Dell 3130CN Laser Printer

 (5 customer reviews)

Color laser printers have dropped in size and cost over the past several years. It is now becoming cost effective for the advanced home computer user to consider a color laser printer for their family's home network. I was in need of replacing my monochrome laser printer, but needed one that could be added to my network, as my previous one was. When I looked at the choices on the market, I found that for a little more money I could consider bumping up to a color laser. My previous monochrome laser was a Dell 1700n, so I decided to look at the Dell color laser offerings, to see if they had something within my budget.

I came across the new Dell 3130cn, which was part of Dell's new printer lineup for mid 2008. I was impressed with the specifications, and delighted by the low cost. However, there were no product reviews for it yet, so I was unsure as to whether I should trust it or not. Well I thought about it for over two weeks, and finally decided to take a leap of faith...Read more

I support an organization with over 80 employees. As you can imagine, there is a lot of printing that goes on... and a lot of printers in our offices.

By and large I would say that personal and small workgroup printers are a true headache to work with. Paper jams, toner issues and the like are just a part of life when it comes to these things.

The Dell 3130cn however, is heads and shoulders above any that I have used in recent years when it comes to usability and reliability issues. Very basic tasks, such as printing envelopes, are an exercise in frustration. We have two of these printers and we have never been able to get the printer to take more than 2 envelopes in a row without jamming. In other words, we have to stand there and feed the envelopes one by one.

Printing to paper is only slightly less frustrating.

While the quality is acceptable, it is no better than anything else on the market right now. So combined with the...Read more

I purchased this printer and ended up purchasing a new printer less than 6 hours after opening this one up. I print wedding invitations and matching envelopes, and I know that I need a printer that will handle quite a bit. According to the specification of this printer, it would do what I needed it to do.

I ran the machine through some tests on materials that I have printed frequently over the last 3 years with my HP color laser printer. It was doing all right, until I tried to print a #10 envelope. Because of my business, I happened to have #10 envelopes made from about 7 different types of paper. After experimenting with a few different envelopes and trying several things that I have learned over the years of printing, nothing helped - every single envelope severely creased when it went through the machine. I purchased this printer directly from Dell (who will not publish my review on their website), and I purchased the best service contract available, which...Read more