Samsung SCX-3405W review

A simple mono laser all-in-one can be a very useful bit of kit in a small or home office, where colour isn't a requirement, but top quality text print is. Samsung’s new range, where the SCX-3405W is a wireless version of the entry-level model, reduces the overall size of the machines, while at the same time maintaining a good print speed and adding in wireless and eco facilities.

The pale grey case is very discreet, though a little less so once you've pulled down the front cover to make a paper feed tray, pulled out the rather flimsy, two-stage output support and folded out the silvered control panel to a more convenient angle. There's only one paper tray, which can take up to 150 sheets with no multipurpose feed, and printed sheets feed out through a rounded aperture just below the scanner.

The scanner lid has a finger groove at its right-hand end, folds well back when open and has extending hinges, letting you can scan books and magazines easily. The control panel includes a two-digit, seven-segment led display for number of copies, as well as dedicated buttons for Eco, WPS, Scan to and ID copy.

The printer connects via USB or wireless and although it has no LCD display, pressing the WPS button on the control panel and a similar one on your wireless router gets you connected with a minimum of fuss. The single-piece drum and toner cartridge, rated at 1,500 pages, is reasonably easy to fit, though you do have to yank the scanner section up quite firmly to uncouple the latch which holds it in place and get at the laser engine cover.

The eco facilities in the driver go a lot further than many similar machines. You can choose to have an eco-preview pop up for each print, giving the opportunity to print grey or outlined text and to select duplex print. In fact, duplex is the default print mode on this machine, which is possibly a mistake, given it only has manual facilities. Details of how to duplex by hand pop-up even when you’re printing a single-sided document.