SAMSUNG ML-1710 review

The ML-1710 has a suggested price of £141 including VAT but a few suppliers are selling it for nearer £70.

This makes it the cheapest laser printer we've ever seen, and its running costs are below average too. Its only real compromise is the output tray, which holds just 50 pages, but at least it's flat so won't curl paper that's left sitting in it. A manual paper feed is included, but this tends to put paper through slightly skewed.

Installation was a little problematic. The software attempted to connect via the parallel input, even though there isn't one. From then on, though, the hardware and software performed impeccably, with a status monitor utility keeping us posted on the printer's condition.

Print speeds were a little off the 16ppm claim at 14.4ppm for text and 12ppm for graphics, but this should still prove fast enough for most users. It was extremely fast in our photo tests because its 600dpi top resolution keeps the pace up where other printers take longer to print at higher resolutions. Despite this, photo reproduction was actually the best of the bunch, with smooth gradients of greys, little banding and only a slightly exaggerated contrast upsetting otherwise excellent shade accuracy. The 600dpi resolution did affect the reproduction of grey text, though, as the halftone pattern made the edges of characters slightly spidery. Prints looked quite a bit worse at 300dpi than at 600dpi and arrived no faster.

The ML-1710's leisurely pace, basic paper handling and lack of expandability will deter groups of users with a high workload, but for personal use these won't be significant problems. The excellent graphics reproduction is a huge bonus and if the price stays low this is an unbeatable bargain.