Dell 2145CN

Dell 2145CN Multifunction Color Laser Printer

Useful software and manuals can’t compensate for shortcomings in speed, design, and print quality. The Dell 2145cn color laser multifunction printer (MFP) offers some useful features for a midrange price ($749 at this writing), and the quality of its installation and documentation show how much Dell cares about the user experience. The machine's design makes it difficult to use, however, and it performed very slowly. Dell deserves credit for a painless setup and excellent documentation. The installation wizard worked seamlessly. The PDF-based user guide covers all aspects of the MFP's operation in detail, from instructions for using the bundled applications and embedded Web monitor to how to use the MFP in Linux. Unfortunately we needed the documentation a bit more than usual because the 2145cn's design can be confusing. On the control panel, the buttons for major functions (such as copy and fax) have icons rather than word labels; text labels and icons are hard to read because they are gray on a black background; and the menu-navigation buttons have black-on-black stamped icons that are almost invisible.