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Artwork: Rick Rizner, Chris Manners
Dell 3100cn
- Spec Navigator
- Core Components
- Media Handling
- Display
- Network
- Connectivity
- Platform Support
- Dimensions
- General Features
- Green
- Included Hardware
- Included Software
- Resolutions
- Scanning
- Faxing
Media Handling
| Manual Feed Slot | Yes |
| Maximum Number of Input Trays | 3 |
| Maximum paper size, height | 14.0 inches |
| Maximum Sheets With All Paper Trays | 900 |
| Output Tray Capacity | 250 |
| Standard Number of Input Trays | 2 |
| Maximum paper size, width | 8.5 inches |
| Standard input sheet capacity | 400 |
| Duplex printing | No |
Connectivity
| Other Interfaces | 10/100 Base T Ethernet |
| Parallel Port | Yes |
| Serial Port | No |
| USB 1.1 | Yes |
| USB 2.0 | Yes |
Platform Support
| Operating System Support |
|
General Features
| PostScript Type | Standard |
| Printer Emulation Type | PCL |
| Media slots |
|
| PictBridge compatible | No |
| Printer languages supported | PCL6, PCL 5e, Adobe PS 3 |
Included Hardware
| Included Hardware |
|
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Printers »
Pros
Fast, high quality text prints
Plenty of paper capacity
Cons
Glossy photos lacked color saturation
Bottom Line
This model offers plenty of paper capacity, plus fast text printing and high quality at an excellent price.
Dell Laser Printer 3100cn
3100cn Review, by Paul Jasper April 4, 2006
The Dell Laser Printer 3100cn has all the advantages of the similar Dell 3000cn (which topped our color laser printer chart for months), including a reasonable price, strong performance, and good image quality. But the newer model has a couple of advantages. First, it comes with a 250-sheet paper drawer as standard equipment, making it even more of a bargain at $499. Adding that same paper capacity to the $399 3000cn cost $180.
Second, Dell throws in large-capacity toner cartridges, each rated for 4000 pages, in place of the 2000-page cartridges that came with the 3000cn. Replacement cartridges cost $45 for black and $95 for each of the three colors. Those prices should make the 3100cn economical to run. The unit's estimated cost (1.5 cents per monochrome page) is lower than that of any other printer on our chart. You can stretch costs further by buying the cartridges in packs of four from Dell's Web site.
In addition to the 250-sheet main paper drawer, the 3100cn has a 150-sheet tray located behind a door that folds down from the front; this tray doubles as the multipurpose feeder. You can add another 250-sheet drawer for $180, or take the paper capacity up to 900 sheets by adding a $230 500-sheet drawer. The optional duplexer sells for a reasonable $300. The 3100cn supports both PCL (Printer Control Language) and PostScript emulations. With a footprint of about 17 by 17 inches, it takes up little desktop space, but it can grow quite tall as you add paper drawers to the bottom of the unit.
Like the 3000cn, the 3100cn's black-and-white printing was superb. Text looked crisp and was neither overly heavy nor too light. Even small fonts were easy to read. Line art looked almost perfect, and our grayscale test photograph displayed sharp details and smooth tonal transitions. Graphics output appeared accurate, though a little light. Like all the other models we tested, the 3100cn didn't blow us away with the quality of its glossy photos. Colors lacked saturation and details seemed a bit grainy.
In our tests, text printed at a speedy 17.8 pages per minute. Only a few other models can beat that. At 3.4 ppm, the 3100cn's color graphics printing lags behind some of the new color lasers we've tested, such as the Oki C5800Ldn, which cranks out pages at 6.1 ppm.
Paul Jasper
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
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83
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96
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85
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Printers
83
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82
82
Performance
| 5 x 7 Photo (secs) | 25.64 |
| Color Output Quality | Good |
| Color Photo (secs) | 26.53 |
| Color Photo Quality | Good |
| Color Photo, Best Quality Settings | 25.64 |
| Color Photo, Normal Settings | 26.53 |
| Grayscale Output Quality | Superior |
| Line Art Output Quality | Superior |
| One-Page Grayscale Graphic | 19.41 |
| One-Page Grayscale Graphic (secs) | 19.41 |
| Output Score, Color Graphics, Default Settings (formerly pf-Output-Print-Color-Default) | Good |
| Output Score, Color Photo, Best Quality Settings (formerly pf-Output-Print-Color-Best) | Good |
| Output Score, Grayscale Graphics, Best Quality Settings (formerly pf-Output-Print-Grayscale-Best) | Superior |
| Output Score, Line Art, Default Settings (formerly pf-Output-Print-LineArt-Default) | Superior |
| Output Score, Text, Default Settings (formerly pf-Output-Print-Text-Default) | Superior |
| Ten-Page Word Document | 33.73 |
| Ten-Page Word Document (secs) | 33.73 |
| Tested Color Graphics Speed (formerly pf-PCWColorSpeed) | 3.4 |
| Tested Color Speed (ppm) | 3.4 |
| Tested Glossy Photo Speed (ppm) | 2.3 |
| Tested Photo Speed (formerly pf-PCWPhotoSpeed) | 2.3 |
| Tested Text Speed (formerly pf-PCWBWSpeed) | 17.8 |
| Tested Text Speed (ppm) | 17.8 |
| Text Output Quality | Superior |
| Three-Page PowerPoint Document | 47.95 |
| Three-Page PowerPoint Document (secs) | 47.95 |
| Three-Page Word Document | 17.08 |
| Three-Page Word Document (secs) | 17.08 |
| Two-Page Excel Document | 31.52 |
| Two-Page Excel Document (secs) | 31.52 |
Text Printing
| Text output quality | Superior |
User Reviews
Average User Reviews for Dell 3100cn
1 Review Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
-
Reviewed by: jwooden
Duration of ownership: 2 Months
Overall: I'm in the market for a color laser with duplex capability. The 3110cn is now out apparently replacing the 3100cn. Toner cart. costs are higher (?) than 3100cn at $75/5000 page black cart. ?? Duplex option is available for $200 - It would be nice if PCWorld would note availability of duplex upgrades in the reviews!
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
-
Reviewed by: CodeZero
Strengths: Small footprint, Clear Printouts, Price, Ample Paper trays, Relativly quiet.
Weaknesses: There are no "Compatible" toners available for this, your option is to purchase the Dell toner from DELL, if you run out good luck running to Office Depot & getting it, or trying to get it cheaper.
Overall: Overall this is a great printer, It's quiet enough to be able to sit next to and still talk on the phone fine. It's compact and holds more paper (standard) than most of the other printers. The web configerator is good as then you don't have to go through the control panel on the device. One drawback that I found is DON'T LOSE THE DISK! Well, that is if you hook it up via the built in 10/100 network connection. The software that's available on Dell's website will only install it locally, not via the network card. As stupid as this seems, it's very easy to do. They were good about sending me a new disk for free (when it was still under warranty) because my hard drive crashed on my laptop and poof, can't print through my network. It would also be nice to have the ability to go and purchase the toner elsewhere. Can we say price fixing? And the fact if you run out during a project you have to wait for the UPS guy a few days later before you can use your printer again.
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