Samsung Xpress SL-M2024 Laser Printer Driver and Software

A compact mono laser can be the ideal printer for those who are on a budget and don’t need color printing. Lasers under £100 are in a surprisingly crowded market, with most of the major manufacturers offering at least one model.

Samsung has been playing in this space for a long time and the Samsung Xpress SL-M2024 offers good mobile compatibility as well as wireless and USB connectivity.

Design and Functions

The printer has a very compact footprint when closed, and Samsung has done its best to keep it small even when opened to print. The front panel folds down to become the paper input tray, and the two-stage paper support, which folds out from the top, takes on a steep angle, increasing the printer’s height but keeping its depth low.

The small control panel on the right has two LEDs and two illuminated buttons. Next to the power button there is one for the WPS connection; Press it and the corresponding button on your WPS-enabled router, and the printer will connect securely and with minimal effort.

Connections and Cartridge

Opposite the control panel, on the other side of the output tray, is a label that shows where to touch your Near Field Communication (NFC)-equipped smartphone or tablet to easily connect for printing. There’s also a single USB socket on the back of the printer, although wireless connection is a more flexible option.

A one-piece drum and toner cartridge slide into the depths of the printer once you flip the entire top cover out of the way. The cartridge comes in just a 1,000-page capacity, which is quite low for a laser but high compared to inkjet printers at the same price.

The printer driver includes Samsung’s Easy Eco control panel, which previews a print job and allows you to select options such as reduced toner consumption, multiple pages per sheet, and duplex printing – although only manual duplex printing. It shows the reduction in toner, paper, energy, CO2 and costs when you change your option.

Print Speeds

Samsung rates the Samsung Xpress SL-M2024 at 20 pages per minute, and with an ISO page speed rating it may be right. However, in the real world, where you need to know the speed of a job from start to finish, it is slightly lower. Our 5-page text print yielded a speed of 11.1ppm, with an eco-print of the same document, somewhat surprisingly, yielding a slightly lower figure of 10.7ppm.

The 20-page test increased this to 15.0 pages per minute, three-quarters of the advertised speed and very good throughput for a printer at this price. The 5-page text and graphics document was slower at 8.6 ppm, possibly due to longer rasterization time

Related Printer: Samsung Xpress SL-M2830DW

Verdict

This is a great little mono laser printer that does more than it needs to for its price. It’s quick and easy to use and the Eco-Driver is useful for saving money and the planet, plus the phone and tablet integration is class-leading.