A five-way navigation cluster below the LCD negotiates the menu features.
The C, M, Y, K cartridges are neatly lined up for easy access.Īn LCD on the top panel shows toner levels per color, as well as a full printer control menu for paper tray selection, network settings, and maintenance. The 250-sheet output tray is at the top of the printer, where you can remove a lid to grab the four toner cartridges or pull open the front to clear jams and change the printer drum. There is a 500-sheet paper drawer under the body of the printer. The front panel flips open to reveal a 150-sheet multipurpose tray with icons to help guide you through paper or envelope insertion. This charcoal-on-gray behemoth measures 16.8 by 22.9 by 18.2 inches (WDH), weighs 84 pounds, and has a boxy, grim, "locked behind the Iron Curtain" aesthetic-perfectly utilitarian, despite its flimsy plastics. No one should try to cram the heavy and broad Dell Laser 5100cn into a home office. So unless your office must print banners for corporate cake-cuttings or window dressing, the Dell Color Laser 5100cn should easily satisfy both your black-and-white and color office-printing needs for less. Except for its merely good black text, this Dell's print quality is on a par with the Lexmark C762n's. While the Dell Color Laser 5100cn doesn't have as many extras as Lexmark's C762n, such as usage tracking by account or trays for banner printing, the 5100cn's own stable of paper-handling extras cost much less. Treading the middle ground is the Dell Color Laser 5100cn, a sub-$1,000 color laser printer with Ethernet capability, two-sided printing, solid paper handling, and speeds fast enough for an office workgroup. (2/11/05)Ĭolor laser printers run the gamut in price, from the inexpensive Samsung CLP-500 to the premium Lexmark C762n. Editor's note: The ratings for this review have been changed since the original publication.