by dlstewart - Written: Oct 08 '08 (Updated Nov 25 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: has not broken or jammed, multi-functions work well (but not great)
Cons: warming up time, fan noise, number buttons difficult to read, small paper tray
The Bottom Line: This Dell printer is an average performer. With all the available multi-function machines out there, shop around before deciding on this one.
dlstewart's Full Review: Dell 1600n All-In-One Laser Printer
This Dell 1600n All-in-One Laser Printer has seen a lot of activity in our office. It has been from the Northwest Pacific to New England. It has severed as a network printer and scanner as well as a fax machine and photocopier. This machine is still working, but I do have mixed feelings about it.
Description
As you can gather from my opening, this all-in-one machine performs many functions as well as having network capabilities. It's an attractive machine that tries to save space by being more vertical than horizontal. Overall, this machine measures 18" high x 17.7" wide x 16.7" deep. It weighs just over 34 pounds (without the additional paper drawer). Adding the additional paper drawer increases the height.
Starting from the top and working down, this Dell laser printer has an automatic document feeder that can feed up to 50 sheets at a time. You can load paper for automatic copying, scanning or for sending faxes. The glass on the machine will handle up to legal-size documents (8 1/2"x 14").
The Control Panel is located just below the glass plate / automatic document feeder area. The buttons are medium-gray and silver, while the printer itself is black and silver/gray. The Control Panel is well organized. At the left are the Copy button selections. In the center is a small black-and-white LCD window, and beneath it are common keys to all the functions (ex: cancel, menu, select, return). To the right of this are the number keys, broadcast and redial/pause button as well as others relating to the Fax functions. At the very right are two buttons for scanning.
The paper output tray is a large rectangular opening that is beneath the control panel. There is a small piece of plastic that is an extension, which is angled slightly upward to keep the papers from falling to the floor.
A silver plastic Dell logo is located beneath the paper output tray. This is where the flip-down access door is located. Open the door to change the toner cartridge. (Note: This machine only prints in black ink ... no color printing.) In this access door is also a wide slot that is a manual paper feeder where paper or envelopes can be loaded one sheet at a time.
The paper drawer is located at the bottom of the machine. It is a drawer that actually slides out so that the paper lays flat and is covered in the machine. An optional second paper drawer can be purchased (and we did buy the second drawer).
At the back of the printer is a rear cover that can be opened to remove paper jams. There is also a rear output slot, but no tray to catch the paper.
Connections at the back of the machine include the: power switch, phone connector, wall jack connector, optional tray 2 cable connector, USB cable connector, network port.
Our Experiences
This printer started its office life in the Northwest. The all-in-one machine was purchased so that one office machine performed many functions. It was an economical move. At the time, our purchasing department was big on the Dell name, and we own a lot of Dell equipment. That is why this particular printer was bought. (My personal feeling is that they should have shopped around comparing machines before buying this one ... but more about that later.)
The machine is easy to set up. The Northwest office purchased this printer new. During a company switch-up, we received this printer from the Northwest office after a few years of their using it. The machine was shoved in its original cardboard box (with little padding) and had a bunch of tangled cables atop it. There was no operating manual or other instructions. I was able to download the manual off of the Dell website. Plugging in the cords was intuitive. One thing to remember, though, is that the additional second paper tray is not "attached" to the original printer. Not realizing this, we almost ended up dropping that bottom paper tray as we jockeyed the machine into position on the credenza. This is a chunky piece of equipment, and dropping any portion of it would have been bad news.
While in the Northwest office, this machine saw a lot of daily use. In our New England office it sees constant activity, but not as heavy a workload as the Northwest office. Our New England office has several printers, so this is not the only printer. Overall, this machine functions well, but not great. The printer quality is good, but not exceptional. The fax machine works well, but it has a few quirks. The copier prints okay but not as good as other machines I've used. The scanner is fine. As you can tell, this is an average machine.
I would definitely reference the manual when installing this printer on a network. And make sure you read the software overview in the manual. This printer comes with a variety of drivers and programs for its various features. There is a section for installation using Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98SE, Windows ME ... but nothing that refers to the Vista operating system. (Our company uses Windows XP.)
In case you are wondering, the copy feature is simple to use. There are options for customizing the layout, selecting the number of copies (from 1 to 99), and reducing and enlarging the image. Contrast options are limited to three choices: darker, normal, lighter. The Layout button offers features such as fitting a page to one sheet of paper, or print one image multiple times on a sheet of paper. Or do Poster Copying by enlarging one image to fit on multiple sheets of paper that fit together like a puzzle to create a poster-size image. Two-sided printing is possible, but you are limited to using the scanner glass (not the document feeder). We find our business photocopier better able to cope with double-sided copying.
The fax works well on this machine. The pages are placed print side up on the document feeder. Just dial the telephone number and hit the button to send the fax. Options include broadcast faxing (sending a document to multiple fax numbers at once). There is a phone book, too. If you need to play with resolution, there is an option to adjust the resolution. We did refer to the manual when initially setting up the date and time on the machine. This fax also spits out a "fax confirmation" sheet after the fax is sent.
The scan keys are simple. One button activates a list of software programs on the computer that a document can be scanned to. This software list has to be created using the Dell software that comes with the printer. The "Dell ScanCenter" includes PaperPort on the computer. This desktop feature offers easier to access scanning options than using the two buttons on the printer.
We only use regular 8 1/2" x 11" copy or printer paper in this Dell machine. This printer can handle card stock, labels, transparencies, and envelopes. However, we have other machines in the office where we load those types of papers and transparencies for printing. Just remember, if you print envelopes or projects using the manual paper slot, you have to open the rear paper slot for the envelope or paper to exit the machine. Another consideration, the manufacturer recommends not using envelopes that have deep embossing, cutouts, metal or string, or where the envelope flap has exposed adhesive.
Pet Peeves
There are definite dislikes to this machine. They are not "make-or-break" issues for us, but they bother me enough where if I were shopping for an all-in-one printer ... I would not buy this one.
Warming Up
When I am ready to fax or copy something, I have papers in hand. I am standing at the machine, ready to go. My day is busy; my time valuable. Unless the machine has almost immediately recently been used, there is a warming-up cycle. Granted the cycle doesn't take horribly long, but I don't feel it should be there at all. For example, I'll have my fax in the document feeder, and I start to punch in the fax number ... and the machine stops working to tell me it is "warming up". Mind you, this machine does not have a "sleep" feature. The LCD display always shows how much toner is left (and never turns off). However, the machine does have a power-save feature that turns off the fan when it is not printing.
The Buttons on the Control Panel
While the buttons are arranged in an organized fashion, I am not happy with how difficult they are to read. Make sure you set this machine up in a very well-lit area. This machine has a large fluorescent light over it, yet I still find the round numbered buttons difficult to read. The medium-gray buttons are marked with black lettering. There is little contrast, which makes them hard to decipher. Many of the buttons are unmarked but have white lettering written near them directly on the control panel. This isn't too bad. However, we do a lot of faxing off this machine, and those difficult to read numbered buttons make all our lives a bit more frustrating.
Paper Tray Drawer
Thank goodness this machine has two paper trays. I am glad we invested in the additional drawer. The paper tray only holds 250 sheets of paper. That is a half-ream. For office use, that is a small amount of paper. We would constantly be reloading the tray if not for the extra drawer.
The Fan & Noise
This machine is loud! It sits about twelve feet from my desk, and I feel as though I am at the end of an airport runway every time it prints something. If this printer was running all the time, the noise would irritate me. Also, I can tell when a fax is about to come through the machine. The machine makes a very faint noise. Then there is the sound of a slight paper pull, then the machine turns on to spit out the fax. It takes several minutes for the process to complete.
So What Do I Like About It?
There are two strong positive things in this machine's favor. One is that it has never broken. Also, it has never had a paper jam. If you count the toner, the third positive feature is the easy-to-change toner cartridge. Another small feature I like is that the LCD window displays in percentages how much toner is left in the machine. I find this very helpful in knowing when the cartridge will need replacing.
But despite these good things, this is still not a favorite machine. Taking an impromptu poll of our office staff, I found that everyone who uses this printer would give it an average or "okay" rating. No one is in love with it.
Purchasing
I don't know what the company paid for this printer when it was purchased new. I have seen it listed for just over $600.00. The Dell 1600n toner cartridge yields 3,000 pages, and Staples.com sells it for $71.99 (the cartridge number is K4671).
Summary
This Dell 1600n All-in-One Laser Printer came in handy when our Brother fax machine died. Thank goodness the printer included the fax function. However, despite the fact that this machine has not broken or jammed, the overall consensus is that this all-in-one machine is average. I would shop around before deciding on this one.
I hope you found this review useful.
Enjoy the day, Dawn http://dlstewart.com
Specifications
Copier Type: Digital Copying Speed: up to 22 pages/minute (max) Document Enlargement: 400% (max) Document Reduction: 25% (max) Fax Type: Plain Paper Fax Transmission Speed: 33.6 Kbps (max) Scanning Optical Resolution: 600 x 1200 dpi Scanning Interpolated Resolution: 4800 x 4800 dpi Printing Resolution: up to 600 x 600 dpi (max) Printing Speed: up to 22 pages/minute (max) Monthly Duty Cycle: 15,000 (max) Standard Memory: 32mb (supports up to 160mb) Operating System Support: Ms Windows Server 2003, MS Windows XP, MS Windows ME, MS Windows 98, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows NT 4.0
The 5000-Page High Yield Black Toner Cartridge from Dell™ is designed to work with Dell Multifunction Laser Printer 1600n. It produces high resoluti...More at Dell SMB
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