Samsung ML-1450

Samsung's now end-of-line ML-6060 reigned on our A List for its entire 24-month lifecycle, so the ML-1450 was under pressure to continue this success.

The new model looks almost identical and builds on the ML-6060's strengths. The 550-sheet paper tray is convenient, and the expansion potential, which includes another 550-sheet paper tray and a 100Mb/sec network adaptor, is also useful.

In our tests, though, the ML-1450 failed to beat Kyocera's identically priced and similarly specified contender. The basic text tests couldn't separate the two: the ML-1450 managed 13.6ppm and the FS-1010+ 13.1ppm for the 50-page document, and when it came to a single page the ML-1450 was 1.7 seconds slower at 16.6 seconds. The two printers were similarly close in our Excel and DTP tests.

Quality was slightly disappointing. All our test photos were too dark and fades weren't as smooth as the Kyocera's, even with the 1,200dpi setting enabled. The Excel shading was also on the dark side, but text remained readable.

If you want to print text, the Samsung is fine, with even reverse text super-sharp. We welcomed the toner save and print cancel buttons, but in practice the cancel button ignored us and continued printing. With just a single year of return-to-base warranty, the identical Tally, which costs £30 less but has a superior warranty, is a better deal.