Xerox VersaLink C500/DN Printer Review

The Xerox VersaLink C500 feels exceptionally well-built. The plastic feels very solid, and everything feels sturdy. However, the back and side doors are a bit misaligned and wiggle a little. There's a space at the back that lets you install a hard drive. Also, you can easily access the drum unit, cartridges, waste box, and sheet rollers. Unfortunately, the toner leaks a bit from the cartridges when installing them or pulling them out, which could get messy in the long run. That said, the leakage is very minor, and it won't happen often unless you're constantly taking out the cartridges and putting them back in when they aren't empty.

You can buy and install extra parts to fit your office's needs. You can get up to four extra cassettes that each hold 550 sheets and an extra-high capacity feeder tray that holds up to 2000 pages. At the top of the printer, you can install a stapler unit that staples all of your documents for you or a four-bin mailbox unit that automatically separates different print jobs for you. You can also buy a stand or caster to help roll the Xerox VersaLink C500 around when needed.

Since this is a laser printer, there are no risks of the printheads clogging. If you run into a problem with your printing quality, there are a few tasks you can run to fix them. For example, there's a tool in the Support menu called "Repeating Defects" that prints out a guide and four color pages, which lets you identify what component is causing the problem, based on what pattern or defect shows up in the prints. There are lots of other maintenance tasks, like fuser temperature adjustment, belt cleaning, color calibration, and transfer roller cleaning.

You can easily access the toner cartridges by opening the front panel where the Xerox logo is, and the drum units and the waste container are accessible from the side panel. In the case of paper jams, pull down the back panel to dislodge any stuck sheets. You can also access the fuser from here. The printer tracks the life of all consumables, so you always know when you need to change something. The admin account linked to the printer can set up email notifications that let them know when it's time to buy new supplies. Admin access to the printer also lets you set different permissions to the printer, which prevents other people from modifying paper sizes, paper types, and using certain features. There's an easy-to-navigate Embedded Web Server where admins have access to even more settings and features.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 has a fantastic display screen. It's very large and touch-sensitive, making it very easy to navigate the menu and type in passwords. It's very bright, so you can easily read the text even in a bright room with lots of lights. You can also adjust the brightness to better suit your environment. It has great viewing angles horizontally and vertically, and you can either lay it completely flat (for storing) or tilt it fully upright.

There's an app in the menu called Xerox App Gallery that gives you access to many different apps and services, and you can also set a screensaver that reminds you to wash your hands. You can see all of the apps offered here.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 can print many pages before its toner runs out, so you can easily print hundreds of pages a week without worrying about replacing your cartridges too frequently. If you want an even higher yield, there are two higher-capacity cartridges available. The high-capacity cartridges are rated at up to 5200 pages for color and up to 12 100 pages for black. The extra-high–capacity cartridges are only available for color, and they're rated at up to 9000 pages.

This model doesn't have a scanner, but two variants do: the C505/S and the C505/X.

• Quick use guides
• Software and documentation CD-ROM
• Power cable
• 4x drum units, one for each color
• 4x Starter Capacity Print Cartridge
  • 1x cyan (Xerox 106R03859)
  • 1x magenta (Xerox 106R03860)
  • 1x yellow (Xerox 106R03861)
  • 1x black (Xerox 106R03862)
• Input paper tray cover

The Xerox VersaLink C500 has an excellent cost-per-print. While the toner cartridges are expensive, they yield many pages before the toner runs out. This means you don't have to buy new cartridges too often, even if you print hundreds of pages a week. You can't buy the color cartridges in a pack unless you purchase it with the black cartridge as well. The price noted above is the cost of the three individual color cartridges added together.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 is one of the fastest color printers we've tested. It doesn't take long to warm up and prints multi-page documents quickly. Also, you can buy and install extra parts to fit your office's needs. You can get up to four extra cassettes that each hold 550 sheets and an extra-high capacity feeder tray that holds up to 2000 pages.

The Xerox VersaLink C500's input cassette has a switch that extends the tray further, letting you print on larger-sized paper. The printer comes with a cover that you install once you extend the tray, protecting your papers from dust. The cassette can hold paper sizes from 3" to 8.5" in width and 5" to 14" in length. Its input cassette can hold similar page sizes, but it can't hold sheets smaller than 7" in length.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 has a poor color gamut. The zig-zag line isn't visible, and the transitions between colors aren't smooth. The colors mix within each other instead of blending, which looks patchy, as you can see in the cyan-to-green section. The white-to-color gradient isn't good, either, and the printer struggles at reproducing paler colors. Likewise, the black section doesn't extend high enough, and its transition to color contains a lot of grain.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 is bad at reproducing colors accurately. Almost all colors are noticeably different from their originals.

The Xerox VersaLink C500/DN is sub-par at producing small details. Although it can print at a relatively high resolution, the printing pattern causes the loss of fine details. Note that the bluish tint present in the sample photo is due to expired toner, which only affects the color gamut and accuracy, not the printer's ability to produce fine details.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 can't print wirelessly out of box. However, you can buy a wireless network adapter separately to use Wi-Fi, Apple AirPrint, and Mopria Print Service. You can remove the cover to install the Wi-Fi card or install a hard drive. There's also a port to install an Auxiliary Device Kit, which lets you attach extra devices to the printer, like a smart card reader, a coin-operated machine, or a payment card reader. There's also a Kensington Security Slot to help prevent theft. If you want a similar printer with wireless connectivity, check out the Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw/MF751Cdw.

The Xerox VersaLink C500 is compatible with the Xerox Workplace app, available on Android and iOS. The two versions have the same features, but there's no dedicated photo icon on Android like there is on iOS, as you can see here. Instead, you access your photos through the File Library, the same way you would for any other filetype. You can print MS Office and TXT files, but you need to log into your Xerox Workplace account first. Before printing an MS Word document, the app converts it first. You can't print HTML files to the app directly from your web browser. Instead, you need to select "Webpage" from the side menu and visit the site you want to print from within the app.

Both Windows and macOS require you to manually install drivers to print. On Windows, you add the printer through the Printers & Scanner settings in Windows settings. For Chrome OS and macOS, you need to add the Xerox VersaLink C500 via its IP address.