The good: The Dell 1130n’s low-profile design, basic setup procedure, and decent output results make it a strong contender to be your next light-duty office printer.

The bad: The 1130n’s graphical output quality needs improvement, and it doesn’t include Wi-Fi connectivity.

The bottom line: Although it performed adequately in our print speed tests, this basic monochrome laser printer is outgunned by competitive devices with wireless networking for the same price.

The Dell 1130n delivers the basic features we’d expect from a budget monochrome laser printer; it includes wired networking through the Ethernet port on the back, an ample 250-sheet paper tray, and a separate one-sheet manual feed tray for irregular media. We wouldn’t think twice about recommending getting the 1130n if you see it on sale, but its simple design and modest functionality don’t justify its $180 retail value. If you’re on the hunt for a new laser printer, we’d instead point to the Samsung ML-2525W, an aesthetically similar device with the added benefit of Wi-Fi access.

Design and features
The 1130n measures only 14.2 inches wide, 15.3 inches deep, and 7.8 inches tall, and its slim dimensions make it easy to camouflage in a busy work space. As with many laser printers, Dell uses a conservative black for the same reason, with a curved paper path that places the output tray on top of the small, rectangular unit. Conversely, the input tray pulls out of the lower half of the front and can hold up to 250 sheets of standard 8.5×11-inch paper. Dell also tells us the printer can handle approximately 12,000 pages per month (also called the duty cycle), which should be more than enough for up to a medium-size business. You can also load thicker media like cardstock and envelopes into the single-sheet manual feed slot that sits just above the main paper drawer.

We hesitate to call the top portion of the printer the “control panel,” since you only get two buttons (power and cancel print job) and two error notification lights to work with. Considering the simplicity of a monolaser, you aren’t likely to need more. On the other hand, the fixed 90-degree angle of the button layout means that depending on how high you have the printer on your desk, you may need to stand up to see them. Overall the controls are intuitive to navigate, and with no wireless networking installed in the 1130n, the printer is simple for even the most amateur technophobe to operate.

The setup is also painless thanks to the driver installation disc that comes with the printer. According to Dell, the 1130n is compatible with a variety of Windows versions including 32- and 64-bit Vista and 7, 2000, XP, and Server, as well as Linux and Mac OS 10.3 through 10.6. The onscreen instructions guide you through the 2-minute unboxing, physical setup, and software installation process using a USB cable, which you’ll need to purchase separately since it doesn’t come with one.

Folding down the front panel drawer uncovers two separate paper bays: one to hold 150 sheets of plain white paper, and a plastic lip on top that corrals outgoing sheets. The tray also features slides on either side that adjust to fit standard legal paper as well as alternative media sources like coated paper, envelopes, and labels. Unlike other business-oriented laser printers, however, there’s no manual bypass feeder of the kind some find useful for loading transparencies or labels.

The monochrome toner cartridge is easy to pull out after you disengage the plastic front panel, and Dell includes a standard-capacity toner cartridge with the unit. You can pick up a refill for $63 on the Dell Web site that will supposedly print up to 1,500 sheets. That comes out to about 4.2 cents per page, which is just higher than the average cost for a plain sheet of black ink on both laser and inkjet printers. Alternatively, if you find yourself printing more than average, we recommend investing in the $88 extra-large-capacity toner with a 2,500-page yield that comes out to 3.5 cents per page.

Dell keeps the retail cost of the 1130n low by leaving out two features: autoduplexing (double-sided printing) and the ability to print over a Wi-Fi network. Employees in an office can still link multiple stations to the 1130n using the Ethernet networking port on the back, but we’re troubled by the choice to omit Wi-Fi at this price, when the Samsung ML-2525W and the Brother HL-2270DW both include wireless connectivity for $150.

Performance
The 1130n trails the competition slightly in our monochrome text throughput test, but you likely won’t notice a speed difference unless you’re consistently printing over 20 pages at a time. While Dell can’t match the Lexmark E460dw in three out of the four tests.

The Dell 1130n performed well, but not exceptionally, in the output quality assessment portion of our tests. As expected, it produced a beautiful page of black text with solid lines and clean edges with uniform character spacing and fully formed figures down to an unreadable font, but the printer failed to deliver similar results with a page of graphics. While we still don’t doubt its ability to create handouts and presentation documents for the boardroom, we did notice malformed gradations and inconsistency in the finer lines. The same goes for snapshot photos, although we’ll assume you aren’t buying a monolaser printer to enrich your career as a photographer.

Service and support
The standard warranty for the Dell 1130n lasts one year, but you can upgrade it to up to four additional years. Dell provides free, toll-free phone support 24-7, but recommends trying the live online chat option first. For less urgent inquiries, you can also contact Dell’s e-mail support team or check out its user forums. Dell’s Web site has product-specific support in the form of online user guides, driver and software downloads, and a troubleshooting tool.

Conclusion
The Dell 1130n monochrome laser printer serves up acceptable quality for home offices and small business, with consistent performance, simple setup, and Ethernet networking, but if you’re looking for a bargain or care about a Wi-Fi connection option, we recommend the Samsung ML-2525W instead.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

If you are in the market for a new inkjet printer, heed this advice . . . Avoid the Dell V715w All-in-One Wireless printer!

Why? For the simple reason that there are far better printers on the market. This printer will leave you nothing but frustrated.

Dell claims this printer to be environmentally friendly because the V715w offers an econo-mode button that allows you to dim the 2.4 inch LCD display and enables the double sided printing feature. I’ll hand it to them on a feature that makes printing on both sides of the paper even easier, but an auto dim on a 2.4 inch LCD screen. How much energy, or money, are we actually saving there? Wouldn’t Dell have been better off putting some of that “econo-mindedness” in to creating a printer that does not go through printer cartridges like Larry King goes through wives.

Conservation of printer cartridges will have a much larger impact on the environment than powering down a LCD screen. Dell, long known as the maker of printers that guzzle printer ink, can add the V715w to their list. This printer uses four individual ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) in both standard and high capacity versions. Dell is well know for offering cartridges in both standard and high capacity. Problem is that they are not publishing page yield on these cartridges, so you have to take their word on which is which. Really want to know how fast these printers go through ink, check out CNET and Amazon’s customer comments.

Dell offers this printer for $149.99, but Lexamark, Epson, and HP all make printers that offer more features than the V715w – at the same price point.

It’s print quality and print speed leave you wanting and it offers little more than the standard print, copy, fax, scan features that we’ve come to expect on all AIO printers. Save yourself some frustration and find a different printer to buy.

Dell is at it again . . . Last Thursday they announced the release of six new All-in-One (AIO) inkjet printers. Some of the new models include touch screens and wireless connectivity. The line includes the P713w, V715w, V515w, P513w, V313, and V313w.

The printers all have some common features with print speeds up to 33 ppm in black and 30 ppm in color.

Copy speeds for the line are 25 ppm mono and 21 ppm in color. The printers all feature an Eco-Mode that switches to power saver after 10 minutes. Each model with a “w” designation features wireless connectivity.

The P713w and V715w are designed for offices with up to 10,000 pages per month of volume and have resolution of 1200 x 4800. The 715w sells for $189 and the 713W costs $199. The V515w and P513w also feature fax modems and the 513 has a dual side print feature. Both sell for $149. The V313 and V313w are offered in blue/white or pink/white colors and sell for $99 for the V313 and $119 for the V313w.

In addition to these new printers, Dell has also released a new series of inkjet cartridges to go with them. As they have done in the past, Dell is releasing these cartridges under multiple cartridge numbers and with both standard and high capacity yields.

It’s new cartridge Tuesday! This week we are focusing on four of our newer toner cartridge releases, compatible cartridges to replace the Dell KD580 black, JD762 cyan, JD761 magenta, and GD918 yellow. Each of these compatible toner cartridges is designed for use in the Dell 5110cn color laser printer. Let’s take a quick look at each of the cartridges.

The Dell KD580 is also know by Dell part number 310-7890. It is a compatible black toner cartridge that yields up to 10,000 pages. If you buy the cartridge directly from Dell you can expect to pay $54.99 for the cartridge. Our 100% compatible version will cost you $45.49.

The JD762 cyan and the JD761 magenta can also be found under different Dell part numbers. The cyan is also know as 310-7892, while the magenta is also know as 310-7894. Both of these compatible cartridges yield 8,000 pages of print, the same number as the Dell manufactured product. These Dell manufactured cartridges are priced at $151.49, while the compatible replacement versions are priced at $149.99.

The yellow GD918 follows in line with all the others. It can also be found under Dell part number 310-7896. The compatible version yields 8,000 pages and is priced at $151.49. The Dell brand cartridge yields the same number of pages and is priced at $169.99.

These cartridges are fully guaranteed to print with the same quality and page yield as the Dell manufactured cartridge would, and our customer test groups rated the product quite high.

If you have used this cartridge, let Pacific Ink know what you think.

Dell announced today that they were introducing five new laser printers. Two of the machines are color laser printers and the others are standard monochrome. The models are the Dell 5310n, 5210n, 5110cn, 3010cn and the 1815dn. They range in price from $379-$1000.

The two new color laser printers are the Dell 3010cn and the 5110cn. Dell has not really focused on making color laser printers up until this point, but it seems like now they are getting serious. They rate the 5110cn at 40 ppm for black pages and 35 ppm for color, which makes it one of the fastest color laser machines available. These two machines feature Dell’s Colortrack2 control tool, which allows users to customize color settings in order to maximize efficiency.

For their new monochrome laser printers, Dell is touting their OpenManage printer software, which allows users to have better control over their printer networks. The most expensive of the monochrome machines, the $1000 Dell 5310n, is rated at 50 ppm and is designed for network use.

The 5310n and the 3010cn are currently available for purchase, while the rest of the models will debut within the next month or so.

Dell’s Laser Focus Simplifies Business Printing [Press Release]

One of the more common Dell cartridges is their T0529, which works in the Dell 720 printer. Like other common ink cartridges, there are a number of options available for people who are tired of buying a brand new cartridge all the time. Here are your options:

Remanufactured T0529 – this is a product that we sell at a price that is lower than Dell’s retail price. A remanufactured T0529 cartridge is one that has been refilled to capacity with ink and fitted with a new print head. So what you are left with is a cartridge that has a recycled outer casing, but new parts on it and ink guaranteed to give you the results you are used to.

Dell OEM T0529 – this is the ink cartridge that comes installed in your printer and the one that you would buy directly from Dell. This is the one that their software alerts you to buy from their online store when your printer is getting low on ink. It is also known as the Dell K1014. It is a relatively small cartridge and therefore does not have a very long life.

 

Refill kits – available for almost all Dell inkjet cartridges, this is the way to save the most money on ink. For the T0529, we offer a refill kit that is $10.99 and gives you almost four full refills, which works out to be under $3 per cartridge refill. All our refill kits are basically the same size, but this one is a better value than most due to the small size of the T0529. The only downside to refilling is that eventually you will have to buy a new cartridge, as most cartridges last for an average of 3-4 refills.

Refilling service – if you don’t want to mess around with refilling, you can pay someone to do it for you. The service we offer is Renew and it works like this: you purchase the service, you then receive a mailer and then send away your empty cartridge. About a week or so later, you receive a refilled cartridge. This option works for people who are interested in recycling or conserving, but don’t have the time.

More are becoming aware that you don’t just have to throw away your empty Dell cartridge and go online and order another one. Because T0529 cartridges are pretty small they can get used pretty quickly, so sometimes it probably feels like a waste to just keep going through them. Just know that there are other options out there, and they can all save you money.

One of Dell’s black inkjet cartridges is the 7Y743, which works in the Dell A940 and 960 printers. Like other common ink cartridges, there are a number of options available for people who are tired of buying a brand new cartridge all the time. Here are your options:

Remanufactured 7Y743 – this is a cartridge that costs less than buying a new one from Dell. A remanufactured 7Y743 cartridge is one that has been refilled to capacity with ink and fitted with a new print head. So you get a refilled cartridge with a recycled outer casing.

Dell OEM 7Y743 – this is the kind that comes with your printer. It is also the one your printer’s software tells you to buy when you are running low. This cartridge is also known as the X0502.

Refill kits – basically, this is the way to save the most money on ink. For the 7Y743, we offer a refill kit that is $10.99 and gives you about two refills. So instead of paying over $30 for a new cartridge, you can pay around $5 per cartridge and refill them yourself. Refilling an ink cartridge isn’t the difficult or messy process that some might think it is.

Refilling service – if you aren’t convinced that refilling your own cartridge is the best way to go, then you can pay someone to do it for you. We offer Renew as our refilling service and it works like this: you purchase the service, you then receive a mailer and then send away your empty cartridge. About a week or so later, you receive a refilled cartridge. This option works for people who are interested in recycling or conserving, but don’t have the time.

The Dell A940 and 960 printers use the 7Y745 color cartridge. Like other common ink cartridges, there are a number of options available for people who are tired of buying a brand new cartridge all the time. Here are your options:

Remanufactured 7Y745 – this is a cartridge that we sell at a price that is lower than Dell’s retail price. A remanufactured 7Y743 cartridge is one that has been refilled to capacity with ink and fitted with a new print head. So you get a refilled cartridge with a recycled outer casing.

Dell OEM 7Y745 – this is the ink cartridge that comes installed in your printer and the one that you would buy directly from Dell. It is the one your printer’s software tells you to buy when you are running low. This cartridge is also known as the X0504.

Refill kits – available for almost all Dell inkjet cartridges, this is the way to save the most money on ink. For the 7Y743, we offer a refill kit that is $14.99 and gives you about four refills. So instead of paying around $40 for a new cartridge, you can pay a few dollars to refill one. Although refilling color cartridges will take a few more minutes than refilling black ones, you will save more money because the cost of buying color cartridges is always higher.

Refilling service – if you aren’t convinced that refilling your own cartridge is the best way to go, then you can pay someone to do it for you. We offer Renew as our refilling service and it works like this: you purchase the service, you then receive a mailer and then send away your empty cartridge. About a week or so later, you receive a refilled cartridge. This option works for people who are interested in recycling or conserving, but don’t have the time.

One of the more common Dell cartridges is their T0530, which works in the Dell 720 printer. Like other common ink cartridges, there are alternatives for customers sick of buying a brand new cartridge every time. Here are some options:

Remanufactured T0530 – this is a product that we sell at a price that is lower than Dell’s retail price. A remanufactured T0530 color cartridge is one that has had its print head replaced and has been refilled with ink. So what you are left with is a cartridge that has a recycled outer casing, but new parts on it and ink guaranteed to give you the results you are used to.

Dell OEM T0530 – this is the ink cartridge that comes installed in your Dell printer and the one that you would buy directly from them. This is the one that their software alerts you to buy from their online store when your printer is getting low on ink. It is a relatively small cartridge and therefore does not have a very long life. A few full-page color prints with this cartridge and you will probably notice a decent amount of ink gone.

Refill kits – available for almost all Dell inkjet cartridges, this is the way to save the most money on ink. For the T0530, we offer a refill kit that is about $15 and gives you a significant amount of refills. All our color refill kits are usually the same price and they all contain the same amount of ink, so because this is a smaller cartridge you save even more than usual.

Refilling service – if you don’t want to use a refill kit, you can pay someone to do the refilling for you. The service we offer is called Renew, and when you purchase it you will receive a mailer from us to send away your empty cartridge. About 10 days later, you will receive a refilled cartridge in the mail. Pretty simple.

More are becoming aware that you don’t just have to throw away your empty Dell cartridge and go online and order another one. Because T0530 cartridges are pretty small they can get used pretty quickly, so sometimes it probably feels like a waste to just keep going through them. Just know that there are other options out there, and they can all save you money.

One of Dell’s black inkjet cartridges is the black T0601 cartridge, which works in their J740 printer. If you print a lot and are tired of buying new cartridges, here is a list of all the options you have to replace the T0601, including some alternatives:

Remanufactured T0601 – this is a cartridge that we sell at a price that is lower than Dell’s retail price. A remanufactured 7Y743 cartridge is one that has been refilled to capacity with ink and fitted with a new print head. So you get a refilled cartridge with a recycled outer casing.

Dell OEM T0601 – an OEM cartridge is the one that comes with your machine and the one that you would buy directly from Dell. It is the one your printer’s software tells you to buy when you are running low.

Refill kits – although these are usually available for Dell cartridges, currently we do not carry a kit for the J740. Basically, there just isn’t one on the market at the moment.

Refilling service – there is another refilling option, though, and that is to have someone professionally refill your cartridge for you. We offer Renew as our refilling service and it works like this: you purchase the service, you then receive a mailer and then send away your empty cartridge. The about 7-10 days later you received a refilled one that’s ready to go. This option works for people who are interested in recycling or conserving, but don’t have the time.