Samsung took advantage of the quiet before the end of the year to release the ML-2851. The monochrome laser printer is focused on homes and small shops that want output without the bulk or price of larger printers: though short enough to fit in a small cabinet at 8.5 inches tall, the printer takes just 8.5 seconds from warm-up to printing its first page at a sharp 1,200DPI; a large 160MB of memory lets it finish a total of 30 pages per minute. Cost-conscious users can also auto-duplex their output and use a toner-saving mode to avoid replacing the cartridge prematurely.

The 2851 works with most computers, including those running Linux, Mac OS X 10.1 or later, and Windows 2000 onwards. It should be available today at retail and through Samsung's typical US channels for $330.