Customer Reviews

Samsung CLP-300N Network-ready Color Laser Printer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've used this printer for about a month. In general, it prints text well, albeit a bit oversaturated. OTOH, the rated speed output for monochrome prints is actually close to accurate.

For color prints, my use has primarily been for color charts, graphs and the like, and for this purpose, it works admirably well (use decent quality laser paper for best results). It is fast, and for both monochrome and color printing, it is very quiet, with rapid startup (no long waiting before the first page is printed).

I would not use this printer for photos, but that's obvious. Inkjet and dye-sub printers do a far better job at printing photos, although the costs of consumables are much higher as well. Comparison with my Konica-Minolta 2450 (which is also network ready shows slight banding and generally less than optimal photo quality. However, for general office use, claimed comsumable cost is considerably lower than for even the most basic inkjets.

The software supplied with the CLP-300N (the N means it has an ethernet network card installed) works as advertised, and installing it on both Windows 2003 and XP is straighforward. The bundled software (30 day trial) is worth what you pay for it, which is to say, very little. However, as noted above, printing photos is not this printer's forte.

All in all, the small size, quiet operation, quick startup and good monochrome printing with the opetion to add a dash of color makes this a good workgroup printer for SOHO use. The reliability of the printer remains unknown, as I've only printed about 5000 pages sso far. Similarly, the quoted capacity of the toner bottles may be overoptimistic, but it's too early to tell.

Compared to the behemoths sold by HP and others, this printer does not overwhem a small sized office or open space, and I recommend it with only a few small reservations. As a value/money proposition, it's a good deal.

Ishan Bhattacharya, MD

I got this for my small business. Occassionally we need color prints, it's a hassel to go out and print it, and usually the ink jets' ink is always dry when we need to use it. WIth the small amount of prints we do on color, normally it means buy ink, print 1 time, then it's dry. Now that the color laser is more reasonablly priced, we took a chance and got one.

We always use HP printers, but this samsung was really the best deal and sounded like it does exactly what we want. Here's what we though after using it for a while:

The good:
1. easy setup
2. 4 separate color cartridge. no more waste!!
3. The build is very sturdy.
4. Cost is very reasonable.

Minor complaints:
1. heats up a bit slow on start.
2. the black bleeds a bit. making the letters look "fat".
3. Printer is really heavy.

Despite the minor complaints I still give this a 5 star. Gotta understand you get what you pay for. There's better ones out there, but it'll cost you a lot more. For $350 the this samsung printer does an excellent job.

This printer worked great as the other reviews stated for the first year. However, my goal was to save money on ink cartridges by using a laser printer and that did not happen. After a year, we began to get a fade mark down the copies. Now its so bad we can't print in black ink anymore. We tried cleaning it per the manual and also called Samsung with no success. We have tried various cleaning ideas since with no avail. Apparently this is a common problem with this model because upon searching for answers I found a community of Samsung users with this same problem. The solution in the end was to replace the main opitical component. It was not under warranty so the cost did not make it worth it and there were no Samsung technicians near where we live. Ended up being a bigger problem than worth. Time to shop again. I think none of this shows in review because it doesn't seem to happen until you are 6 mos. - a year and a half out. I'm just trying to save you the time and aggravation.

Like other reviewers have said, this is a fantastic printer for the first year or so. Then the honeymoon is over, and it becomes a domestic violence relationship. When it's good, it's great-- quick, quiet, quality. When it's bad, it's horrible. Red light. Turn it off. Turn it on. Red light. Turn it off, pull on the green tab, green light, PRINT! It's a miracle! Two pages, three... Red light again. Turn it off, turn it on, pull on the green tab, still a red light. Go online, Google, "Samsung CLP-300 problems." Find dozens and dozens of pages. Empty the waste toner cartridge. Try to clean it more with q-tips. Replace it. Turn it off. Turn it on. Still a red light. Read more advice online. Best advice: "Take a sledgehammer to it." My advice: Save yourself the trouble, unless you want a printer that only works for 6 months - year. If you want something that will last longer, DO NOT BUY THIS PRINTER. It is my nemesis, and I hope it will not become yours.

Setting it up with my macintosh computers was a more difficult that I have encountered previously for printers. I never did solve the problem of being able to make it work on the network and now have it connected directly to an old imac which shares this printer. If I hadn't had this as an option I would have been VERY disappointed. Speed and color are good. Am glad to have moved away from reliance on ink jet printers. It sometimes make a funny clunking noise when printing. Price was good.

I purchased this printer in November of 2007. Like another reviewer the imaging unit failed at the 12 month mark. I purchased this printer to work with an Apple computer. There were serious compatibility problems. You may incur the additional expense of a separate electrical line because of the amount of current it draws. Samsung refused to honor the warrantee and did not return phone calls or e-mails.

Affordable, compact, excellent quality output, what's not to love? This little printer lives up to it's reputation...very crisp, professional looking print outs with stellar graphics at an acceptable speed and an affordible price. For an independent business person like me, it's ideal.

Small, but produces stunningly large, vivid prints. You can "lay the pros in the shade" with this nifty laser color printer. Make your own greeting cards, print color reproductions of anything for pennies! You can load the ink in seconds. Nothing comes close to it on the market, quality and price wise.