Laser Printer Roundup : HP LaserJet M1522nf
6. HP LaserJet M1522nf
Scanner and copier
As fast as the M1522nf might be at printing pages, it's still very slow at scanning. You'll need to wait 27 seconds for a basic preview, and then 20 seconds for a full scan of a 4 x 6'' print at 300 dpi. Contrast is well respected, but scans are lacking in detail, while gradients are lost due to blurring. A black-and-white copy takes around ten seconds and text is generally readable. However, images are a little more complicated: they're too dark and different colours are lost. Sometimes, it's even difficult to make out the original image in the copy.
Build Quality
The HP LaserJet M1522 is a black-and-white multifunction laser printer. We tested the 4-in-1 version, the M1522nf, which includes a fax machine. For those who can make do without a fax, there is an alternative, the M1522n
- LaserJet M1522nf...
The M1522nf includes an Ethernet port and 64 MB of memory, enough for a workgroup of eight to ten people printing straightforward office documents. It includes a paper reserve capable of holding 250 pages, and a sheet feeder for up to 50 pages. However, its double-sided mode is manual. It comes with drivers for Windows, Mac and Linux.
| Specifications | ||||
| Resolutions | 600 x 600 ppp | Number of Cartridges | 1 | |
| Speed B&W/Colors | 23 / Pm | Number of Base Colors | 1 | |
| Ink Drop Size | Picolitres | Scanner/Copier/Fax | Yes/Yes/Yes |
Printing Speed: Office Use
HP claims speeds of 23 pages per minute for this printer, and delivers them, reaching 23.2 ppm for our test documents.
The other claim that we're pleased to confirm is the time it takes to print the first page of a document. As promised by the manufacturer, it arrives in 9 seconds, whether the printer is ready or on standby.
Printing Quality: Office Use
However, there's some bad news, too: without even looking up the specs, you can easily see that this a 600 dpi printer, not 1200 dpi. With a little bit of experience, or just by comparing its output to to a 1200 dpi printer, it's easy to see that the text at the bottom left of this photo (which should read "Color Photo 600 dpi") is too blurry. 1200 dpi printers can print much more accurate characters.
Energy Use and Noise
In standby mode, this printer users nearly 9 W of power, but that climbs to an average of 450 W while its printing. Although there are less power-hungry printers, this score puts it in the lower average range, as some printers, like the Brother HL-5350DN can reach 600 W.
The cost per page is just 3.75 p, which is rather expensive as the competition is around 2.5 p, if not lower for some printers.
The good news, though, is that this toner cartridge is an all-in-one, making it easy to know what to order.
| Pluses | Minuses |
|---|---|
-Quick to produce the first page -Supports PCL6 and PS3 -Text quality in normal mode -Generally very fast | -Reasonably expensive per page for a laser printer -600 dpi means less precision than other models -Very average scanner |
 This is a printer that does the bare minimum, with no real surprises, apart, perhaps, from the speed at which it can print the first page. It can produce the first page very quickly, but every page that follows will be more expensive than some of its competitors. | |
I have the scx-4500w and the review is pretty correct, setting up that Wifi make me want to pull my fingernails out.
My biggest pet peeve is the "scan to pc" button doesn't work as its said to. It will work, if it is in Ad-hoc mode, but if its on the network then you will need to open a program do it, it still works but it takes 5 times longer. Overall a great printer though, its certainly far from an eyesore and fits perfectly on my small filecabinet.
Quote from the Dell 2335dn page: "but when it's printing, that rises to an average of 850 W--contrast that to the 20 W required by an inkjet."
You probably meant 85 w? I'm pretty scared if you didn't.
I wouldn't doubt 850 watts, some of the others hit 600....
Any chance to do a review on the Brother MFC Series MFC-9120CN. It just came out and I can't find anything on it.
Precisely as the conclusions of the reviewer, I have tested the Samsung SCX-4500W and immediately run into several problems during configuration. I cannot see how the average user will get the machine to work with full functionality. Scanning is extremely weird, requiring you to start programs on the computer, click buttons and run back and forth to the machine to feed the document. It should simply scan to email or to a file share by pressing ONE button! For the record I have tested this device with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
I believe that the manufacturer of the SCX-4500W would clearly benefit from releasing the software of as open source. The original software and documentation has so many flaws and limitations despite the fact that the product has been on the market for perhaps more that a year. No updates seem to be available. Shall I conclude that further development has been stopped?
There is much more that could be done with a beautiful machine like this if the software and documentation are improved!