Space Saving Design ...This Samsung SCX-4725FN Does It All!

I decided to do some rearranging of my home office area. For awhile I have been thinking of buying an All-in-One: Printer, Copier, Scanner and Fax machine. This would replace two larger pieces of equipment, and enable me to remove my present printer into another area of the house. A terrific bargain came my way in the form of a Samsung SCX-4725FN Laser Printer, Copier, Scanner, Fax (All-in-One Machine).


Description

Note: This machine prints in black ink only. It is not a color printer.

This is an attractive machine that measures 17.2" wide x 15.2" high x 14.7" deep and weighs 25 pounds. The exterior is mostly plastic in a light gray color. Starting from the top and working down, is the document feeder, which will accept 30 pages. The top of the printer lifts to reveal the flat bed scanner. The control panel is positioned on a ledge at the front of the machine. Underneath the ledge is where the printouts appear (up to 100 sheets, face down). Near the bottom of the machine is a flip-open compartment where the toner cartridge is inserted. Beneath the toner cartridge area is a manual feed slot. The paper drawer is at the very bottom at the front of the machine. The tray has a translucent plastic cover, and it holds up to 250 sheets of 20-pound paper.

I like the way the control panel is arranged. It is intuitive and easy to use. The round buttons are all identified, raised and well spaced. Each feature of the machine is highlighted on the control panel (ex: Copy, Fax, Scan) with corresponding buttons relating to that feature below the printed heading.

One of the buttons is labeled "Favorite Copy". This is like a speed dial button. This is handy if you do copies requiring multiple menu settings. The Favorite Copy button can be programmed with those settings. Like a speed dial button, press the Favorite Copy button to have the copier automatically perform the multi-step copy feature with one-touch ease.

Another of my favorite control panel features is the "Toner Save" button. Press this button to reduce toner use by up to 30%. Essentially this feature is like printing in "draft" mode … except the button is easily accessible on the control panel (no more having to select draft-mode printing from computer screen sub-menus). Turn the Toner Save feature on/off with the press of this easy-to-reach button.

On the right side of the copier is where the on/off switch is located as well as the power cord port. The back left of the machine has two ports: one for the USB plug and the other for a networking connection.

There are more detailed specifications at the end of this review.


Control Panel Details

Near the center of the control panel is an LCD display. I'm lucky that I have an Ott Lite on a flex-arm near my computer equipment. This provides plenty of light to view the LCD display. If I didn't have that light nearby, then I would be in trouble since this LCD display is not easy to read without direct illumination.

There are various menu options that are displayed across the LCD display. Left and right arrow buttons and an "Enter" button allow one to scroll through menu choices and make a selection. There is also a number key pad, a large "Start" button and a "Stop/Clear" button.

COPY – One button controls 3 light/dark levels. There is a button to select the number of copies. Also choose the type of original being copied (text, text/photo, photo). Another button is for reducing and enlarging prints. Plus there is the "Favorite Copy" button.

FAX – There is a button to control the resolution, and another for broadcasting. Yet another button is for phone book access. There is a redial/pause button as well as a button titled "On Hook Dial".

SCAN – Only one button titled "Scan To" is available. Press this button to view the scanning options on the LCD display. (The SmarThru software installed on the computer is excellent for scanning and is easy to use.)

SAVE – The "Toner Save" button is located under this heading. When the Toner Save feature is activated, the button glows green.


Set Up

I purchased one of these machines, set it up and the Samsung would not work. I tried everything: swapping out cables, electrical outlets, checking connections, and even tried hooking the machine to another computer … and it would not operate. I returned the Samsung to the store and brought home another one. The second machine worked great. I asked the sales people if they saw many returns of these Samsung all-in-one printers, and they said no; that it’s a good machine.

In principle, this machine is easy to set up. The "Quick Install Guide" gives step-by-step instructions with plenty of illustrations and is written in several languages. 1) Unpack the machine, 2) Install the toner cartridge, 3) Load the paper, 4) Connect the Samsung to the computer, power source, and telephone line, 5) Turn the printer on, 6) Turn the computer on, 7) Install the software.

A note about the cables. This machine does not come with a USB cable, so you will need to buy one if you don't have an extra one. Also, on the back of the printer are two cable ports. Make sure the USB cable is plugged into the top port, or the computer will not "see" the printer.

My biggest challenge came with installing the software. The printer comes with several discs for either Vista or other operating systems (discs with the drivers, software, and PostScript fonts). I installed this printer on a computer with the Windows XP operating system. Even though the automatic installation appears to be loading all the software (it actually said the installation was successful), not all the software loaded on my computer. The auto installation did not install the scanner software.

I had to manually install the scanner software from the CD. From "My Computer", I right clicked on the Samsung CD icon, and opened the CD so that I could view the files. I found the scanner executable file in the folder titled "Applications". The "SmarThru" folder contains the executable file that will install the scanning software. I found it easy to do, but I also know my way around computers.

Another quirk came with having my computer recognize the Samsung machine as the default printer. I had to go into the Printers area on my computer (through the Control Panel). Then I selected the printer as the default printer (right click on the Samsung icon and select the option that makes it the default printer). However, Microsoft Word still didn't want to print to the Samsung. While in MS Word, I had to go to "File" and "Print", select the Samsung Printer since the software was not automatically selecting it as the default printer. Once I did this, MS Word recognized it as the printer of choice. I’ve had to do this for other programs as well, but once the Samsung printer is chosen, the software program remembers it as the default printer.

Note: this computer performs network printing, but I don't have it set up that way. According to the product info, the printer is "enabled with an embedded network interface."

I am also happy that this printer is Windows Certified for the Vista operating system. I have been looking at new computers, and I know this printer will be able to make the transition. However, a free download is required from the Microsoft website to make the printer work with Vista.


Printing

I'm pleased with the printing on this laser printer. The black print is crisp and easy to read using 600 dpi. Comparing a Samsung printout to one from an HP LaserJet printer, they are almost identical. Looking closely, the HP print is a hair darker, but that’s looking at it extremely closely.

The "Toner Save" feature is wonderful. I like that I can save toner when printing items from the internet or email. Then I can switch to the better quality print when doing printouts others will view. I love the convenience of having one button within easy reach to switch between the two modes: full toner, or printing in draft mode. There is a definite difference between the two printouts, yet both are easy to read. If you have eye trouble, though, I suggest avoiding the toner-save feature. By saving on toner, the print is not as crisp or dark.

Note: This machine comes with a half-size toner cartridge that is good for 1,500 sheets. A regular toner cartridge prints 3,000 pages. Exclusively using the toner-save feature is supposed to extend the 3,000 yield to 3,900 pages.

I have never had a machine with an automatic document feeder. What a great feature! This helps immensely when doing copying and scanning jobs. Not only does it save time, but I can feed multiple pages through the document feeder and have them scan into one pdf document … or scan them for OCR text editing. On occasion, two sheets of paper might overlap going through the feeder, but this has not caused any big problems for me.

Another feature that makes me happy is the flat paper tray. I much prefer having my media lay flat rather than stand upright in a printer. I've used printers that feed paper both ways, and the flat paper tray always scores bonus points with me. This machine also has a translucent cover that protects the paper.


Copying

I used to have a dedicated scanner that acted as a copier. However, it didn't have some of the cool features this machine has. One thing I like is the Poster Printing option. I do a lot of sewing, quilting and crafts, which sometimes require using large images. Using the Poster Printing feature, a single graphic can be enlarged up to 300%, and the graphic printed in sections on nine sheets of paper.

There is an Auto-Fit Copying feature, too. Using this, a smaller image can be automatically enlarged to fit on the page. Another nice feature is Clone Copying. A graphic can be reduced in size and printed multiple times on a single sheet of paper. This comes in handy for the paper-piecing method of quilting that I enjoy doing. (Paper-piecing is where paper quilt blocks are printed. The fabric is sewn onto the paper patterns, and the paper is later removed so that only the fabric quilt block remains.) The paper-piecing blocks are often small (2" to 4"), and using the Clone Copying feature I can fit several of the patterns onto one sheet of paper with one pass of the copier.

While this machine will not do duplex printing (double-sided), it will take a double-sided copy and print both sides onto one side of a sheet of paper. I have mixed feelings about this feature. I would rather have the duplex option instead of miniaturizing images to fit on one side.


Scanning

Once I had the scanner software installed, scanning became a breeze. There are many options for scanning, and I'm glad for the versatility.

When scanning photographs, I open PhotoShop. From PhotoShop, I can go to "File" and "Import". The Samsung machine is listed. When I click on the Samsung printer name, PhotoShop opens a window that scans a preview image of the photograph. From here I can select scanning options, and then scan the photograph. It’s great that I can choose the resolution of the scan as well as other electives. I've been very pleased with the results.

More scanning options are available through the SmarThru panel. From here I can select OCR scanning. This comes in handy for scanning documents into text that can be edited. A nice feature is that I can choose the dpi. Of course, the larger the dpi, the longer the scanning takes. I can also scan multiple pages and save them as one document. There are also a variety of ways to save the text (ex: with .rtf or .doc extensions). The text recognition is good, too. It’s not perfect, though, and I do have to proofread what is scanned. If you happen to scan something with images (such as text printed on decorated stationery), the OCR software will translate the images as graphics, which can be deleted so that only the text remains.

Note: This scanner will scan items up to 8 1/2" x 11" in size. If you scan many legal documents, or need a scanner with a large enough bed for oversize books, maps or other documents, then this scanner will not work well for you.


Fax Machine

I rarely have need of a fax machine. Most of my communications are done through e-mail, and if I need to send an attachment, it's simple to scan a document and attach it to the email.

However, if the fax machine part of this machine is of interest, it can fax a document directly from your computer.


Noise & Power Saving

This machine sits nearby, so it sounds loud to me. However, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning the other day and started using the machine without thinking about those sleeping (yikes!). I asked if I had bothered anyone, and they told me they couldn’t even hear it, and the bedrooms aren’t that far away from my office.

I like it that this printer has an on/off switch. The printer and scanner that this machine replaced did not and were always in standby mode. That really bothered me! I kept thinking of all the energy being wasted. So the on/off switch on this machine is great. The machine also has a fast warm-up speed and is almost instantly available for use after powering it up.

This Samsung is also Energy Star and ROHS compliant.


Samsung Customer Service

I remember that I purchased this machine over a weekend. When I ran into the first installation problem, I checked the customer support documentation and noted that their phone line only worked Monday through Friday. However, the document stated Samsung had 24/7 email support. So I sent an email outlining the problem. To this day I have not heard back from them.


Purchasing

I bought this printer on sale at Staples. It sold for $279.98. However, there was a $140.00 rebate, plus I had a coupon for $25.00 off an order over $250.00. So this printer ended up costing $114.98.

Replacement toner cartridges cost $84.99 each at Staples. Staples has a policy that if this toner is not available in the store, then they will take $10.00 off the price.


Summary

I'm very pleased with this Samsung SCX-4725FN All-in-One Machine. It has a smaller footprint than the printer and scanner it replaced. This Samsung also does more! The control panel layout is great with some time- and money-saving features. Plus, the cost was right!

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Specifications

Speed: up to 25 ppm letter / 24 ppm A4 (pages per minute)
First Print Out Time: 10 seconds (from standby mode)
Print Resolution: up to 1200 dpi (dots per inch)
Copy Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi text & text photo
Copy Resolution: 600 x 300 dpi photo mode
Scan Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi (Enhanced: 4800 x 4800 dpi)
Fax Resolution: Max 300 x 300 dpi
Fax Memory: 4mb (approx. 320 pages)

Input Main Tray: 250 sheet (20-pound paper); 1-sheet manual tray
Output Capacity: 100 sheets (20-pound paper)
Automatic Document Feed: 30 sheets (letter / A4; 20-pound paper)

Paper Size (Main Tray): A4, A5, letter, legal, executive, folio, oficio, ISO B5, JIS b5, A6, envelope – Fax & Copy: letter, A4, legal

Media Type: plain paper, transparency, envelope, labels, card stock

LCD display: 2 lines x 16 characters
Memory / Storage: 32mb
Interface: Hi-speed USB 2.0, Ethernet 10/10 Base TX
Duty Cycle: up to 10,000 pages monthly
Toner Cartridge Yield: 3,000 standard pages (Cartridge: SCX-D4725A)
Options: Post Script

OS Compatibility:
Windows – 98, ME, 2000, XP (32/64 bit), 2003 Server (32/64bit), Vista
Various Linux OS including Red Hat 8-9, Fedora Core 1-4, Mandrake 9.2-10.1, SuSE 8.2-9.2
Mac 10.3, 10.4


Please read my other reviews:

Ott Flex-Arm Light

HP Multi-Purpose Paper (for printers, copiers, fax machines)

Belkin UPS Emergency Battery Backup

Logitech Slim Cordless Keyboard and Mouse S510

Logitech V200 Cordless Notebook Mouse

ViewSonic 19” LCD Monitor

Acer 19” Widescreen LCD Monitor

Altec Lansing Speakers

Philips Portable DVD Player with Screen


Copyright 2008 Dawn L. Stewart