I have recently purchased a Samsung Color laser CLP-500 printer. It shuts itself down but not completely off. The computer it is hooked to is always running (although disk and monitors have been shut down).

Can I use the switch to shut it down during the night without any danger to anything. It burns 30 watts in sleep more and I would just as soon save the electricity if there is no danger in shutting it down.

There should be no problems - the sleep mode conserves power, but keeps things hot to go when needed. Switching off won't do a thing to the system, it just won't be able to use the printer. One thing you may notice is the quality of the first print out of the printer after switching back on isn't quite as good as the rest - laser printers require a lot of heat, and the first page can sometimes look a bit different if the printer has stood cold for a while; it isn't a real problem though. printing a blank page can warn things up - it doesn't waste any toner, but the heating process still gets a workout.

On another note - what do you think of this printer? I'm currently looking for a colour laser myself.

I am very happy with the printer but have had limited use - maybe 1000 sheets. I picked it up at Fry's for $300 after rebates - great price. The black toner is good for 5000 - 7000 sheets (depending on what you read), the color is good for 3000 to 5000 sheets. The cost for the toners are around $100 each. Than you have the Imaging Unit (50,000 black 12,500 color), The Transfer belt (50,000 black, 12,500 color) and the Waste toner container (12,000 black, 3000 color) to think about (haven't checked prices).

I have not tried color photos I use a inkjet for that. Although some things with pictures have reproduced very well. Speed is nice - beats anything inkjet. Overall I would give it a high ranking (without consideration of price per page).

The original toner that comes with it is about half full. My concern is the availability of supplies over a long term. I may decide to lay in a set of supplies. One could buy a second printer and just keep everything in the box until the supplies are needed and than replace the whole thing.

Hope this helps.

I've had a look at a few reviews, which seem favourable. $300.00 mmm....sounds good.
Oh yes, this is the UK - cheapest price is £296.38 (around $540!!!). Unfortunately all printers seem to have this sort of price difference (as with everything else in the UK) so I'm going to need to look very carefully. Thanks for the info