The Dell 1710n is a solid monochrome laser printer geared toward small offices that need a network printer, but don’t require color printing. With color laser printers available for affordable prices, it might seem strange to consider a monochrome laser printer. However, if your printing needs don’t require color, buying a monochrome printer will not only save money on the price of the printer itself but you will never need to purchase color cartridges. Also, monochrome printers usually contain higher-yield black cartridges, since they don’t have to share space with the color cartridges. Reliability may also improve, as there are fewer parts, and fewer things to go wrong, without the color printing mechanism.
Speaking of higher yields, the Dell 1710n toner cartridges come in two different sizes: 3,000 and 6,000 pages. When using the higher yield Dell 1710n toner cartridge, cost per page is only 1.7 cents, which is very economical. Printing speeds are fast, around 19 pages per minute with text and 7 pages per minute with graphics. Most printing will likely be text, so this may be a small consideration for most offices. Print quality is average, falling behind more expensive models; but text quality remains fairly sharp and readable, even at small font sizes.
For use as a day to day printer for inter-office printing, the 1710n won’t disappoint; but for professional printing intended for distribution, you may want to look at a model such as the Xerox Phaser 6185. Setup is simple and fast. Running the setup routine allows your computers to find the printer on the network, installs drivers, and within just a few minutes, the computer is connected and ready to print.
Overall, the 1710n will be a good choice for small offices who need mostly text printing on a network printer that is easy to configure. High yield toner cartridges and an affordable price make it a very economical choice.
