Samsung ML-1020 Printer Review
The Samsung ML-1020 is a monochrome laser printer designed for the home or small office user, like the HP 1020 toner printer. Its print speeds are solid and its text quality is excellent. The ML-1020 is a very compact printer. Its small footprint makes it a good choice for tight office spaces, and its input and output trays are both located on top of the unit, freeing up space in front of the printer. A slot output on the front of unit can be used for thick media that shouldn't be bent at the harsh angle required for the printing process, though this makes pages prone to falling on the floor. As a result, this will probably only be used occasionally.
Users thinking of sharing the ML-1020 among more than one user will probably want to think twice, as its limited paper capacity and slower speeds will make this difficult. It holds 150 sheets in its main tray, which should be enough for a single user, but not much more. The printer connects via USB or parallel and has no built-in ethernet port, so networking it would require a print server or host computer.
The ML-1020 ships with a starter cartridge of only 1,000 page capacity. Each Samsung ML-1020 toner cartridge has a capacity of 2,500 pages. The printer has a TonerSave mode, which reduces the toner used per page, allowing users to get more from each Samsung ML-1020 toner cartridge. This makes the ML-1020 a very economical choice for long term costs.
Print speed is fast enough for personal use, but not much more, at around 10 pages per minute. While text quality is excellent, graphics quality is below average, so it will best be used only occasionally.
Overall, the Samsung ML-1020 is a solid personal laser printer, but it is slower than some competing units, and its graphics quality could be better.
