Samsung ML-2571N

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars
    Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

Very good

Average User Rating

3.5 stars

8 reviews

Starting at: $19.99

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Samsung ML-2571N - front Samsung ML-2571N - side Samsung ML-2571N - back
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  • Samsung ML-2571N - front
  • Samsung ML-2571N - side
  • Samsung ML-2571N - back

CNET Editors' Review

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars Very good
    Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)
  • Design: 7.0
  • Features: 6.0
  • Performance: 8.0
  • Service and support: 7.0
  • Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
  • Reviewed on:
Edited by: Matthew Elliott

The good: Fast print speeds; great print quality; low cost of ownership; small footprint; network ready.

The bad: Limited paper-handling options; RAM is not expandable; ships with "starter" toner cartridges.

The bottom line: The Samsung ML-2571N mono laser printer has the right combination of price and features for a home office user with basic printing needs.

Review: In a world of multifunction color printers that do everything short of cooking dinner, monochrome laser printers are often overlooked. They are still the workhorses of most offices, and they are becoming more common in homes and home offices, too. The ideal mono laser printer should offer fast print speeds and excellent text printing while being relatively inexpensive to maintain and use. The Samsung ML-2571N hits on all of these areas, and it's a particularly good fit for home office use. For a mere $199, you get a small-form-factor printer that is quick and Ethernet ready. If you don' ... Expand full review
In a world of multifunction color printers that do everything short of cooking dinner, monochrome laser printers are often overlooked. They are still the workhorses of most offices, and they are becoming more common in homes and home offices, too. The ideal mono laser printer should offer fast print speeds and excellent text printing while being relatively inexpensive to maintain and use. The Samsung ML-2571N hits on all of these areas, and it's a particularly good fit for home office use. For a mere $199, you get a small-form-factor printer that is quick and Ethernet ready. If you don't need tons of text prints and you think you'll need a scanner, a fax machine, or a copier, you should look into a color inkjet multifunction such as the Canon MP530--its efficient design packs a lot of functions into a small machine and it costs just a little more than you'd pay for the Samsung laser. But if you're sure you need only mono laser printing, the Samsung ML-2571N is a good pick for multiuser home offices.

The Samsung ML-2571N is quite small, even for a mono laser printer. It measures only 14 inches wide, 11.7 inches deep, and 9.7 inches tall. Considering its price and size, we weren't surprised we didn't find anything resembling a control panel; an on/off switch resides on the side, and a cancel button graces the top. Paper handling is also predictably limited. A panel on the front folds out to reveal the two input trays. The main all-purpose tray holds up to 250 sheets of plain paper and has an expansion tab that lets you fill it with legal-size paper. The paper input tray isn't expandable, but it's easy to refill on the fly. Sitting above the all-purpose tray is a single-sheet manual feed tray with adjustable paper guides. The top of the printer houses the output tray, which includes a fold-out tab for corralling longer sheets. The ML-2571N lacks automatic duplexing, but for the price, again, we're not surprised.

The printer comes with a 400MHz processor and 32MB of RAM (not expandable). Befitting its office role, it has USB, Ethernet, and an IEEE 1284 parallel connector. It supports Windows, Mac, and Unix operating systems, so everyone can share happily on a network.

The ML-2571N ships with a so-called starter toner cartridge, which prints about 1,000 pages. The 3,000-page standard toner cartridge retails for about $80, which means text prints cost about 2.6 cents per page, in line with more expensive laser printers.

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User Reviews

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Average User Rating

3.5 stars out of 8 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 3
  • 4 star: 3
  • 3 star: 0
  • 2 star: 1
  • 1 star: 1

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Most Helpful User Review

4.0 stars 4 of 4 users found this review helpful

"Nice cheap network printer" By MarketingSlime

Pros Fast, Mac and PC Compatible, Very good quality print, built-in Ethernet

Cons Loud while printing. Mac Postcript driver has few options.

Summary I wanted a black and white laser printer to handle printing large PowerPoint presentations, product manuals and other multi-page documents. Mac and PC compatibilty was a must, as well as network attachment for use by multiple machines.

Setup and software installation for both Mac and PC environments was straight forward

... Expand full review

Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 8 reviews)

5.0 stars

By sangcni88

4.5 stars

By snorklehead

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Specifications

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Quick Specs

  • Printer Type: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome
  • Max media size: A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in) Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
  • Connectivity technology: Wired

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Which printer is right for me?

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Choosing the right printer can be a daunting task. There are several different types of printing technology to choose from, each suited for different needs. Printers come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny travel companions to workgroup workhorses; some are geared toward photographers, others are for multitaskers. And the many specifications for resolution and speed can be misleading. As a rule of thumb, inkjet printers are a must for long-lasting photos, while laser printers are best to produce speedy text documents.

We've compiled a handful of typical user experiences that should help outline what type of printer is right for you. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new printer for.

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