Samsung CLP-610N Color Laser Printer Driver and Software

Standard specifications of the Samsung CLP-610N include: a print speed of 20 pages per minute for A4 (21 pages per minute letter) in black and white and color, 128 MB of memory (expandable to a maximum of 384 MB), and built-in duplex printing.

At 17 x 17 inches, the Samsung CLP-610N has a moderate footprint, but its 16.7-inch height is larger than other printers in its class that have recently passed through the Test Center lab.

Related Printer: Samsung CLP-605

Its boxy appearance won’t win the Samsung CLP-610N any beauty awards, but at just over 56 pounds it feels like a solidly built printer, and the smoke gray shell allows it to fit into an office environment pretty much anywhere. And its street price – which ranges from $340 to $400 – is reasonable given its performance.

Our test results were largely consistent with Samsung’s specifications. When idle it consumes 17 watts. When printing, the power consumption fluctuated around 450 watts, which matched the “less than 550 watts” stated in the manual.

Noise levels were more difficult for our testers to measure because the ambient levels in the lab were higher than what Samsung rates the printer. In a busy office environment, the sound was undetectable. Although it’s a bit slow to warm up, the Samsung CLP-610N is a workhorse once it gets going.

Our tested warm-up time was approximately fifty seconds – ten seconds longer than the official specifications. In standby mode, it took fifteen seconds for the first sheet to print. This was consistent across the board whether we were printing single-sided or double-sided and color or monochrome.
During testing, our evaluation unit consistently printed at the same speeds after warming up. Pages consisting entirely of black text printed at 21 pages per minute, while pages of a full-color PowerPoint presentation printed at 20 pages per minute. Our duplex tests yielded speeds of about 5 pages per minute (ten prints total) for both color and black and white.

The only real problem testers had was when we printed full-page photo-quality test sheets. In this case the print rate was about four pages in about fifteen seconds, followed by a twenty second pause and so on. On average this gives a rate of around 8 ppm, which is fine considering the level of detail.

Speaking of detail, the print quality of the Samsung CLP-610N is excellent. The colors were deep and vibrant, with different shades of the same color easily distinguishable from one another. Lines were sharp too. In a close-up of a bloodshot eye, the thin red lines are clearly visible. In addition, a photo of a chrome knob clearly shows all the objects in the room reflected from it. The text was easy to read with good contrast to the white paper.

Like most other printers, the top of the Samsung CLP-610N got warm after our testing. Although the sides and front and back remained at room temperature; the top measured one hundred and five degrees. The Samsung CLP-610N supports Windows 2000 and higher, various Linux versions as well as Mac OS X 10.3/10.4 and has ports for Ethernet 10/100 and USB 2.0.

Two different drivers (one black and white, the other color) are available to help system administrators control costs by providing the color driver only to users who have a business need for color printing. With a monthly duty cycle of 65,000 pages, it should easily withstand use by a medium-sized business or workgroup.

Samsung Printers Are Available Exclusively Through the Channel

Bottom line : The Samsung CLP-610N is good for small businesses or workgroups, at a reasonable price and from a company where executives say they’re working hard to attract resellers. For these reasons, we can recommend this printer to VARs looking to fill a targeted need or simply expand their print provider product line card if they don’t already partner with Samsung.