The Dell 3115cn color laser printer has the speed and capacity to keep up with small or medium office environments, even those with fairly high-volume needs. The unit’s height and general bulky design make space a consideration. At 28 inches tall, it needs more vertical space than many printers in its category. This is due to the somewhat awkward design of its scanning area. The scanning area juts out above the rest of the unit, giving a somewhat imbalanced look to the design. Design aesthetics are often not a big consideration for a printer, but it is worth noting for those expecting a typical compact square box.
Print speeds are pretty fast, at 24 pages per minute, though graphics printing is quite a bit slower. Text quality is sharp and well-defined, while graphics prints are somewhat lacking in quality. Dell 3115cn toner cartridges are available in a standard and high yield version. The standard toner cartridges are 4,000 pages for the color and 5,000 pages for the black. The high yield version of the Dell 3115cn toner cartridges is a better option for those with high-volume needs, supplying 8,000 pages per toner cartridge.
While the functionality of the Dell 3115cn is generally good, some features are difficult to use due to its somewhat confusing control panel. With only a four-line LCD panel for controls, intuitive design is a must. Unfortunately, the 3115cn’s control panel can be confusing, and menu navigation is often difficult. The printer’s documentation can sometimes be helpful, but some features and adjustments are still not adequately explained in the manual. Relying on a manual for operation in an office environment is unrealistic, as most office users do not have the time to search through documentation for simple tasks.
The printer includes a 250 sheet input tray and a 150 sheet multipurpose tray. With a 250 sheet output tray, it has the output capacity to hold an entire tray worth of prints, a useful addition for those who print large multi-page documents, as it means fewer trips to the printer.
Overall, the Dell 3115cn is a solid color laser printer with good speeds and sharp text quality. Its awkward design may be a problem where vertical space is scarce, and confusing menus make some features difficult to use.
