Customer Reviews

Samsung CLX-3160FN Color Laser Multifunction Printer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

THE HUNT FOR THE PERFECT ALL-IN-ONE OFFICE MACHINE!

Like one of the other reviewers here, I am in real estate and needed a multifunction machine that used color laser printing instead of inkjet.

But the major consideration for me was a Scan-to-Email (PDF) functionality. When you are working on deals in multiple cities, scanning the large documents is much easier than Fedexing paper all over the place.

I couldn't find any comprehensive reviews on this product because of how new it was. Now that I've owned it for a couple of months, I figure I better post one myself to help out those who are looking at this machine.

After running the machine for a couple of months I am quite happy with it and it is running well. Basic setup of the machine out of the box was very simple with easy visual instructions and tabs. Out of the box I could do color copies, black and white copies, and faxing. Setting up the printer driver over the network was very simple too. Setting up the network scanning and scan-to-email functions involved a bit more pain.

PERFORMANCE BY FEATURE-

COPIES - It makes great black and white copies and decent color copies. Copying is simple, Green button for a color copy, Grey button for B/W copy. You can copy multiple pages via the document feeder or lift the lid and copy something odd sized on the flatbed. My only gripe is that you have to wait for the unit to warm up before hitting the copy button. It would be great if I could just put the document in the feeder, hit the button and walk away, instead of staring at it while it warms up. But it does warm up quickly. Sleep settings for the copier are selected in the web-based control panel.

FAX- Its a fax, I don't know what else to say. It works fine for me, but I don't use the fax function that much.

PRINTER- I can print from my wireless laptop, sweet! The printer setup on the network was relatively simple. I installed the driver, the software found the printer and configured itself and I was up and running. I found that print quality was too thin on the regular setting, I changed it to BEST quality in the printer driver and it looks great now.

My only gripe with the printer function is the additional Software Samsung installs. They included this program called Dr. Printer or something like that, supposed to troubleshoot printer problems. However, it doesn't support the network printing at all. I had the network printing setup perfectly, but I was curious what the Dr. Printer software did. So I ran it, it says "I found and fixed the problem". It had totally deleted all of my network printer settings and set the printer up as local USB connected printer. So I had to reinstall the whole network printing thing again. Damn my curiousity.

SCANNING- You can scan from the flatbed or the auto feeder in either legal or letter size. You can either send the document as an e-mail directly from the machine or send it directly to your computer. Sounds great, unfortunately it won't do all of these things without being set up first.

Scanning direct to e-mail on this machine is my favorite feature, but it was also the hardest damn thing to initially set up. The network scanning feature (scan to your computer instead of e-mail direct from the machine) was much easier to setup.

SCANNING, TWO DIFFERENT WAYS--

SCANNING TO YOUR COMPUTER VIA THE NETWORK- This function requires the installation of software and it also requires your computer to be on when you are scanning. I found this feature reasonably easy to setup. You push scan, network scan, and then select a destination for the scan on your computer... such as Adobe Acrobat, or particular folders you setup. The scan then magically launches the application on your computer and the document is right in front of you ready to be e-mailed or manipulated.

BUT, each network scan destination can only handle one setup. That means the paper size, resolution and color/BW settings are written in stone for each preset. Which drove me crazy because the only application I use is Acrobat. I got around this by setting up seperate preset folders for the type of scan I was doing, like "Color Legal" "B/W Letter". The good part about doing this is that I don't have to hunt for the file regardless of what folder it goes to because Acrobat automatically launches with the scan open on the screen. From there I usually e-mail or save it where I want it to go.

SCAN DIRECTLY TO E-MAIL FROM THE MACHINE- The direct "scan to e-mail" function was the hardest thing to setup. You have to have an actual POP e-mail address for your scanner, which is how it sends PDFs or JPGs of TIF files directly from the box. Getting an e-mail account setup is simple enough, but the control panel won't recognize the servers by name, for example standard pop mail server names list POP.GMAIL.COM. Instead you have to actually convert the server names into IP addresses (I found a website somewhere that did this) and insert that IP address into the control panel.

Once setup, the scan-to-email function works just as you'd expect. But it requires way too many key strokes on the machine to actually send the document. "Are you sure, Are you really sure, Are you really really sure?" (not exact quotes, but you get the idea)

I'm in my late-twenties with a background in the tech field, yet programming this direct-to-email function had me cussing and pulling my hair out. I imagine most people will setup the network scanning application and stop there. The network scanning application is actually a lot more versitile than the direct scan-to-email, even though it requires you to have your computer turned on. But using the network scanning the document just appears, then you can forward it to whatever e-mail you want via your computer (and keep your hair).


OVERALL, I'll give it 4 stars. Revolutionary product, not quite all the bugs shaken out.

PROS:
Very quiet for a Color Laser- Color Laser machines generally sounds like jets taking off, but this unit isn't so bad. Its not silent, but not bad.
Easy setup out of the box for color laser copying and faxing.
Easy setup of printer drivers for printing through the network.
Only machine I found with color laser printing, an auto-document feeder and flatbed and robust scanning features.

CONS:
Small LCD Display with no backlight- No big deal if the room is well lit, but if its dark you can't see what you are doing.

Direct-to-Email Scanning feature is not worth the trouble it takes to configure. (Use the included Network Scanning software instead, you have to have your computer turned on but it is much easier!)


One good firmware or software update would solve all of my cons, except the LCD display. But, overall I'm happy with my purchase.

I really hate to write a negative review - in fact this is the first negative review I ever wrote - but two printers later and nearly BURNING THE OFFICE DOWN pushed me over the edge.

This printer has high potential, it has many wonderful features but it means nothing when most of my day was spent on clearing/fixing paper jams, random clicking and constant errors. A little background about myself: I'm a mechanical engineer, software programmer, and a former IT. I have extended knowledge of networks and computers, so please understand that my frustration does not come from ignorance. As an engineer I respect Samsung for their time and efforts of designing the printer - I understand that a lot of time is sacrificed even on a `crappy' product. It seems that the ideas worked really well on paper - a feature packed printer for an affordable price - but perhaps somewhere along the process their budget was shorted, or quality management failed as so many corners ware cut short.

Anyway, I purchased this printer for my office, it's a small office with a five person network. As I had good experience with Samsung brand equipment before, I decided that this multifunction printer will be adequate. As the printer just hit the market, most of review ware positive and promising. The network installation took me 1.5 minutes and was straight forward; it sent fax, it scanned and it printed - perfect! What else would I need out of a printer?... reliability maybe!

Although it had many good features, the reliability was less than ideal. I soon discovered that most of the features ware really half baked. The network printing itself was solid, but network scanning and faxing worked half of the time... it usually took a restart of the printer to get it working again, and restarting became a normal office phenomenon.

The most unfortunate part of the printer is the paper tray feeder, it jammed daily, to the point where I would spend more time fixing the jams than working. Most jam would happen while printing in color, for some reason the paper would catch on some under-engineered piece of plastic and fold in like an accordion, leaving a nasty half baked goo on the rollers. Soon the printer would leave really nasty stains and smudges on the paper because of the dirty rollers. The quality became unacceptable and cleaning the rollers would mean disassembling the printer which I would not about to do.

The toner cartridge also developed a problem. Although the change of the toner is as simple as it can be, the design, size and price is not ideal. They are very high priced for amount of toner they posses, on average, the toner would last me less than 500 pages which is way less than advertised, and at $60 a pop, toners became a big expense. I believe that faulty printer drivers are also to blame, with every toner change the overflow container would be full, meaning that half of my toner went to waste! Also, for some reason the toners would slightly pop out of the holder and the sprocket wheels would start sliding and damaging the printer and the cartridge. It got to the point where I had to insert a paper clip to hold the black toner in place.

Convinced that my printer was a lemon, I took it back to the store for replacement. As I purchased extended warranty (and I'm glad I did) I received a brand new replacement (the same model). Hoping that my troubles ware over, I soon found myself in the same position as before. The toner started making loud clicking noises right after installation, and paper jams started soon after. The only difference was no smudging (yet).

The last straw came less than a week after receiving the new printer. While receiving a fax, the printer jammed and froze! Immediately it started spewing black smoke as it COUGHT ON FIRE!!!! I opened the printer to discover that two sheets of paper jammed on the `iron' roller. I'm really glad that I was in the office at the time, as if this happened at night it could potentially burn the whole office down! I did not believe that this was possible to happen. Nevertheless, I was able to return the printer for a full refund under warranty, but the whole experience really scarred my image of Samsung, I'm really disappointed at this printer and at Samsung. Unfortunately this review might cut into Samsung's profits, but I hope they will learn not to cut corners in the future and not to release under-developed and potentially dangerous printers. I eventually purchased a Brother MFC-9440CN as an replacement and I'm very happy with it. Not a single problem yet!

So, on the final note - would I recommend this printer to anyone? Absolutely not, not worth the hassle and potential life devastation!


------------------------- EDIT 07/16/08 ------------------------------------

So I had the Brother MFC-9440CN since I originally posted the review, and not a single issue yet! not even a single paper jam. The starter kit toner lasted for few good months, and now I'm on second set of toners and lots of life left... I highly recommend that printer instead.

I am a Realtor and needed an economical printer. The inkjets were proving to be too costly. With that in mind I need a color laser printer and decided on this one because of the multifunction abilities. The printer has provided good clean and crisp images which I am pleased with. The machine works as advertised and the ink usage seems reasonable. I have yet to get to 75% of the starter cartridges capacity after 1000 pages of print.

Few minor problems that I don't like concerning the printer:
1) It is louder than I like when it's awake.
2) Takes too long to go back to sleep mode after it prints, est. 1 hour
3) Flat bed scanner is not good, allows some sidelight. Worst scanner I've owned from a quality of scan point of view.
4) The auto feeder is really rough on paper and will skew the paper when you are faxing. I use a nice heavy grade of paper and that works fine, but recycled standard paper may rip during copies or scans.

Those are my complaints. I have not used all the features in the month I've owned it, but those are the functions that I use.

With that being said, I would buy this printer again. The price was outstanding and I purchased a 3 year replacement warranty in the event that it does not have longevity.

Good luck to you all.
Greg

I have owned this printer for about 4 months.

It was doing OK until about 2 weeks ago. It gave us a message that we needed to replace something known as a Waste Toner tank. I bought a new on online even though I was a little skeptical that this had gone out before the toner. I installed the new tank but the error message kept on saying the same thing.

I researched this a bit online and found others with the same problem It seems there is a problem with the light sensor. I tried cleaning everything off but no luck.

This is when the real trouble started. I tried to contact Samsung support to get the product repaired. I started with their web site. It made me go through a series of trouble shooting steps (turn it off and on, unplug it etc.) but then offered no obvious way to get the device serviced. I tried a few paths through the support site. It may be they have a firefox issue but I could not get past the screen for troubleshooting to return the product.

I then called and was sent to a level 2 tech. He said I needed to clean the device with a Q-tip. I informed him that it was brand new. He said I still needed to do this before we could do anything else. I said it doesn't look dirty at all. The thing had not been used. I finally said I don't have a Q-tip to get inside this thing. He told me to get one and call them back when I had tried it.

I cleaned the unit that was already cleaned as best I could but the printer still gave the same error message. I called them back. I spent about 30 minutes more going through the same process. Finally someone told me that they knew the problem and they had to send me a replacement part. I said OK. He asked for the serial numbers which I gave to him. I had provided them on the site and it told me the unit was under warranty as it had been made on 2/2007. He then told me in order to get service I needed to fax them a receipt. I said I don't have one. He said that I was out of luck. I asked why they needed it since the unit was clearly under warranty even if I had bought it on the day you made it. He said no dice. It was policy. I asked to speak to his boss.

This is when it got even better. I took the time to go through the experience I had had during the day. Instead of saying he was sorry or was going to help me he proceeded to tell me that I was wrong and that their service was great. He finally told me to go down to the place where and I had purchased it to see if they could still get a receipt for me.

I will never again by a Samsung product because of this and I will never again misplace a receipt...I hope.

I have owned many competing brands like HP and Brother over the years but I went with Samsung this time because of cost. I guess you get what you pay for and I am going back to HP after this debacle.

Just a couple of points to add to the other two reviews. Before I purchased the unit I called Samsung support just to see what the service was like. I was pleased that I had to make just one menu choice until I spoke to a human. I took the opportunity to ask if the unit was Vista compatible and for them to prove it. It is, and he located the driver I would have to download on the internet. I did use their service quite a bit over the course of the first day because I had some difficulty setting it up as a network printer.

The unit is fine for our needs. My wife is a commercial real estate broker and we do a lot of printing, scanning, copying and faxing.

One drawback is that it has one paper tray that holds only 150 sheets of either letter or legal size paper so a larger office might experience running out of paper or excessive switching back and forth. It does have a maunual feed but everytime I tried to feed a sheet of paper in the manual feed, it ate it. I believe it is intended for heavier stock paper.
We are satisfied with the unit and recommend it.

I've been a graphic designer for over 15 years and just started my own business. I bought this printer thinking it would be a good all-around deal - print/scan/copy/fax. Unfortunately, the print quality is just awful. I've used so many different printers in my life that I do know good from bad. I also called Samsung and they were no help. I have a Mac and when I said i was upgrading to Leopard this week, they said DON'T. After explaining that everything was printing heavy - no matter what setting/paper/computer... they said they would send a new drum. I just bought the thing 3 weeks ago. Then they called back to say their boss said they wouldn't send a drum and that I needed to call Apple. Luckily, I didn't waste my time and printed from a PC - and it was just as terrible. Also luckily, the store is accepting the return. No more Samsung for me.

I did a lot of research on laser printers but obviously not enough. We have an HP designjet and the printer drivers from the Designjet and the Samsung conflict. There is a note on the Samsung website that indicates that this conflict might exist but I didn't find it during my research (and their tech support people don't know about it either). As a result we had a nightmare trying to get the printers working and on the same network. Samsung technical support was unwilling to answer any questions or offer any help because it had to do with networking and I guess they don't support that feature of their printer. HP technical support folks were much better. Eventually, though, we had to bring in outside tech support people to diagnose the problem (this was before we knew about the possible conflict and before we called HP). Samsung technicians had kept repeating the mantra that there was something wrong with our network, but after thorough testing and some additional research we discovered the real underlying problem. I had told the Samsung technicians on the phone that we were using their printer with HP printers but they apparently were unaware of the possible conflict. I don't fault them for this, but they could have made a bit more of an effort to help us think through the problem, even if they chose not to take any responsibility for it.

We did experience another problem with the printer. After it prints it sends a burst of information back through the routers that lasts about 30-60 seconds during which time it monopolizes all of the traffic on the router to the point where all other computers on that router lose their connection to the Internet. We tried all sorts of remedies and the only conclusion we could reach was that the problem was coming from the Samsung. I realize that networks and printers are pretty fickle things and that there could be another source for the problem that we never found but we tried our hardest to figure it out.

Now we have the Samsung disconnected and everything else is working just fine. We thought about getting a print server to regulate the Samsung but that would not have solved the driver conflict. So, it's going up on Craigslist. The company we purchased it from (not through Amazon) wouldn't take it back because by the time we had finished with all the troubleshooting, the 14 day return period had elapsed. Now we'll buy an HP Laser Printer to replace it.

During the whole ordeal, we were able to print to the Samsung and I have to add that the printing was nice but not quite as good as I expected from a color laser printer.

So, if this is going to be your only printer on your network or if you have other Samsung's on your network, it's not a bad price and the quality is OK. If you have a small office, or printers from other manufacturers on your network, you may want to do some more research before buying.

After about 5 weeks of light use the printer had a paper jam, and subsequently is stuck with a "transfer belt error" and won't operate. Samsung sent us two replacement belts, neither of which worked. We've been without a printer for several weeks. Now we're just trying to just get either a replacement or refund, which has proven difficult so far.

I HATE this printer. We have had nothing but problems since day one. The very first day we hooked it up, the transfer unit/belt was bad. We would have to wait days for a new one (never been used before) so we opted to exchange the printer. We chalked it up to poor shipping methods.

The fax machine steals our phone calls all the time! We have spent hours on the phone with technical support and they cannot solve this problem. And I mean, I've made outgoing calls and been on the phone for 20 minutes when the machine transfers my voice call to the fax machine! We've had to unplug the machine because it has interfered with business more than helped! We have been on the phone WITH support when the fax machine stole our call! And, as far as customer support is concerned, we have even been transferred and left on hold for 45 mintues only to be disconnected! They have made empty promises to call us back on a number of occassions, and then have no record of making such promises!

The manual feed tray constantly jams! This is frustrating and concerning since, after the jam, that d*** "transfer belt error" comes up again. We go thru a routine of unplugging the machine, allowing it time to warm up and starting the process over. Even more frustrating, we cannot override the manual feed option! The manual cannot help us and their own technical support cannot help us! I've never used another machine that wouldn't allow you to override your manual feed option. I do not want to manual feed, especially with the headache it causes!

This machine was a poor choice on our part. And I thought I did my research! I will NEVER buy samsung again!

POOR QUALITY, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUPPORT!!!! BUYER BEWARE!

We have had the machine for about a week now. Overall, it is a great machine, and does everything we need it to do and more. I have tried quite a few MFCs in the past few months, and this one is by far the best. Some items to note:

Pros:
- Envelopes have a separate manual feed on the front and prints them with minimal curling.
- Fax from PC - According to the Samsung Website, this machine does not support Faxing from the PC through the machine. However, if you install the SmarThru software that is included with the printer, you can fax from the PC directly with no problem. There is actually a large amount of control over the machine that you have from the PC. You can set it to print fax confirmation pages for send or receive, modify the phone book from the PC, etc...
- Easy to set up over the network. Using the included software, it took about 15 minutes per PC to set up. Set a static IP out of the DHCP range of the router using the included SetIP software, and is working great. One problem with installing noted below.

Neutral:
- Scan over Network works great, but the driver is limited. It can only scan up to 300DPI. It is already a favorite feature here for documents, and works seamlessly. Is great for documents, but this isn't something for scanning your pictures over the network.

Cons:
- It appears to use the same laser printer mechanism as the xerox phaser line, so it has the same issue with the paper that is printed being slightly curled on the top and bottom.
- SmarThru software did not install during the installation process, even though it was selected to install. After installing the drivers, etc, I had to explore the CD and install SmarThru software separately. Works great after it is installed though.
- The USB port on the front is good for printing from a thumbdrive, but scanning to the USB drive doesn't really work well. Only scans as JPG file, can't name, confusing.
- The paper tray is 150 pages. I mean, seriously. It is way too small for a network, small-office machine that this presents itself as. There is no option for an additional paper tray as far as I can tell.

Overall, this is a great machine, and I am recommending it to all my clients in the future. Does everything it says it does, the way it is supposed to, and haven't had a problem with it yet. Surprisingly easy to work with after dealing with other MFC's on the market which appear to be designed by drunk monkeys.