Refurbish Dell W5300DTN Laser Printer (W5300N-DTNL)

Review summary

The Dell W5300n is a lightning-fast, monochrome workgroup laser printer suitable for most small to medium-size businesses. Designed with expandability in mind, the W5300 is capable of providing networked laser printing for workgroups of more than 100 people. While its fast print speeds will impress everyone, its light plastic housing, loud processing noises, and so-so print quality will not. Also, the W5300n may be too complex to operate in small offices without a dedicated IT staff on hand. For a similar, less expensive model, the Dell M5200n has many of the same features but is not as fast. In the other direction, the slightly more expensive HP LaserJet 4200n offers a similar text-printing speed but is much slower than the W5300n at printing graphics. If fast printing and the capacity to connect a good-size workgroup are priorities for you, the Dell W5300n will do the job.

In appearance, the Dell W5300n closely resembles its less powerful sibling, the Dell M5200n with its potbellied cube of stylishly mottled, charcoal-and-silver, matte-finished plastic. At 17.2 inches by 20.2 inches by 16 inches, (W, D, H) and weighing more than 40 pounds, the W5300n is average size for a workgroup laser.

The W5300n's 250-sheet-maximum paper-output tray dominates the top of the printer. A thin wire and a built-in, plastic paper support keep the paper from sliding out. Protruding from underneath the paper support is the printer's control panel--a simple array of five buttons below a one-line LCD panel. The first button scrolls through menu options. The other buttons control menu selections and halt print jobs.

The W5300n's toner cartridge sits behind its front panel. Right under the cartridge, there's a multipurpose feeder tray for hand-feeding envelopes, transparencies, and other alternate types of media. Opening a panel in the rear of the printer creates a straight paper path for heavyweight media. A single, 500-sheet capacity input tray resides at the base of the unit. You can add as many as four additional paper trays to the stack, including 250-sheet trays for $179 each and 500-sheet trays for $229 each, bumping up the maximum input paper supply to much more than 2,000 sheets, making this a good value. An envelope feeder that holds 85 envelopes is also available from Dell for $229.

With the add-ons, the W5300n perfectly fulfills the role of high-capacity, heavy-duty laser printer. However, like its predecessor, the M5200n, the plastic parts on the W5300n, especially its panels, hinges, and internal paper guide, seem too thin and flimsy to survive a long tenure in the workplace without some breakage.

The W5300n is a versatile printer, supporting USB and Ethernet connections and being compatible with many corporate operating systems. To handle an office workload, the W5300n comes with 80MB of installed RAM. Two SDRAM DIMM slots and one INA (integrated network architecture) slot provide space for an additional 256MB of memory.

You can connect the W5300n in several different ways. On the back of the printer, a USB 2.0 port (cable sold separately) connects the printer directly to a print server or a PC. A built-in 10/100BaseT Ethernet port (for network printing) is located beneath the USB port. The Dell owner's manual provides step-by-step installation instructions for connecting the printer locally to a print server, for attaching it directly to a network using a remote print server, or for using it in a small workgroup without a print server. We found installation of the W5300n on a single PC to be extremely fast and easy, and installing the printer on a network and the software on a client PC was equally smooth and only slightly more time-consuming. Unfortunately, should problems arise, neither the owner's manual nor the user guide provides more than cursory setup troubleshooting assistance. And hopefully, workgroups will locate this printer in a faraway corner, because when it receives a print job, it makes noises like a Boeing 757 during takeoff.

Once installed, the W5300n's drivers provide an easy-to-use file tab design that makes it simple and quick to select print options such as orientation, paper size, and print quality. Behind the scenes, the W5300n supports PostScript Level 3, PCL 5e, PCL 6 Emulation, 89 PCL, and 158 PostScript scalable fonts. If you are interested in conserving paper, you can add a duplex printing unit for $249.

The W5300n is compatible with a generous number of operating systems. The minimum system requirements for installation are Windows 98 or later; Novell 3.x, or later: Linux Caldera 2.4, Red Hat Linux 7.2 or later, SuSE Linux 7.2 or later, TurboLinux 6.0 or later, and AS 2.1. The W5300n is not Mac compatible, however.

GENERAL

• Printer Type
  Workgroup printer - laser - monochrome
• Manufacturer
  Dell, Inc.

POWER DEVICE

• Type
  power supply
• Power Consumption Operational
  580 Watt
• Form Factor
  internal

PRINTER

• Technology
  laser
• Print Speed
  Up to 45 ppm - max speed
• Connectivity Technology
  wired
• Interface
  USB, LAN
• PostScript Support
  standard
• Language Simulation
  PCL 5E, PCL 6, PostScript 3
• Fonts Included
  89 x PCL
  158 x PostScript
• Printer Features
  optional duplex
• Type
  workgroup printer
• Max H-Document Size
  8.5 m
• Max V-Document Size
  14 in
• Media Type
  cards, envelopes, labels, plain paper, transparencies
• Media Sizes
  A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
• Total Media Capacity
  600 sheets

MISCELLANEOUS

• Microsoft Certifications
  Works with Windows Vista
• Consumables Included
  1 x toner cartridge (black) - up to 18000 pages
• Color
  ion silver, midnight gray
• Works with Windows Vista
  Software and devices that carry the Works with Windows Vista logo have been tested for baseline compatibility with PC's running.
• Color Category
  gray

NETWORKING

• Networking
  Print server
• Data Link Protocol
  Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
• Connectivity Technology
  wired

PROCESSOR

• Clock Speed
  500 MHz

POWER

• Power Consumption Stand by / Sleep
  95 Watt
• Power Consumption Operational
  580 Watt

BATTERY

• Form Factor
  none

RAM

• Installed Size
  80 MB
• Technology / Form Factor
  SDRAM - DIMM 100-pin
• Max Supported Size
  336 MB
• Slots Qty
  2
• Empty Slots
  2
• Form Factor
  DIMM 100-pin
• Technology
  SDRAM

ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS

• ENERGY STAR Certified
  Yes
• ENERGY STAR
  Yes

PRINTING

• Max Resolution B/W
  1200 dpi
• Max Printing Speed B/W (ppm)
  45 ppm

MEDIA HANDLING

• Max Media Size (Custom)
  8.5 in x 14 in
• Max Media Capacity
  2600 sheets
• Media Type
  Envelopes, transparencies, labels, plain paper, cards
• Total Media Capacity
  600 sheets
• Media Sizes
  Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• OS Required
  Caldera OpenLinux 2.4, Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP, Red Hat Linux 7.3, Red Hat Linux 8.0, Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 2.1, SuSE Linux 7.2, SuSE Linux 7.3, SuSE Linux 8.0, TurboLinux 6.0, TurboLinux 6.1, Microsoft Windows 95/98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Novell NetWare 3.x, Novell NetWare 4.x, Novell NetWare 5.x, Novell NetWare 6.x

DUTY CYCLE

• Monthly Duty Cycle (max)
  225000 pages
• Cartridge / Printhead Duty Cycle
  18000
• Cartridge / Printhead Included Qty
  1

COPIER

• Copier Type
  none

ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS

• Max Altitude Operating
  9840 ft
• Sound Emission (Idle)
  34 dBA
• Sound Emission (Operating)
  55 dBA
• Min Operating Temperature
  60.8 °F
• Max Operating Temperature
  89.6 °F
• Humidity Range Operating
  8 - 80%

DOCUMENT & MEDIA HANDLING

• Media Type Class
  envelopes, film / transparencies, other, plain paper
• Media Size Class
  A4/Legal

HEADER

• Brand
  Dell
• Product Line
  Dell Workgroup Laser Printer
• Model
  W5300n
• Packaged Quantity
  1
• Compatibility
  PC

OFFICE MACHINE

• Type
  printer
• Functions
  printer
• Monthly Duty Cycle Range (Printer Class)
  100,000 pages and more
• Monthly Duty Cycle (max)
  225000 pages
• Printing Technology
  laser
• Printing Output Type
  monochrome

INTERFACE REQUIRED

• Connector Type
  4 pin USB Type B, RJ-45
• Type
  LAN, USB 2.0
• Total Qty
  1

EXPANSION BAYS

• Type
  none

EXPANSION SLOTS

• Total Qty
  1
• Type
  expansion slot

CONSUMABLES INCLUDED

• Color
  black
• Included Qty
  1

SLOT REQUIRED

• Type
  none

SOFTWARE

• Type
  Drivers & Utilities

PRINTER OUTPUT

• Max Speed
  45 ppm
• Output Quality
  max speed

PRINTER MEDIA

• Media Load Type
  automatic
• Media Feeder Qty
  1
• Media Feeder Max Format
  Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
• Media Feeder Capacity
  100 sheets, 500 sheets

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT

• Width
  17.2 in
• Depth
  20.2 in
• Height
  16 in
• Weight
  44.97 lbs

SERVICE & SUPPORT

• Type
  1 year warranty

SERVICE & SUPPORT DETAILS

• Service Included
  parts and labor
• Full Contract Period
  1 year
• Location
  on-site
• Response Time
  next business day
• Type
  limited warranty

PRINTER FONTS

• Font Included Type
  PCL, PostScript
• Fonts Included Qty
  158, 89

PC CONNECTIVITY

• PC Connection
  LAN, USB

GENERAL

• Manufacturer
  Dell, Inc.