1. Preliminary Review of Samsung CLP-500
Base model
As compared to the
Magicolor 2300W
Magicolor 2300 DeskLaser

2. Packaging / Contents Specification overview
Packaging / what’s in the box
Driver / Installation
Print Quality
Performance
Cool Features
Knock-offs
Unpacking and Special Interest Pictures
Design comments

3. Executive Summary Ships in unproportionatly large box to printer
Difficult, time consuming and involved installation process
Many consumables
Quiet operation
Fast at default resolution
Slow at high resolution
Print quality is limited to business use
CPP / COO is higher than magicolor 2300

4. Specification overview
Model
Samsung CLP-500
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300 DeskLaser
Web price $
$599 (after $200 rebate)
Print speed (color)
5 ppm
4 ppm
Print speed (mono)
21 ppm
16 ppm
Resolution
600 x 600 / 1200 dpi class
1200 x 600 / 2400x600 dpi
Automatic duplexing
Yes
Option
Paper input (std)
350 sheets
200 sheets
Paper input (max)
850 sheets
700 sheets
Paper output (std)
250 sheets
Memory (std)
64 MB
32 MB
Memory (max)
192 MB
288 MB
Connectivity
USB 2.0, Parallel
USB 1.1, parallel, Ethernet
Emulations
GDI
Compatibility
Windows 9X and higher, Mac O/S 10
Windows 9X and higher
Monthly print volume
35,000 pages
Dimensions
20.1” x 18.5” x 15.9”
14” x 19.7” x 15.4”

5. Packaging The box is unusually large
The box does not look well designed for retail
Box is 3 color
2 sides in English
2 sides in French
Top is divided between the two

6. High quality foam to support bottom of printer
Packaging / Contents
High quality foam to support bottom of printer
Top View of Opened box
Retail boxes compared

7. Packaging / Contents
Installation items (4 toners, OPC, Transfer belt, Software
Documentation and Driver CD
Waste toner is the only consumable that ships pre-installed.

8. Documentation, Software and Extras
Canadian Warranty
Setup guide
Free warranty extension card
International warranty booklet
Product registration booklet
Installation CD
Power cord

9. Installation Comments
Clear Tape
22 steps to prepare printer for use
Installation took app. 1 hour
Printer must be accessed from all sides

10. Installation / Localization
The front panel can be localized into one of the following languages :
German
French
Italian
Russian
Spanish
Simple but functional 2 line LCD
Easy to use menu navigation buttons
Attention getting holographic sticker for retail demo page

11. Cool Features Simple but functional 2 line LCD.
Demo page is printed duplex. This is slow and tempts you to grab the page before it re-feeds.
Cool Features
Simple but functional 2 line LCD.
Attention-grabbing hollographic for retail demo page
Built-in duplexer for all models
Quite while operating and USB 2.0.

12. Standard paper tray only supports A4 & Letter
Paper Input
Manual Feed Tray holds up to 100 sheets (3.5 x 5.5 – Legal and 60 – 163 gsm)
Standard paper tray holds 250 sheets (A4 & Letter, 60 – 90 gsm)
Standard paper tray only supports A4 & Letter
Manual Feed Tray

13. Paper Output Standard output tray holds 250 sheets face-down

14. Consumables Inner protective cover OPC drum has 2 protective wrapers
Installing OPC is difficult and could easily result in a damaged unit.
OPC is exposed to light and extreemly seceptable to damage!

15. side-by-side HP 2500, CLP-500, mc 2300W
Although the Samsung appears larger it is equal in size to the 2300W in height and depth but is wider
Samsung requires more overall operating space to operate (especially when the multipurpose tray is used (and it must be used for any paper size other than A4 or letter)).

16. Windows Driver Installation
The installation is heavily branded Samsung
The following slides contain all selection screens during installation

17. Driver installation step by step
Installation is possible in another language, From the First screen.
Other options.
Ballons pop up on mouse rollover with detailed descrptions.
Very little user interaction required for driver installstion
On-line registration option.

18. Driver Configuration Screens / driver properties
No options installed.
Online registraton is far too user interactive and time consuming. We opted out of this step.
All media related options are on this tab.
Image changes with options selected

19. Driver Configuration Screens / driver properties
Basic color corrections
Not 1200 x 1200
Color or Grayscale
Advanced color options.
You can view images on your hard drive. What does this have to do with a print driver???.

20. Driver Configuration Screens / driver properties
About tab allows you to purchase supplies
Watermarks, overlays, print order and job recovery options

21. Windows XP Driver
The driver has been stripped of all infrequently used functions
There are not many settings to be changed
Only 2 resolutions
Every tab has a “Favourites” option
Easy to manage for novice and advanced users

22. MAC OS/X Driver
This driver is VERY basic, providing only the most basic printing functions
There are no settings to be changed
You cannot change resolution
No graphic options
You can ONLY print
Print quality is barely acceptable

23. Print Quality Default print quality is suitable for business use only
High quality mode is only marginally better and takes considerably longer to print.
Output has dry chalky look compared to magicolors satin finish
Our test unit exhibited jitter and graininess
Images tend to be oversaturated
Heavy text shows overspray
Normal text and small lines are sharp and clear

24. Konica Minolta magicolor 2300W Konica Minolta magicolor 2300 DeskLaser
Performance
Samsung CLP-500
vs.
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300W
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300 DeskLaser

25. Testing notes
The Samsung CLP-500 performance was measured and compared to the following Konica Minolta products
Magicolor 2300 Desklaser
Magicolor 2300W
Testing was carried out on a system with the following specifications:
Pentium 4, 2.3 GHz / 512 MB RAM
USB 2.0 interface
Windows XP
The following file types were used
Office XP (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
CorelDraw 11 and Photopaint 11
Adobe Photoshop 7.0
Adobe Illustrator 8.0.1
Adobe PDF

26. Performance Overview – 1200 dpi
Even though the Samsung has a faster rated engine the magicolor was considerably faster
Various file types
Color & B/W
Single and multi-page
Large and small documents

27. 100 copies of simple b/w text document
Samsung’s higher engine speed should have given them the advantage here but the printer went into a long period of inactivity each time the test was performed.
MS Word – single page
B/W
1 page x 100 copies
Samsung resolution was at 600 dpi mc 2300 at 1200 x 600 dpi
34 KB

28. MS Excel Document Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Color & B/W 5 pages
216 kb

29. MS Word file with color and mono pages
Microsoft Word document
Color / monochrome
6 pages
35.2MB

30. Color Photograph (bitmap file)
This is one of only a few files where the Samsung was faster than even the ‘W’.
Corel Photopaint medium-resolution photograph
Color
1 page
1.6MB

31. Color Photograph (bitmap file)
Adobe Photoshop High-resolution photograph
Color
1 page
43MB

32. PowerPoint Presentation
The magicolor printed this 13 page presentationin almost half the time.
Voyager (Very difficult file)
Color
13 pages
403KB

33. PowerPoint Presentation
Again, both magicolors are is much faster on Powerpoint files.
KM rebrand
Color
9 pages
2.7MB

34. Graphic
CorelDraw Vector Graphic
Color
1 page
2,4MB

35. Graphic
Adobe Illustrator Vector Graphic
Color
1 page
482KB

36. Multi-copy text document
The Samsung had a slight advantage due to it’s engine speed here
Microsoft Word
Text with several font changes
B/W
1 page 32 copies
34KB

37. Multi-page text document
The Samsung should have had the advantage here due to its engine speed. Its poor performance is most likely due to the large spool file it creates.
Microsoft Word
Text with several font changes
B/W
32 pages 1 copy
797KB

38. PDF
The magicolor printed this multi-page document in less than ½ the time.
Adobe Acrobat document
Color and Monochrome
16 pages
959 KB

39. PDF
Adobe Acrobat document
Color and Monochrome
4 pages
2.9 MB

40. Performance Overview – driver defaults
At driver defaults the Samsung is faster than the magicolors since they print at 1200 x 600 and the Samsung prints at 600 x 600 dpi.
Various file types
Color & B/W
Single and multi-page
Large and small documents

41. First Page Out from Energy Saver
The Samsung has a 20% advantage in FPO.
FPO from Sleep
Time to print a 5%, 4 color page from energy saver mode

42. First Page Out from Idle/Ready
The Samsung consistently outperformed the magicolors in FPO tests
FPO from Idle/Ready
4 color file
Printer is warmed up and ready to print

43. The Samsung even powered up faster than the hp
Time to Power Up
The Samsung even powered up faster than the hp
The difference in the 2 magicolors may be explained by the fact that the ‘W’ was low on one toner
FPO from Idle/Ready
4 color file
Printer is warmed up and ready to print

44. Duplex To be done. 68 page B/W with color cover
71 page manual with color on most pages
4 page intense graphic

45. Conclusion: performance
The 21 ppm Samsung CLP-500’s engine is rated considerably faster than the 2300W, but was slower in almost all instances.
Total print times for all jobs (1200 dpi:
Samsung CLP-500: 38:42 (38 minutes, 42 seconds)
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300W: 23:34 (23 minutes, 34 seconds)
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300 DeskLaser: 22:04 (22 minutes, 04 seconds)
The Samsung did outperform the magicolors when it was in 600 dpi mode and the magicolors were at their driver default of 1200 x 600 dpi
Konica Minolta magicolor 2300W: 23:34
Samsung CLP-500: 10:41

46. Cost Of Ownership / CPP Color CPP at 5% coverage using $ Web prices $
The magicolor enjoys a considerable advantage in Cost Per Page

47. Total Cost Of Ownership
The magicolor enjoys a considerable advantage in TCO as well. (It costs less to own and operate)

48. Additional Observations and Photos
Negative and Positive comments

49. Consumables
Exposed OPC shows vunerability to damage during installation.
Toners, OPC, transfer belt and drivers
Toners do not all go into the printer at the same level and physical keying in inadequate
This card ships with and has info on toner.

50. Cool Features Quiet operation and USB 2.0
Built-in duplexer for all models
Clear consumable instructions and reorder or supplies
Easy to navigate menu and attention getting demo button.

51. Main paper tray only supports A4 and Letter paper
Fuser ships without spacers. This could result in flat spots on the fuser and affect print quality.
Knock-Offs
Exposed OPC shows vunerability to light and pysical damage during installation
Main paper tray only supports A4 and Letter paper
Most manufacturers have abandoned this front loading design because of inherent print quality problems

52. Knock-Offs 22 steps just for hardware installation
Design flaw requires extra instructions on how to open/close door
Inferior print quality. Our unit displayed jitter, chaulky output and grainy images compared to the magicolor 2300
Main paper tray supports only A4 and Letter paper. All others must be fed from the m/p tray and this significantly increases this printers’ foot print.

53. Only USB and Parallel on Base models.
Knock-Offs
Only USB and Parallel on Base models.
Much larger shipping box is very plain and is less desireable in retail