Your needs, this model
Does it fit your priorities?
Can wired computer printing combine color Letter duplex, PIN release, 550 sheets and 25000 monthly pages?
Yes, within the documented recommended volume and compatible driver arrangement.
Explore this need in the finder →Can native AirPrint be used over Wi-Fi Direct?
No. The native protocols require an ordinary shared network and wireless is not included in the base machine.
Explore this need in the finder →Can the S5840cdn scan a document?
No. It is a dedicated color printer.
Explore this need in the finder →A color printer for a substantial shared workload
The Dell Color Smart Printer S5840cdn is an earlier single-function color machine whose main appeal is a substantial paper supply and a recommended workload suited to a busy shared office. It is a printing specialist rather than an all-in-one: scanning, copying and faxing need separate equipment.
Dell's original US specification gives a recommended monthly range of 2500–25,000 pages. That is a more useful starting point for choosing it than the much higher 150,000-page maximum duty figure. An occasional peak rating should not become a normal monthly target, particularly when assessing an older unit with an unknown maintenance history.
Look beyond the headline print speed
The declared rate reaches 50 one-sided Letter pages per minute in either monochrome or color. The separate Letter duplex declaration is 40ppm. Those figures describe different printing arrangements; neither guarantees the same rate for every complex file, heavy stock or short job.
First-page waiting time also depends on whether the printer is ready or waking from sleep. For an office sending many isolated invoices, that pause can matter differently from the sustained rate of a long report. Consider the actual pattern of work before giving the larger speed number the greatest weight.
Buy the paper configuration that is actually included
The standard arrangement combines a 550-sheet cassette and a 100-sheet multipurpose feeder. Three additional 550-sheet trays are optional, bringing the total to 2300 sheets. A photograph of a tall configuration therefore does not establish that all those trays accompany a particular listing.
The cassette explicitly accepts Letter, Legal and A4, among other sizes. Dell also lists a variety of specialty stocks, including envelopes and particular labels. Select the correct media setting and check the permitted route and weight; accepting a material for one-sided output does not automatically approve it for the duplex path.
Keep secure computer printing separate from phone printing
The original sheet explicitly describes four-digit PIN release, with a separate number pad available at the printer. This supports a computer-driver workflow in which a confidential job is collected deliberately instead of being left immediately in a shared output tray. Configure and try that workflow with the actual application and driver.
AirPrint and Mopria are also documented, but their presence does not prove that a native phone job uses the same PIN routine. They require the mobile device and printer to share an ordinary network. The sheet expressly excludes Wi-Fi Direct for those native protocols, so a questionnaire must not combine direct connection with an unsupported native-printing promise.
Ethernet is included; wireless is an accessory decision
USB computer printing and Gigabit Ethernet are part of the standard interface set. A wireless print server appears among the optional accessories. For a wired office, Ethernet may be the straightforward shared route; a wireless installation needs the right additional hardware and a compatible network setup.
The front USB facility is useful only for the file formats and installed firmware actually supported. The launch sheet marked some Office-document and SharePoint functions as forthcoming. An older product announcement should not be treated as proof that every advertised cloud or document feature remains available today.
Account for supplies, lifting and maintenance access
The originally supplied toner capacities differ from the larger replacement options. Dell also declares imaging-unit and waste-container yields separately. Those distinctions help build a maintenance checklist, but cannot establish current consumable prices, remaining life or the condition of a used printer.
At about 82.6lb with consumables, this is a substantial machine to place and move. Its closed body measures approximately 18.7 × 19.7 × 16.4 inches, before additional trays and working clearance. Choose it for a confirmed color-printing workload and the actual installed paper configuration, after checking voltage, software compatibility and service condition.
Key details at a glance
| Color printing | Yes |
|---|---|
| Scanner | No |
| Copying | No |
| Fax | No |
| Flatbed scanner | No |
| Automatic document feeder | No |
| Automatic two-sided printing | Yes |
| Automatic two-sided scanning | No |
| Single-pass two-sided scanning | No |
| Color scanning | No |
| Instructed envelope handling | Yes |
| Apple AirPrint | Yes |
| Mopria printing | Yes |
| Supported PIN-release printing | Yes |
| Recommended monthly minimum | 2500 pages |
| Recommended monthly maximum | 25000 pages |
| Maximum monthly duty | 150000 pages |
| Included ordinary-paper capacity | 650 sheets |
| Declared one-sided mono Letter rate | 50 pages/min |
| Declared one-sided color Letter rate | 50 pages/min |
| Unit-body width | 18.7 in |
| Unit-body depth | 19.7 in |
| Unit-body height | 16.4 in |
| Unit weight | 82.6 lb |
| Imaging engine | laser |
Use the exact model’s instructions for operating limits, supplied equipment and version differences.
Paper, software and setup details
Print-rate conditions
US declaration: up to 50 ppm one-sided Letter in color or monochrome and 40 ppm two-sided Letter. Recommended monthly volume is 2500–25000 pages; 150000 is the separate maximum duty figure. Ready and sleep first-page timings differ.
Paper handling
Included 550-sheet cassette plus 100-sheet multipurpose feeder, 650 total. The cassette explicitly supports Letter, Legal and A4. Up to three optional 550-sheet units expand total capacity to 2300. Automatic duplex is included; the sheet explicitly establishes Letter duplex speed, so other duplex sizes are left unconfirmed. Special-media acceptance is not blanket duplex approval.
Scanning arrangement
The S5840cdn is a single-function color printer. It has no document scanner, ADF, copying or fax function.
Computer and mobile connections
Included USB computer connection and Gigabit Ethernet. Wireless requires an optional external print server. Native AirPrint and Mopria require an ordinary shared network; footnote 13 excludes Wi-Fi Direct. USB host ports accept supported files but do not add a scanner.
Supplies and declared yields
Original included toner: 7000 black and 6000 each color. High-capacity replacements: 20000 black and 12000 each color, ISO/IEC 19798 conditions. Imaging units have a separate 150000-page declaration; waste container 90000. These are original yield declarations, not actual remaining life or a current cost per page.
Software and support
Included 1 GB RAM, expandable to 3 GB; 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 4.3-inch touchscreen with separate keypad. Secure Print with a four-digit PIN is explicitly declared. PCL, PostScript Level 3 and XPS capabilities are not a claim of genuine Adobe PostScript. Native phone PIN behavior is unconfirmed. Office-file printing and SharePoint support were marked future Q3 2016 features, not guaranteed present-day functions.
Electrical edition and setup
Documented US 100–127 VAC, 47–63 Hz. Closed body 18.7 × 19.7 × 16.4 inches and 82.6 lb with consumables; shipping weight is separate. Optional paper units increase the installation height. Allow additional access for paper, toner, cables and servicing.
Sources for this assessment
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