Print, scan and copy in style
Samsung’s SCX-4600 is a combined printer-scanner that, unlike most of its rivals, uses a laser printer rather than an inkjet model.
Laser printers are better for people who want to print text and ‘business graphics’ such as graphs and charts (which are also good for school-age children).
The device is squat and well-built, no larger than the average budget laser printer, and it looks good with a matte black plastic finish. The flatbed scanner section is at the top, with a lid covering the main scanner, and a document feeder beneath that.
The printer section is below that, with a paper tray at the bottom. Unlike on some budget printers, the paper tray is fully covered so it will be dust-free. A small slot at the front allows single sheets of headed or special paper to be fed in. Toner cartridges are replaced using a door on the front of the device.
It only connects using USB (there is no networking capability) so the controls are kept simple. There are power, stop and start buttons, and a large control pad for navigating the menus that appear on the two-line text-only black and white display.
Other buttons control copying, which can be done without access to the computer, scanning directly to the computer (a clever feature)and printing what is on the computer screen.
It’s not just the screen that’s black and white though.The printer cannot print in colour, which is no great loss if you are mainly interested in text, but those who want to display their photos should look elsewhere.
Text came out well, although not quite as sharp as we have seen from some lasers and inkjets, and print speeds were excellent, averaging around 20 pages per minute for text. Photo printing took longer, including the time taken by the printer setting itself up, and although images were sharp, the slightly blotchy appearance of large areas of colour mean it’s not suitable for showing off photographs.
