Samsung SCX-4521HS Laser Multifunction Printer Driver and Software

With its 150-sheet input tray and the ability to not increase capacity, the Samsung SCX-4521HS is clearly aimed at a small office or home office that doesn’t need to print a lot of pages. However, it was also designed with the understanding that just because you don’t need a high-performance printer doesn’t mean you need all the features you’d find in a larger, more expensive AIO. The result is a cost-effective AIO that can print, scan, fax and work as a standalone copier. It includes a 30-page automatic document feeder (ADF) that can quickly scan, fax or copy multi-page documents.

The Samsung SCX-4521HS is relatively small and light, at 14.5 x 17.2 x 14.7 inches (HWD) and 22.9 pounds. It’s easy to move and small enough to share a desk. As you would expect from the lightweight printing feature, there is no network connection.

The setup is standard for the breed: install the toner cartridge and paper, plug in the power cord and USB cable, and run the automatic installer.

The output quality of the Samsung SCX-4521HS is good enough for most purposes. Text quality is a little lower than most monochrome laser AIOs, but it’s still good enough to handle most text you’re likely to throw at it. In testing, most fonts were legible at 5 points and below, half of them were legible at 4 points, and only one highly stylized font required 10 points.

Graphics quality was typical of black and white lasers and better than the output from Ricoh or Canon printers. Again, the quality is a step below the best quality of black and white lasers, but the output is easily sufficient for internal business use.

The main issue we saw was visible dithering. This is obvious enough that you don’t want to show the issue to anyone you’re trying to impress with your professionalism.

Photo quality is mid-range for the breed, roughly equivalent to the output of the Ricoh and Canon printers. The photos also show dithering, but are good enough for things like a customer or family newsletter or printing web pages with photos.

Related Printer: Samsung SCX-4116

All of this makes the Samsung SCX-4521HS a sensible choice for a small office or home office: it has decent print speed and quality, and all the AIO features and functionality you’re likely to need.