Samsung ML-1630 and SCX-4500: Printers that bring sexy back

Finally it's been done. Somebody's made printers that don't look rubbish! We'd begun to think it was a lost cause, but mad props to Samsung -- its new luxury printers look absolutely flippin' stunning.

The ML-1630 mono laser (pictured top) and SCX-4500 all-in-one (pictured bottom) are similar in shape to a DVD player or component hi-fi system, and are finished in the same glossy piano-black veneer as Samsung's TVs.

They also have blue touch-sensitive buttons and a sexy OLED-style display. These show letters and numbers made of oversize circular dots -- a bit like on the Samsung YP-K3 MP3 player.

Unfortunately, they only print in black and white, and despite that, their print speed is limited to just 16 pages per minute. Samsung says a colour-enabled version would have to be twice as thick, ruining the overall aesthetic.

All this raises the question: in a market that's dominated by feature-packed, low-cost boxes, who's going to buy such a slow, and probably pricey printer -- even if it is good looking? Us, you fools! And so should you, unless you have an unhealthy obsession with beige.

Pricing and availability are unconfirmed as yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar this won't be the last you hear about the ML-1630 and SCX-4500 -- check back soon for more.

Update: A full review of the ML-1630 is now available. -Rory Reid