Typically the best photo printers are inkjet printers, though thermal dye and ZINK™ technology is fast creeping up to inkjet output quality. But few people ever mention laser printing when discussing graphic or photo printing. This despite the fact that several laser printers on the market today are making a case for laser photo printing, while still falling a bit short in the end.
A look at the Samsung CLP-315 gives a good indication that manufacturers of laser printers are heading in the right direction at least. This particular laser printer packs a solid punch, and at a reasonable price. The CLP-315 is the successor to the CLP-300, which was in itself an adequate model. But several improvements have helped to make the CLP-315 a definite step up.
Size is a factor in laser printing for personal use, and this model is one of the smallest yet. Weighing in at around 25 pounds, the CLP-315 is light, compact, and easy to install. Simply unpack the printer, hook it up, and go. The initial cartridge ships right in the unit, so no preparation is necessary for it.
Printing speeds, while much faster than any inkjet printer, can be a bit slow for a laser printer. But for the price it is not that much of an issue. It is rated at about 4 pages per minute for color. Most color laser printers of this speed tend to be much larger, and not suited for personal use.
Output quality is what we’re really after here, and the CLP-315 does a satisfactory job printing graphics and photos both. Though the final product tends to be less than actual photo quality, the improving performance of laser printers like the CLP-315 provides a glimmer of hope for laser photo printing. The typical defects of laser photo printing are here, though they seem to be minimized as much as possible given the price point and technology. Issues such as dithering and paper distortion can occasionally rear their ugly heads, but this happens much less than you might expect. The fills from the CLP-315 are accurate and fairly smooth. Colors are bright as well.
Overall, laser printers such as the Samsung CLP-315 do an amiable job as photo printers given their limitations. While still not the best choice for high quality photo output, this laser printer is enough to convince anyone that this technology is not yet out of the game!