


Another example: In the printer driver, the ‘Automatic’ setting in the paper type drop-down menu doesn’t mean what we thought (namely, that the printer could sense the paper type loaded and adjust print quality automatically). Once we returned to the main menu, the setup process-as well as the print, copy, and scan jobs-commenced. For starters, since the operating panel overrides all other functions, our innocent attempt to browse a submenu prevented the unit from responding to the software setup or incoming jobs. Overall, the V525W is a solid product, but its firmware and controls are slightly backward. Less forgivable is the need to buy the extra-high-yield supplies to keep ink costs even close to reasonable. This MFP also has an automatic duplexer to ease two-sided printing chores. Photos appear extremely vivid, and text looks sharp and black. One look at the output of the $130 (as of August 21, 2012) Dell V525W color inkjet multifunction, and you’ll willingly forgive some of its rough edges.
