Samsungs new entry into the laser printer market isnt as intimidating as its rough exterior looks. Aesthetically it is virtually identical to its ML-6060 cousin (reviewed in PC Authority, issue 38, p74) with the only noticeable difference being that the paper comes out flat instead of on an upward angle.
Unpacking the system from its oversized box reveals only two components - a rather large toner cartridge and the printer itself - and putting them together is a snap, so to speak. The quick reference guide provides all the help you need to get set up within minutes.
Hardware installation is a matter of inserting the toner cartridge and throwing some paper into the generously sized paper tray that offers room for 500 sheets. Above that there is a tray designed for manual sheet feeding or envelopes.
While not having to make modifications to the toner cartridge before insertion is a plus, it does not seem to fit into the bay properly. You need to very firmly press the lid down which is something you would normally be wary of doing.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record - would it be too much to ask that a parallel cable be bundled into the package? Considering the machine costs almost two thousand dollars it seems to be an exercise in penny-pinching on Samsungs behalf not to include some way to connect it to a standard PC.
The packaged CD-ROM includes drivers for two Samsung machines and there is no clear indication as to which one you need to install. Thankfully, the default setting is to install both drivers, which doesnt present any behavioral problems. Once installed you can modify paper settings, watermarks and graphic detail and there is a handy option to print multiple pages on one sheet
of paper.
Thick, wet and transparent paper types are supported, as are duplex and poster print modes. One word of warning - the default paper setting is Letter 8 1/2 x 11 inches, which is almost, but not quite, the Australian A4 standard. Failing to adjust this means that you have to manually press the continue button before each print job.
The first thing that strikes you about the ML-7050s final print quality is the speed. It is rated 16-page per minute rate at 600dpi, which usually means about five per cent coverage. During testing a full-page graphic image, using many tones of grey, was printed 13 seconds after clicking OK and a 12-page document containing multiple text styles and clip art images took a minute, as did Homers Iliad, all 12 pages of small type worth. To simple put it in other words, its fast.
Text quality is quite good although most fonts appear to be thinner than they should be. It is particularly noticeable when you are mixing boldface type into the text as the darker characters appear out of proportion with the others. At below 6-point, small characters lose definition and can almost disappear completely if surrounded by black. For this reason its not advisable to print multiple pages on one sheet when you are dealing with tiny type.
Images also are handled well until you get to the fine print. Some small lines are lost completely even at the 600dpi setting though overall image accuracy is excellent. Of greater concern is the colour balance. While printing colour images on a monochrome system is never the best solution, the ML-7050 has no middle ground between medium and dark grey.
The hardware is widely customisable and in addition to Macintosh and network compliance there is an extensive guide to adding more RAM or controlling the printer through an infrared adaptor. Samsung says that the included toner cartridge will last approximately 8,000 pages, which seems reasonable enough.
The ML-7050s speed and versatility makes up for the below par handling of fine detail. Such concerns would only be noticeable to the dedicated desktop publisher, who would be better off opting for a colour system anyway.