

Colors with the Original Dell toners are a just a slight bit off to the cyan and there is NO WAY TO adjust with software, firmware.
It was off just enough for me to make a claim before the warranty ran out. I print Real Estate flyers and need good copy.

My first choice was actually for Xerox Phaser for home office use as I run 20k copies year min. at my main office and have very little if any problems with them.

They however require a periodic maint. kit at about $80. Also the thermal wax printer requires Xerox color wax. The after market wax colors have not proven to be good in those machine from what all of the reviews indicate.

The Phaser is also a lot noisier than the Dell. That becomes an issue for me if I am running 20 or more sheets at a time. Particularly anoying if I am on a phone call.

When I finally did ask Dell to take care of the color problem under warranty they immediately sent a replacement printer and toners right away and also paid the freight back to Dell for the defective unit (read heavy!)

My only disappointment is not having a duplexer on this and Dell wants a fortune. Also from what I have been reading there seems endless issues using the duplexer on the Dell 2130n.
MY Xerox Phasors handle duplex extremely well though the output is laboriously slow.

If you are looking for photo lab color correctness stay with your ink jet printer! If you want fast dependable color that most people wouldn't notice a very slight color shift in, look to this unit.
I give the Dell 2130n a 9 out of 10 overall and would buy another if the first failed. I only wish that I had bought two or more at the time I bought this one!

I've had it for a couple of months now and it seems like a workhorse printer. Takes a little while to warm up, but very quick after that.

It is big, but acceptable for a home office (which is what I do). I bought this specifically because of the good reviews and the dirt cheap aftermarket toner. The color accuracy between the printer and monitor is off. I'm sure there is a way to adjust it, I just haven't taken the time yet. I haven't tried it with a laser glossy paper for photos, it would do ok. But I've quickly grown accustomed to having spot color on everything.

Yes the SSF is weak, not easy to use, envelopes crease a little, but they do in my Brother MFC as well. The software is fairly understated, but that's fine with me as I get annoyed by overly intrusive software.

Overall, I would recommend for any small business that has room and is looking for a network printer (color or b&w). For $250 on Dell Business it's a great buy.

I like the printer except that I and others in the office have had a hard time with the SSF pulling label forms in at a small angle and therefore rendering the labels unusable. I have found that if you hold the size level with one hand the feed the label with the other we have better luck. A bit of a design flaw as this is one of our main uses for the machine. Otherwise, it seems to print nicely.