The SCX-4521F is a solid unit that is definitely designed for small and home offices. It only has a 150 page input tray and a 50 page output tray. These limitations mean that you will be restocking the paper tray quite often if you use it a lot. While I've been testing this unit, I've refilled the paper tray numerous times, but it is a quick and simple job to do. You can see the input and output trays below, as well as the connections to hook up this unit to your computer. I was able to hook up the printer to a network print server and access all the printer functions over the network with no issues. Also the ability to send a fax from your computer to the SCX-4521F can be done over a network. Scanning, on the other hand is not network capable.
The SCX-4521F comes with Samsung's SmarThru 4 software package. This package allows you to do many things all in one place. It has the obvious features that let you scan to your computer, make copies, print, fax, and even manipulate and organize images. Each of these sections give you total control of features, functions, quality and speed. You can choose to scan documents to your computer, the web, OCR applications, or even email. There is more than enough settings to keep pretty much anyone busy if they want to completely change the way the unit works out of the box. To be honest though, I'd doubt if you will ever adjust most of the settings from their default. The unit sets up and works effortlessly.

In this section we'll cover the general usage of the SCX-4521F and break out the stopwatch for a test or two. Overall, this product is incredibly easy to use and for most people a manual won't be needed at all. The beauty of an all-in-one multi-function unit like this is that for copying and faxing a computer doesn't have to be turned on. The machine performs stand-alone duties without being hooked up. How well does it perform? Read on.

Laser Printer:

The laser printer on this unit performs admirably for such a low cost unit, and although it has a maximum dpi of 600, the quality is top-notch. When printing a font size test, the text is readable down to a tiny 8pt font. The toner save feature lightens the text slightly, but still produces quality results. The graphic ability of this printer is limited only by the black toner. Images appear quite sharp, although only black and white.

Samsung claims the print speed to be up to 20 pages per minute. To test this I ran several large documents through as well as several short documents. Even with the SCX-4521F in power save mode, the printer was able to complete the first page in about 13 seconds. To print a 40 page document took a total of 2:13. That's 20 pages per minute after the first sheet was printed. Exactly like they claim.

Digital Copier:

The copy feature of the SCX-4521F definitely deserves some recognition. This unit has an automatic document feeder that greatly simplifies the copying process. Combine that with the ability of collate copies, and you've got potential to be a winner. The copier supports enlargements, reductions, and a "favorites copy" feature, that allows you to store a group of customized settings for frequent use. For general copying using the ADF, this thing can pound out 20 pages / minute.

Color Scanner:

Although Scanners are a dying breed around the home and office, there are times when it is nice to be able to scan things into your computer. The 600x600 dpi scanner of the SCX-4521F is not a photo scanner, but it produces good quality documents, and OCR-able text. The scanner is fast, and when scanning document for faxing, it is blazing fast.

Fax:

The beauty of the fax feature on this machine is the ability to store numbers, creating mailing lists, and more. It is super fast with it's G3 specs, and a page can literally be sent in a little over 3 seconds. Wow. Two years ago a G3 fax machine cost well over the price of this entire unit. The ADF works for faxing as well, so if you have a 10 page document to fax, simply place it on top in the ADF then dial the number. Hit start and in less than a minute, BAM!! your fax will be sent.

Conclusion:

The Samsung SCX-4521F is a great machine that can earn it's keep in most small offices, home offices, or even in a home without an office. You get a fast laser printer, a great copier, a Super G3 Fax, and even a scanner. Cost per page is very affordable and is much cheaper than an inkjet all-in-one. If you need a new printer and are dreaming about getting a fax machine, I'd highly recommend the move to the SCX-4521F. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break this unit. I'd stick in paper pile after paper pile and even printed 350 pages without stopping, and the thing kept pounding them out at a smokin' 20 ppm.