Samsung ML 1450 15PPM 1200DPI 66MHZ 4MB USB/PAR PCL (Samsung-ML1450XAA)

WHAT'S HOT: The ML-1450 scores big points for print quality: In our tests, we got evenly weighted, clean, large type; legible small type; and nearly perfect tight narrow lines. The ML-1450 offers above-average paper capacity for its $299 price: a 550-sheet main tray and a 100-sheet auxiliary feed (you can add a second 550-sheet tray for $199). It prints quickly (10.4 pages per minute for text), and the printer driver features such useful extras as the ability to print an instruction sheet for manual duplexing and a setting for blowing up documents into 6-by-6-sheet poster format. (The poster feature on most printer drivers stops at 4-by-4 or 5-by-5.)

WHAT'S NOT: We can't find much about the ML-1450 that merits criticism. One candidate: Illustrations in the otherwise thorough and clear on-screen documentation look somewhat fuzzy, even when you zoom in on them.

WHAT ELSE: The ML-1450 has a reprint feature--a button for reprinting the last document. That's occasionally useful; and if you're the only person with access to the printer, it isn't a security risk. Samsung sells an ethernet option for $179.