Dell 5330dn review

£863
Price when reviewed

The 5350dn is Dell’s new flagship mono laser, targeting paper-hungry workgroups with a need for speed. Compact enough to sit on a desktop, the 5350dn delivers a fast 48ppm A4 print speed, an integrated duplex unit and a true 1,200dpi resolution.

Dell 5330dn review

Once set up in our lab, it dispatched a simple 48-page Word document in precisely one minute, and that didn’t rise at all when we upped the resolution from the Normal 1,200dpi mode to the Best 2,400IQ interpolated option.

It also shrugged off the challenge of our complex DTP-style document. A 24-page print with large graphics and photos took 30 seconds regardless of resolution, which makes for a perfect 48ppm. It’s quiet during use, so is suitable for small offices.

Print quality is good enough for general business use, with razor-sharp text and clean bar and pie charts, although we couldn’t discern any real difference between Best and Normal modes. Photos were a job too far, with little detail in darker areas and much more evident banding.

Dell 5330dn

After the low initial outlay, printing costs are impressive. Unlike many manufacturers, Dell ships with a generous 10,000-page toner cartridge. Follow that up with the buy-and-return, recyclable 30,000-page cartridge and you’re looking at a cost of 0.7p per page; if you don’t agree to recycle, print costs are nearly a penny per page.

For expansion, Dell offers an 80GB hard disk and a wireless print server. You can stack up to three further 550-sheet paper trays and a 2,000-sheet feeder under the printer, and output capacity can be bumped up to 2,750 pages.

Access to the printer can be easily secured with its own user database, or by using LDAP, Kerberos, passwords and PINs. A front USB port is also provided for walk-up printing.

The Dell 5350dn is a real printing workhorse that’s highly expandable, delivers on claimed speeds, and is remarkably quiet about it too. Photo print quality is lacking, but the impressively low running costs more than compensate.

Basic Specifications

Colour?no
Resolution printer final1200 x 1200dpi
Rated/quoted print speed48PPM
Maximum paper sizeA4
Duplex functionyes

Running costs

Cost per A4 mono page0.7p
Cost per A4 colour pageN/A

Consumables

Monthly duty cycle225,000 pages
Standard mono toner life7,000 pages
High-yield mono toner life30,000 pages
Supplied mono toner life10,000 pages

Power and noise

Dimensions425 x 510 x 427mm (WDH)

Performance tests

Mono print speed (measured)48.0ppm
Colour print speedN/A

Media Handling

Input tray capacity550 sheets
Output tray capacity350 sheets

Connectivity

USB connection?yes
Ethernet connection?yes
Bluetooth connection?no
PictBridge port?no

OS Support

Operating system Windows 7 supported?yes
Operating system Windows Vista supported?yes
Operating system Windows XP supported?yes
Operating system Windows 2000 supported?yes
Operating system Windows 98SE supported?no
Software suppliedDell Printer Configuration Web Tool (EWS), Dell OpenManage Printer Management Tool

Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.

Todays Highlights
How to See Google Search History
how to download photos from google photos