subject: Canon i-SENSYS LBP3100 Review [print this page] The Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 is a black and white laser printer intended for individual use and can be bought for roughly 90. With its ice-white colouring and petite size this machine not only looks good but will fit in a small space.
The top opens forwards to make the output tray for the printer. The front of the Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 folds down to become a 150 sheet feed tray which includes a hinged cover behind the front panel which folds out to cover and keep dust off the paper. I like what they have done with the dust cover as it will always remain safe. Above the cover is a one page feed which can be used for different purposes.
There are few controls on the Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 with a single green LED for power and data set to the left of the top cover as well as a resume button. Connection to a computer is via a sole USB socket at the rear.
Getting the LBP3100 up and running is very easy as the only thing you need to install is a driver. The Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 toner cartridge slots easily into the printer once you have opened the top cover. The supplied starter cartridge is capable of up to 700 pages but replacements, the 1870B002AA which are available as Canon originals or compatibles, will do up to 1,500 pages.
The LBP3100 completed a 20 page text print at a rate of 15.2 pages per minute (ppm) which was not far off Canon's stated 16ppm and a 15 x 10 photograph took just 15 seconds. Considering the cost of this machine these results are more than acceptable.
The Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 prints quickly and, mostly, creates prints of a quality to match. Text was clear and well defined but grayscale did show a little banding and different tones were not as clearly defined as they might have been.
Photo prints were not that great a level of detail that was a little disappointing. Of course this is a black and white printer and was not designed with photo printing in mind.
With a noise level of up to 63dBA, Canon claims 50dBA, you might not want to place the Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 close to where you are sitting.
For about 90 the Canon I-SENSYS LBP3100 is definitely worth considering with fast, high quality, text prints while grayscale and photos, although not great, were still acceptable.
