Samsung ML-2520 Laser Printer Drivers and Software

The Samsung ML-2520 isn’t the smallest mono laser, but its compact shape still leaves plenty of space on your desk. It only has a USB connection, so installation is a simple matter of running the setup program on the driver CD and connecting the printer when prompted. It’s a typical personal laser printer for the small or home office, but we were pleased with the low noise level during operation as well as the 250-sheet paper tray and maximum monthly duty cycle of 12,000 pages.

It’s fast, too, with print speeds of 21.1 pages per minute in our mono text test and 19.2 pages per minute in our illustrated business document test. There are no different quality modes in the driver, but there is a default-off Fine Edges option, which is intended to produce smoother curves and fewer jagged edges in fine line art. This can often be well demonstrated by our small font size test.

Fonts 6pt and below were spidery, jagged, and difficult to read at default settings. Enabling Fine Edge mode produced clear and solid 6-point text and made 5-point text much easier to read. Standard quality text and illustrated document prints are excellent, but it’s worth using Fine Edge mode for line charts and similar areas of fine detail.

The Samsung ML-2520 has a strikingly low page cost of just 2 pages per page, based on ISO/IEC 24712 standard values ​​for toner usage and Samsung’s 2,500-page MLT-D1052L toner cartridge, which costs £49. There are no other consumables. This also results in a low total cost of ownership, especially during medium and heavy usage.

Medium users who go through 21,000 pages in three years (750 pages per month) can expect to spend a total of £489 on the printer and its consumables. It’s not quite as cheap for light users who print 100 pages a month at a total cost of £190.

Related Printer: Samsung ML-2570

The printer’s maximum duty cycle of 12,000 pages suggests that it should be able to cope with heavier use, although our figures of 3,000 pages per month, with a total usage of 108,000 pages over three years, are probably close to the limit of its capabilities for regular use lay. Compact personal laser printers aren’t our first choice for this kind of volume. If you use the Samsung ML-2520 that often, you can expect to pay just €2,199 in three years.