Samsung CLP-315

In case you're familiar with the Samsung CLP-300N, which the CLP-315 replaces, I should say right up front that despite the similarity in name, the two printers have almost nothing in common. The CLP-300N was a bit of a disappointment. The CLP-315 is a very different and far better printer.

Samsung boasts that the CLP-315 is one of the world's smallest color lasers. At 9.6 by 15.3 by 12.3 inches (HWD), it's certainly the smallest I've tested and the lightest by far, at just 24.3 pounds.

In fact, it's one of only two color lasers I've seen that are small enough to qualify as truly personal the other being the HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni, which has a larger footprint and costs about twice as much.

Both printers, though, fit easily on a desktop without dominating it and are short enough not to make you feel that they are towering over you.

The CLP-315 also shares at least one limitation with the HP printer. To keep the height down, the paper drawer is limited to 150 sheets. If you print more than about 30 pages per day, on average, refilling the drawer may turn into an annoying chore. This shouldn't be a problem in most cases, given that the CLP-315 is meant as a personal printer that connects by USB cable only. It's more likely to be an issue if you share the printer over a network.

Setting up the CLP-315 is as easy as it gets. The toner cartridges ship in place inside the printer, without needing any preparation before you can use them. All you need do is remove some tape from the outside of the printer, load paper, plug in a USB cable, and run the automated installation routine from disc.

I tested using Windows XP, but according to Samsung the printer also comes with drivers for Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Vista, Vista x64, Linux, and Mac OS 10.3 through 10.5. A driver for XP x64 is also available on Samsung's Web site.