COLOR PRINTERS that can do pretty much everything abound in today’s market. In fact, you can even find economy inkjet models in some corner drugstores. Those who need fast, quality color output and reliability, however, focus on laser printers like the Xerox VersaLink C405 multifunction device we are reviewing here. When teachers in our family noticed it produced such stunning images, even on regular paper, they started emailing us photos and documents to print for use in their classrooms. In all our years of testing printers, that’s never happened before.
Heavy, But Easy Setup
Most printers require mass (a stack) to ensure the paper registers correctly as it goes through their four laser ink cartridges, and this member of the VersaLink family is no exception. One person can wrestle it out of the box; but if that person happens to be you, be sure to strap on a weight belt first.
At 86 pounds, the C405/DN we tested (the DN model adds double-sided printing) gives the impression that an armored car driver was on the design team. On the plus side, it’s a sturdy device that doesn’t wobble during operations—even when placed on a small table.
The VersaLink C405 is similar in size to the Xerox WorkCentre 6515 we reviewed with several upgrades, including a tilting touchscreen control panel, App Gallery, larger paper tray, and increased print speed.
This device requires little human intervention during setup. After plugging in an Ethernet cable (the unit supports up to 1 Gbps connections), the printer quickly located the DHCP server and connected to the network. Our Windows 10-equipped PC found the correct model and then downloaded the client drivers. Adding the device in the “Devices and Printers” panel was also fast and simple.
Xerox provides users with an odd custom Wi-Fi dongle that plugs into a proprietary port on the printer. We configured this optional attachment through the browser interface, and it worked just fine. While you can type all the print job details into the unit’s large color touchscreen, we did appreciate having a keyboard option.
After setting up the device, we discovered that its Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections could be active at the same time, in addition to the Wi-Fi Direct, which supports printing from mobile devices such as tablets and phones. Concurrent connections are rare in this class. Perhaps that’s why Xerox chose the name VersaLink for this family of printers?
No matter what they call it, the connections work. We downloaded the app onto a Motorola Android phone and all our photos printed without any problems. The phone located the device and completed all the “handshaking” automatically without any help on our end.
With more companies moving away from paper, scanning has become an important function for MFPs. VersaLink works well in that area. Users can perform double-sided scanning through the Automatic Document Feeder. Unfortunately, the glass scanning plate only accommodates up to A4-size paper (8.5 x 11.7 inches), though the ADF can handle documents up to 8.5 x 14 inches.
Print file destination options are plentiful. Scanned documents can be delivered through the network via FTP/SMB using a USB port on the front, or emailed once SMTP has been enabled and properly configured. We were able to send scans to our computer lab’s Seagate Black Armor 4TB NAS by entering a valid name and password on the touchscreen and then drilling down the file structure to the desired directory. That’s not something everyday users would normally do without some complaints, but you can save destinations for them in a “Favorites” list tied into the printer login.
Getting to Work
Though many modern MFPs come with a pages-long list of features, most users simply want fast, high-quality prints and scans. Those individuals will truly enjoy the VersaLink C405. There are faster units available at a higher price point—from warmup to printing, the first page requires around 11 seconds—but the subsequent sheets expel rather quickly. Double-sided printing takes a few seconds longer than reproducing two individual pages, but it’s as speedy as we’ve seen in a sub-thousand-dollar MFP.
As mentioned previously, this MFP’s color output is amazing. The C405 produces bright, clear, consistent photos—with no striping or streaking—as fast as it will print a letter with just a small color logo. The text is razor sharp down to 4- or 5-point print. The 550-sheet tray allows users to produce scores of printouts without requiring a paper restock.
Single- and double-sided copying is a snap with the color touchscreen. Scanning and printing to and from Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft’s OneDrive should be simple enough for most users. And, yes, it will send faxes. That is if you’d want a powerful color laser printer to manage that task.
A couple of other points to consider: If you scan as much as you print, you may want a larger plate to handle non-sheet items like magazine or book pages, or oversized paper. There were also a few times the print functions in Windows indicated that the C405 was offline during our test when it was really just sleeping and completed the requested task. The computer operating system likely deserves some of the blame for that slip.
The Bottom Line
Those in the market for a fast color laser MFP with outstanding quality output should take a close look at the Xerox VersaLink C405 family. This device has as many scan functions as most dedicated-page scanners and the ADF never misfed a sheet of paper.
Users can print concurrently from any device over any medium, supporting multiple employees in a department or small business. And with this printer, every one of them will be smiling when they see the quality of their printout.
Specifications (courtesy of Xerox)
Pricing and Availability
- C405/DN (tested): MSRP $979
- C405/N: MSRP $879 (single-side printing only)
First-page-out time, printing As fast as 12 seconds black and white/13 seconds color
Maximum print resolution 600 x 600 x 8 dpi (enhanced)
Processor 1.05 GHz
Print memory (standard/max) 2GB/2GB
Connectivity
- Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base-T
- High-speed USB 3.0
- NFC Tap-to-Pair
Connectivity (optional) Wi-Fi 802.11n and Wi-Fi Direct with optional Wi-Fi Kit
Page Description Languages (PDL) Adobe PostScript 3 HP-GL, JPEG, PCL 5e, PCL 6, PDF, TIFF, XPS
Print features Application defaults, bidirectional real-time status, booklet layout, draft mode, driver saved settings, Earth Smart, job monitoring, job identification, personal print, print from USB, sample set, saved job, scaling, secure email, secure fax, secure print, secure scan, skip blank pages, store and recall driver settings, two-sided printing
Mobile printing Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria, Xerox Print Service Plug-in for Android (optional: Xerox Mobile Print Cloud, Xerox Mobile Print Solution, @PrintByXerox, WiFi Direct [with optional Wi-Fi Kit])
First-page-out time, copying As fast as 8 seconds black and white/11 seconds color
Maximum copy resolution 600 x 600 dpi
Copy features 2-up output, auto exposure, auto fit, cloning, collation, color balance, color saturation, lighter/darker, reduce/enlarge, sharpness
Fax compression MH/MR/MMR/JBIG
Scan file formats JPEG, Linearized PDF, PDF, PDF/A, Password-protected PDF, Searchable PDF, TIFF, XPS
Scan drivers TWAIN, WIA (Network only)
Scan destinations Scan to network (via FTP/SMB), scan to USB, scan to email
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It works really well for me