Dell C1660w review

A small color printer with a deliberate workload

The Dell C1660w is an earlier color LED printer for a desk that wants occasional color documents without adding a scanner or a large paper system. Its useful feature is ordinary wireless computer printing alongside USB. Its main limitation is manual two-sided output: someone must turn and reload the printed stack.

That makes it more suitable for attended reports, correspondence and short color jobs than for a queue that expects unattended duplex packets. Check that this combination matches the actual work before treating its small cabinet as the deciding advantage.

The related C1760nw has features this model does not

Dell uses a shared user guide, and most of its illustrations show the C1760nw. The Ethernet port pictured there belongs only to that model. The C1660w does not gain a wired network socket from the shared illustration.

The same distinction applies to the priority sheet inserter. The C1660w has a cover over its ordinary multipurpose paper feed; the extra ten-sheet inserter belongs to the C1760nw. The included C1660w paper capacity is 150 ordinary sheets, rather than the larger combined figure associated with its sibling.

Manual duplex changes the daily routine

The ordinary feed supports Letter, Legal and A4. Load and identify the actual paper size and type before printing. Suitable envelopes have their own loading and driver instructions; they are not a reason to reuse ordinary-paper settings indiscriminately.

For a two-sided document, the manual describes printing the even pages first, then moving the stack back into the feeder with the correct side facing up. The remaining pages print after the instructed confirmation. Keep the guidance window available and run a short sample to establish the orientation.

This is a real paper-saving option for an attended job, but it is not automatic duplex. Mixed paper sizes and curled output add restrictions. If several people regularly need finished two-sided sets without handling the paper, choose a machine with included automatic duplex instead.

Wireless printing still depends on compatible software

The documented Wi-Fi connection uses the ordinary 2.4GHz router network. USB provides a direct connection to a nearby computer. WPS, where supported by the router, is one way to register the wireless printer; its setup PIN is not a password that holds confidential print jobs for collection.

The user guide identifies a host-based printing system. Check the working driver for the intended operating system and test output from the actual applications. A historical software list cannot establish every present-day computer combination.

Dell's exact-model family table explicitly marks AirPrint as unavailable. Its references to separate mobile apps from that period should not be substituted for native AirPrint or assumed to remain a supported phone workflow.

Read the modest speed declaration in context

The Letter-oriented family table declares up to 12 pages per minute in monochrome and 10 in color for Letter and A4. Those are maker output declarations, not measurements from this assessment or a promise about the first page of a short job.

The maximum monthly duty figure is also distinct from a sensible ongoing workload. The model-specific brochure recommends 200–500 pages per month, while the family table uses a different typical-use label. For an earlier unit, feeding condition and the actual work pattern matter more than treating the maximum-duty number as a monthly target.

Choose it as a complete color-printing setup

There is no document scanner, copier, feeder or fax. Plan those tasks separately. Identify the installed black and color cartridges, since replacement yield declarations do not describe what remains in a particular machine.

Finally, confirm the regional electrical rating and allow room for the open paper feed and output. The C1660w makes sense when its compatible software, short color jobs and attended paper handling form a verified routine.