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The Dell Smart Color Multifunction Printer S2825cdn ($479.99) is a laser multifunction printer (MFP) that offers good value and includes some features meant to improve collaboration and workflow efficiency in workgroups. It comes with document-management software and an easy way to print from or scan to Microsoft SharePoint, including in searchable PDF (sPDF) format. The S2825cdn ($379.99 at Dell Technologies)(Opens in a new window) also showed very good graphics quality in our testing. One thing that it lacksunlike other recent Dell color lasers such as the Dell Color Cloud Multifunction Printer H625cdw ($249.99 at Dell)(Opens in a new window) and the Dell Color Cloud Multifunction Printer H825cdw ($399.99 at Dell Technologies)(Opens in a new window) is wireless connectivity.
Design and Features
This matte-black machine has rounded front corners, and is too large to comfortably share a desk with, at 19.7 by 16.9 by 19.8 inches (HWD). At 70 pounds, you will want at least two people to move it into place. On top is a flatbed scanner plus a 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) that supports single-pass scanning of two-sided documents. That’s much faster than the more common reversing ADF in which one side of a page is scanned, the page is flipped over, and then the second side is scanned.
The front panel features a 4.3-inch color touch screen, an alphanumeric keyboard, and labeled buttons, including Home, Log In/Out, Info, Job Status, Copy, and several fax-related options. By default, the display’s home screen includes a widget that links to Microsoft SharePoint, a Microsoft cloud-based service available through various subscription plans, and lets you print documents from or scan them to that service. You can modify the touch screen’s Home page to fit your needs; for instance, you could remove the SharePoint tile and replace it with Scan to Email, or Scan to Network folder.
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The S2825cdn has a standard 250-sheet main tray and a 50-sheet multipurpose feeder, and it comes with an auto-duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. One optional 550-sheet tray ($185.99) can be added, for a maximum input capacity of 850 sheets.
The S2825cdn has a very similar feature set to both the Dell H625cdw and the Dell H825cdw, with the notable exception that it lacks their wireless capabilities (Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and NFC), but adds Nuance PaperPort document-management software, in line with its workgroup focus. It has the same rated speed and maximum duty cycle as the Dell H825cdw.
If you’re fine with Ethernet connectivity, you can save some money with the S2825cdn over the Dell H825cdw and get PaperPort in the bargain. It also has a higher rated speed and duty cycle than the Dell H625cdw, our Editors’ Choice color MFP for medium- to heavy-duty printing in a small or micro office, but the speed difference was negligible in our testing, and the Dell H625cdw includes wireless capability and is priced lower than the S2825cdn.
Connectivity and Software
Connectivity is via USB and Ethernet. The S2825cdn does not provide wireless connectivity, but you can still print to it from a mobile device if the printer is connected via Ethernet to a network with a wireless access point. It can be used with the Dell Document Hub app (for iOS and Android) and Google Cloud Print, and is AirPrint- and Mopria-certified for printing from iOS and Android devices, respectively.
The S2825cdn includes Nuance PaperPort 14 document-management software, which offers, among other features, the capacity to scan directly to searchable PDF format. The printer has a good set of drivers, including PCL and PostScript.
Performance
I tested the S2825cdn over an Ethernet connection with its drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista. On our business applications suite (using QualityLogic(Opens in a new window)‘s hardware and software for timing), I timed it at 6.5 pages per minute (ppm) in its default duplex mode. It is rated at 19ppm for duplex and 30ppm for simplex printing. While rated speeds are based on printing text documents without graphics or photos, our test suite includes text pages, graphics pages, and pages with mixed content. The Dell H825cdw, which has the same rated speed, turned in the same time, and the S2825cdn was also essentially tied with the Dell H625cdw (rated at 16ppm for duplex printing), which we timed at 6.4ppm for duplex. The Canon Color imageClass MF726Cdw ($2,945.26 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , rated at 10ppm in its default duplex mode, printed in duplex at a clip of 5.1ppm.
Although our official timings are in the printer’s default printing mode, I also timed the S2825cdn in simplex printing, where it turned in a speed of 7.5ppm, which, again, is the same as the Dell H825cdw and essentially tied with the Dell H625cdw.
See How We Test Printers
Output Quality
Output quality counts as a plus, with average text quality, above-par graphics, and photo quality a touch subpar in our testing. Fortunately, average text quality for a laser printer is good enough for most any business use other than those requiring very small fonts.
Graphics should be fine for PowerPoint handouts, even to clients you’re trying to impress, and for marketing materials such as handouts. The only flaws I noticed in testing are decidedly minor: One background looked slightly blotchy, and some thin, colored lines weren’t quite as visible as they could have been. Photos are a little short of true photo quality, but better than newspaper quality, and should be suitable for business uses such as company newsletters and basic marketing materials.
Conclusion
The Dell Smart Color Multifunction Printer S2825cdn is a good choice for a color laser MFP for workgroups, provided that you don’t require wireless capability. The Editors’ Choice Dell H625cdw offers a similar feature set plus Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and NFC, and sells at a lower price. The S2825cdn, however, includes an extra of its own, Nuance PaperPort 14, so if you lack a document-management program, getting the S2825cdn will save you the cost of buying one separately.
3.5
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The Dell Smart Color Multifunction Printer S2825cdn offers very good graphics quality and includes document-management software that lets you scan to searchable PDF and other formats.
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