Dell B2360dn review
Dell's B2360dn is a mono laser printer with a fast 38 pages-per-minute (ppm) maximum speed. It's aimed at small and medium business, so its standard features include automatic duplex (double-sided) printing, and a gigabit wired Ethernet port. There's also a 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) maximum print resolution, although the default 600dpi is fine for most work. Dell quotes a maximum 80,000 page per month duty cycle, while the imaging drum is rated for 60,000 pages, so durability should be high and maintenance comparatively low.
This printer's main 250-page input cassette feels built to last, and there's a well-designed 50-page multipurpose feed above it. Adjust the cassette for A4 paper and it stands slightly proud at the rear, but the design keeps it covered to avoid dust getting in. Those needing greater capacity can add a second 550-sheet cassette for around £115. The printer's standard 150-page paper output tray is a little shallow, but a wide paper stop helps keep printed pages in good order. At the top is a control panel with a two-line backlit display - it's basic, but sufficient. The only notable omission is a USB port for direct printing.
The B2360dn delivered its first page of text in just eight seconds, and printed 25 pages in 45 seconds (33.3ppm). It was generally just as fast when printing graphics, but pauses before each of four PowerPoint slides meant it managed only 21.2ppm in our 24-page test. Allowed to rest for an hour, it produced a first page of text in only nine seconds.
Print quality was exceptional, with the crisp black text you'd expect from a laser printer coupled with excellent photo prints and graphics. Our tests had progressive, accurate shading, virtually no banding, and no obvious half-toning patterns or other weaknesses.
They don't look alike, but the Dell B2360dn is very similar to the Lexmark MS415dn Pro , which in specification and the B2360dn performed almost identically across our tests. Our main reservation about the MS415dn is that its print costs are a little on the high side, and the same is true of the B2360dn. Using its 8,500-page high capacity return programme toner, costs work out at just over 1.6p per page, although this is more forgivable given this printer's significantly lower price.
Where reliability and service are paramount, we'd still buy the MS415dn Pro for its three-year warranty, which is an optional extra for the B2360dn. If a year's warranty is sufficient, though, no similarly priced printers can touch the B2360dn's combination of pace and quality. It's a Best Buy.
| Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Technology | Mono laser |
| Maximum print resolution | 1,200x1,200dpi |
| Number of colours (cartridges) | 1 (1) |
| Standard interfaces | USB, gigabit Ethernet |
| Optional interfaces | None |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 263x399x382mm |
| Weight | 14.1kg |
| Noise | 54dB(A) |
| Duty cycle (pages per month) | 80,000 (max), 2,500 (recommended) |
| Paper handling | |
| Maximum paper size | A4/legal |
| Maximum paper weight | |
| Standard paper trays (capacity) | 2 (300) |
| Maximum paper trays (capacity) | 3 (850) |
| Duplex | Yes |
| Features | |
| Supported operating systems | Windows XP or later, Mac OS X 10.5 or later, various Linux distributions, Novell Netware 5.x or later |
| Languages | PCL 5C, PCL 5E, PostScript 3, XPS |
| Other features | Two-line mono LCD |
| Buying information | |
| Warranty | One-year RTB |
| Price | £136 |
| Consumable parts and prices | 593-11167 black toner (8,500-pages) £130, 724-10492 drum (60,000 pages) £47 |
| Quoted life of supplied black toner | 2,500 pages (ISO/IEC 19752) |
| Quoted life of supplied colour toner | N/A |
| Cost per ISO/IEC 24712 A4 page inc VAT | 1.6p |
| Cost per ISO/IEC 24712 A4 page inc VAT (colour part) | N/A |
| Cost per ISO/IEC 24712 A4 page inc VAT (mono part) | 1.6p |
| Capacity of supplied drum/s (pages) | 60,000 pages |
| Supplier | cpc.farnell.com |
| Details | www.dell.co.uk |
| Part code | 210-41173 |
