Dell 2135CN Review

Overview:

Don’t be dissuaded by the Dell 2135CN’s sinister looks. This all black multifunctional printer operates in full color and comes at a very low price. Its specifications are somewhat run of the mill across the board, as it fails to really impress in any one particular area, but the unit is sure to please a small office looking for a basic set of color laser printing tools.

Pros:

Along with the simple fact that the Dell 2135CN can print in full color, it has much to offer. The unit is quite large, though it only holds 250 sheets worth of paper. Its duty cycle of 40,000 pages seems just about right for a unit of this magnitude; allowing a network of people to produce plenty of work from the machine in the span of a month.

The head to toe black design of the Dell 2135CN is noteworthy, channels Darth Vader quite well, but is also highly functional. The floating scanner allows for a convenient paper path, with the unit’s output tray actually sitting underneath the scanner. This allows the device to function without the need for the usual fold out paper trays. The design also incorporates a side door for toner access which is a great convenience when replacing consumables.

With a 400 MHz built in processor, you would think that the Dell 2135CN would be able to execute faster print speeds than it can. Still, 400 MHz is impressive, and the device’s standard memory is at least respectable as well at 128 MBs. Memory can be expanded up to a total of 384 MBs which, though expensive, is highly recommended to keep speeds up when dealing with large imagery or PDF files.

An Ethernet port is made available for networking, as is a standard USB 2.0 port that supports a high speed connection with a single host PC. The print languages understood by the machine are PCL 5/6 with 81 fonts, and the device is compatible with a variety of Windows formats making setup relatively easy. The unit could also conceivably even be used as a stand alone copy machine or fax machine without any PC setup at all.

Cons:

The Dell 2135CN lacks a manual duplexor, which is quite a disappointment for an otherwise well rounded machine. If two sided printing is only needed on occasion, Dell makes duplexing available with two different manual duplex options which are not too cumbersome. Still, the incorporation of an automatic duplexor in a network ready color multifunctional machine seems like it should be standard.

The real downside to this older model, however, is its print speed. With only 16 pages per minute maximum for black and white printing and an even slower 12 pages per minute for color, both rated for letter sized paper, the Dell 2135CN is one of the slowest models available. Being released in the early days of color laser technology, its hardware cannot compete with the affordable, reliable, and fast color multifunctional desktop printers and copy machines on the market today.