Samsung SCX-4100

The Samsung SCX-4100 black-and-white laser printer/copier/scanner resembles its predecessor, the SCX-4016, but costs less. Is it a better deal? Vendor rated to print up to 15 pages per minute (ppm) with Letter paper (14ppm with A4), it's 2ppm slower than the SCX-4016, which also handles larger jobs. The SCX-4100 is compatible with Linux but not with Macs. It offers good-quality printing, scanning and standalone copying. True, the older printer is better, but not for the extra cost. That makes the SCX-4100 the bargain choice.

Design
At 42.2cm wide by 40cm deep by 23.9cm high and 9.6kg, the SCX-4100 is slighter and lighter than its predecessor, the SCX-4016; however, this machine won't wedge into a tight corner. Since it runs hot and has a paper-output option in the back and a flatbed scanner lid on top, it needs 360-degree clearance and top access. The power button also hides near the back of the machine. Luckily, the case's rounded edges and unobtrusive control panel make it a visually pleasing addition to a small office or home.

Setting up the SCX-4100 is quick and painless with the enclosed quick-install guide and CD-ROM, although installing Samsung's SmarThru scanning software forces you to awkwardly remove and reinsert the CD. The SCX-4100 is compatible with Windows 95 and up via USB or parallel ports in the back of the machine (cables not included). Although the older SCX-4016 is Mac compatible, the SCX-4100 favours Linux operating systems at and above Red Hat 7.1, Mandrake 8.0, SuSE 7.1, Caldera OpenLinux 3.1, Turbo Linux 7.0 and Slackware 8.1. Linux connectivity is available only via USB. Sorry, Mac users -- no SCX-4100 for you.

A basic, text-oriented device, the SCX-4100 offers no digital-media reader slots. It features a combined drum and toner cartridge. The printer is quite loud as it whirs up to speed and pulls paper through to output.

Features
The SCX-4100 is designed for small jobs, with a main paper tray in front holding 250 sheets up to legal size. But the front output tray holds only 50 pages -- half the capacity of the SCX-4016. The manual feeder, above the front paper tray, takes one sheet at a time, with the rear output slot holding a single sheet as well. Like the earlier model, the SCX-4100 lacks an automatic document feeder, which makes large copying and scanning jobs a slow process. Memory is fixed at 8MB without upgrade capacity.

The SCX-4100's two-line LCD, which would be easier to read with backlighting, displays menu choices and error messages. Below the LCD, seven easy-to-use control-panel buttons include a menu button flanked by scroll buttons to control features such as shrinking or enlarging copies and making paper settings. Two small buttons adjust print darkness and number of copies; big, colour-coded buttons control the stop/clear and start/enter functions.

The SCX-4100's 600dpi printing includes useful features. Flip down the rear output tray to create a straight, jam-free paper path for temperamental manually fed paper types such as transparencies and envelopes. You can also share within a network, create and customise watermarks, overlay text and images on a document to create letterhead, print posters and do n-up printing to shrink-fit several pages onto one sheet. The SCX-4100, however, excludes Linux users from watermarks, overlays and poster printing.

The Samsung SCX-4100 excels at copying as a standalone device or via your PC. You can make up to 99 custom-size copies, adjust quality for photos or text and force an oddly sized original to fit the paper in the tray with the Auto Fit feature. You can also copy two documents onto both sides of one sheet -- handy for copying ID cards for human-resource files, for example.

Scanning, unfortunately, is less than intuitive, and the user guide and the scanning software provide only vague guidance. The SCX-4100 scans black-and-white or colour text and images at up to 4,800dpi, although it drags at the highest resolution. The scanning lid lifts up 90 degrees to a right angle, and cantilevers up a few centimetres to allow you to lay flat a thin paperback book. But you can't fit the lid over a thick object to improve the scan quality, nor can you flop half of a book over the back of the machine. The SCX-4100 comes with Image Editor and ReadIris Pro 7.0 optical character-recognition software, which lets you edit scanned text documents. You can also use your own TWAIN-compliant software, such as Adobe's Photoshop, to manipulate images. If you need to fax, you should consider a different multifunction device, such as HP's OfficeJet 4215 inkjet or the pricier Brother MFC-8440 laser.

Performance
The Samsung SCX-4100 performed well in our performance tests. It averaged 11 pages per minute (ppm) for both text and graphics, similar to most multifunction laser printers we've tested, although most print text faster than graphics. The SCX-4100's scanning speeds, however, were less consistent, at 3ppm for colour and 4ppm for greyscale. The SCX-4100 also copied pages at a decent 6ppm.

The Samsung SCX-4100's output quality was very good overall, with sharp text; however, the graphics were light with an inconsistent gradient -- a minor flaw. Scans were smooth, consistent and near perfect, with great detail and excellent colour matching.

The Samsung SCX-4100 performed solidly for a small- or home-office multifunction device. We tested the printer at its default settings, which can be adjusted to improve the print speed and the output quality.

Service & support
The Samsung SCX-4100 user guide is available as a PDF on an included CD. It does a good job covering the basics and troubleshooting, including a section for Linux users; however, it's light on scanning information.

The SCX-4100 comes with a standard one-year warranty.