Built around the same basic engine design as the Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M3370FD that I recently reviewed, but in a heavier-duty version, the Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M4070FR delivers better paper handling and a few extra niceties, like a duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF). The result is well worth the extra price. It also makes the M4070FR a strong candidate as a mono laser multifunction printer (MFP) for a small office with heavy duty needs.
The difference in paper handling for printing between the two models is relatively minor, with the M4070FR substituting a 50-sheet multipurpose tray for the M3370FD's one-sheet manual feed. However that's enough to make switching to a different paper stock for a given print job a lot easier, particularly with multi-page documents.
Beyond that, both printers come with a 250-sheet paper drawer and a duplexer (for two-sided printing) as standard. If you need more capacity or need to load more than one kind of paper at a time, both also let you add a 520-sheet second drawer ($200 street). Here again the multipurpose tray gives the M4070FR an advantage, since the 50-sheet capacity may be enough to let you keep two kinds of paper loaded at all times without having to get the optional tray.
More Basics
As you would expect from a printer in this price range, the M4070FR delivers a full set of basic MFP features. It can print and fax from, or scan to, a PC, including over a network, and it can work as a standalone copier, fax machine, and email sender.
For scanning, it offers both a letter-size flatbed and a 50-sheet ADF, which can handle up to legal-size paper. Even better, the ADF can duplex, by scanning one side of a page, turning it over, and then scanning the other side. This approach isn't as fast as with a duplexing scanner, which scans both sides of the page at once, but it can be a welcome convenience if you deal with duplex documents. The duplexing works for scanning, faxing, and copying, with menu options that let you copy either single- or double-sided originals to your choice of single- or double-sided copies.
The M4070FR offers double the maximum monthly duty cycle of the Samsung M3370FD, at 100,000 pages per month. Keep in mind that, with any printer, if you want the printer to last more than a few months, you should print far less than its maximum duty cycle. Even so, the higher-rated maximum for the M4070FR translates to its having been designed to stand up to heavier-duty use than its less expensive cousin.
Setup, Speed, and Output quality
Setting up the M4070FR is standard for this class of printer. For my tests, I connected it to a network using its Ethernet port and ran the tests from a Windows Vista system.
I clocked the printer on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at 11.3 pages per minute (ppm), which counts as a respectable, but not impressive, speed for the 42-ppm engine rating. On the other hand, it's a bit faster than either the OKI MB471, at 9.5 ppm or the Brother MFC-8950DW, at 10.6 ppm, two Editors' Choice MFPs that bracket it in price. It's tied with the M3370FD, at 10.8 ppm. (A 0.5 ppm difference isn't significant in this speed range.)
Output quality for the printer is best described as good enough, but at the low end of par for a mono laser MFP overall. Text comes in at the middle of the range that includes the vast majority of mono laser MFPs. That makes it a little short of what you'd need for high-quality desktop publishing, but good enough for virtually any business need.
Graphics and photos are both at the low end of par for a mono laser. For graphics, that makes the output good enough for internal business needs. Whether you'll also consider them good enough for, say, PowerPoint handouts will depend on how critical an eye you have. For photos, the quality is roughly equivalent to photos in newspapers, which means you can print recognizable images from photos on Web pages or the like, but nothing more demanding than that.
The Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M4070FR doesn't deliver enough to replace either the OKI MB471 or the Brother MFC-8950DW as Editors' Choice, with the OKI printer delivering better output quality and the Brother printer offering a higher paper capacity. However, it offers enough to be a strong contender, with a full set of basic MFP features and slightly better speed than the OKI or Brother models. If the output quality and paper handling are both good enough for your purposes, the Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M4070FR can be a great choice.
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