VersaLink C405
A comprehensive 7-year user experience report on this color laser multifunction printer
I bought my first C405 in 2017. It was for our company's legal department. At that time, the legal department was still on the third floor of the old building, with 6 people printing about 3,000 pages per month—contracts, litigation materials, archive copies. Before that, they were using an HP black-and-white laser printer. I forgot the model, but every time the legal staff needed color prints, they had to run to the administrative department on the second floor. A round trip took at least 15 minutes. The legal director complained to me several times about this.
I had a budget of 8,000 yuan at the time. Xerox had just released the VersaLink series, and the C405's official price was just over 7,000. I remember it was late February or early March when Xerox held a launch event in Beijing, claiming it was the largest product launch in Xerox history, introducing 29 machines at once. I didn't attend the launch, but I read their materials. The C405 was meant to replace the older WorkCentre 6605—a color laser multifunction device that could print, copy, scan, and fax.
Why I Chose This Machine
The print speed is 35 pages per minute, the same for both color and black-and-white. Legal staff often had to meet deadlines, and contracts would be revised by ten or twenty pages at a time—they couldn't afford to wait. Duplex printing is 23 pages per minute, slower than single-sided, but still adequate. The machine's monthly duty cycle is 80,000 pages, and we were only printing just over 3,000 pages per month, so it was more than enough.
The memory is 2GB, and the processor is a 1.05GHz dual-core ARM. This configuration was quite good for A4 machines at the time. The 7-inch touchscreen is color and can be operated with swipe gestures like a tablet. Many people later said this screen was user-friendly. There was a 55-year-old employee in the legal department who used to need young people's help to operate printers, but she could operate the C405 by herself.
ConnectKey Technology
Xerox introduced a technology called ConnectKey on this machine, saying it could install apps. I didn't pay much attention to this feature at the time. Later, I found it quite useful—for example, you could send scanned files directly to the cloud, or send print jobs from your phone.
User-Friendly Interface
The intuitive tablet-like interface made operation accessible to all staff members regardless of their technical proficiency, significantly reducing the learning curve and support requests.
Issues Encountered After Two Years
The machine worked fine for about two years, then problems started appearing.
Black Toner Cartridge Error (Summer 2019)
In the summer of 2019, the black toner cartridge developed a problem. The machine displayed error code 092-321, asking to reinsert the toner cartridge. I took out the toner cartridge, wiped the contacts, put it back in, and restarted—still the same error. I replaced it with a new toner cartridge, and the problem disappeared. I thought that particular toner cartridge was defective.
Three months later, the same problem appeared again. This time I replaced it with an original Xerox toner cartridge, not compatible consumables. Still the same error. I called Xerox customer service, and they said the toner cartridge sensor might have a problem and they needed to send someone for repair. The repair quote was 1,200 yuan, not including parts. I didn't repair it.
Diagnostic Mode Discovery
I later searched online and found that many people had encountered this problem. Someone on an American technical forum posted a method saying you could enter diagnostic mode to manually rotate the toner motor to test if the toner supply system was working properly.
Enter DC330 → Select Component Control 4 → Input 093-010
// This will activate the black toner motor for testing
I tried it, and the motor could rotate, indicating the motor wasn't broken. The problem was with the sensor. I ended up not repairing that machine. When the legal department moved to a new office, we replaced it with a new one.
Driver Program Issues
The C405 also had a driver program problem. In 2019, Windows 10 had a major update, and after the update, the driver program disappeared. It wasn't a driver error—it was completely gone, and the printer couldn't be found in Device Manager. I reinstalled the driver, and it worked. Two weeks later, it was gone again.
I later discovered that Windows Update was deleting the driver. Microsoft's automatic update mechanism sometimes removes drivers it considers "problematic." I saw several people reporting the same situation in Microsoft's Q&A community—all C405s, all with drivers repeatedly disappearing.
Solution
The solution was to disable driver updates in Windows settings and only use drivers downloaded from Xerox's official website. I changed the settings on all the computers in the legal department, and this problem never occurred again.
Consumables Cost Analysis
Let me talk about the consumables cost for this machine. The C405 uses C400 series toner cartridges. Standard capacity black toner cartridges can print about 5,000 pages, and high capacity ones can print 10,500 pages. Standard capacity color toner cartridges print 2,500 pages, high capacity ones print 4,800 pages. There are also extra-high capacity ones—black can print 12,100 pages, and color prints 8,000 pages.
| Toner Type | Capacity | Page Yield | 2019 Price (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black (Standard) | Standard | ~5,000 pages | — |
| Black (High) | High Capacity | ~10,500 pages | — |
| Black (Extra-High) | Extra-High | ~12,100 pages | ~¥1,800 |
| Color (Standard) | Standard | ~2,500 pages | — |
| Color (High) | High Capacity | ~4,800 pages | — |
| Color (Extra-High) | Extra-High | ~8,000 pages | ~¥2,700 each |
| Full Set (Extra-High) | Extra-High | — | ~¥10,000 |
An original extra-high capacity black toner cartridge cost about 1,800 yuan in 2019. Each color cartridge was over 2,700, and three colors together came to over 8,000. Add black, and a full set of extra-high capacity toner cartridges was close to 10,000 yuan.
The legal department printed over 3,000 pages per month, about 70% black-and-white and 30% color. I calculated that the average monthly consumables cost was between 400 and 500 yuan, not counting the drum cartridge and waste toner container.
Warning About Compatible Consumables
Compatible consumables are much cheaper, about one-third to one-quarter of original prices. I tried compatible toner cartridges once, and the print quality was acceptable, but after two months of use, the machine reported a toner cartridge error. I don't know if it was the compatible consumables' fault, but afterward, I only bought original ones.
Product Lifecycle & Current Status
VersaLink C405 launched as part of Xerox's largest product release, featuring 29 new machines. Positioned to replace the WorkCentre 6605.
First reported issues with toner sensor errors and Windows 10 driver compatibility problems after major updates.
Xerox released new firmware update, version 68.71.21. This was the last official update for the C405. The same year, Xerox released the C415, considered the successor to the C405.
Xerox's official website now indicates the C405 has been Discontinued
The Xerox VersaLink C415 — successor to the C405 series
Our company still has two C405s in use, one in the finance department and one in HR. The one in finance was purchased relatively late, at the end of 2019, and hasn't had any major problems so far. The one in HR is from 2018 and had its drum cartridge replaced last year for 1,100 yuan—other than that, it's been running fine.
I plan to use these two machines until they break down. When replacing with new machines, I'll probably switch to the C415, or a newer Xerox model. There aren't too many choices for color laser multifunction printers in this price range—Canon, HP, and Brother all have options—but I'm used to Xerox, familiar with the settings interface and operation logic. Switching to another brand would mean learning all over again.
Usage Recommendations for the C405
This machine is suitable for small office teams with monthly print volumes under 5,000 pages—about 2 to 10 people sharing one machine is appropriate. If monthly print volume exceeds 8,000 pages, I recommend switching to a higher-end model, such as the AltaLink series, or going straight to production-level equipment.
Avoid Direct Sunlight
Don't place near windows. Direct sunlight affects the drum cartridge's performance and longevity.
Avoid Air Conditioning
Don't place under air conditioning vents. Direct cold air affects print quality.
Weight Considerations
The machine weighs about 27kg, approximately 30kg with paper trays and consumables. A dedicated printer cabinet is recommended.
Security Features
The C405's security is fairly good. 256-bit encryption, support for secure printing (requiring password input at the machine to retrieve printouts), and firmware self-checking during startup to prevent tampering. For general enterprise office use, it's adequate. Our legal department uses the secure print function for some confidential documents.
Scan to Network
The scanning function supports sending directly to email or network folders. I set up a shared folder for the legal department, and their scanned files automatically save to the server—no more plugging in USB drives to copy files. This feature is a bit complicated to set up—you need to configure SMTP server and SMB paths in the machine's web management interface. People unfamiliar with networking might not be able to handle it. It took me about two hours to get it working.
The VersaLink Series Context
The C405 was my first VersaLink series printer. This series later released many models, both color and black-and-white, in both A4 and A3 formats. VersaLink is positioned for small to medium-sized offices; Xerox places higher-end products in the AltaLink series.
My Overall Evaluation
My assessment of this machine is that it's adequate—print quality is acceptable, speed is sufficient, the touchscreen is easy to operate, but stability is average. After two or three years of use, small problems tend to appear. Consumables cost is on the higher side. If I had a bit more budget at the time, I might have bought a higher-tier model.
When buying a printer now, I usually recommend first calculating monthly print volume, then deciding what price range of machine to buy.
Buying Recommendations by Print Volume
An entry-level machine costing two to three thousand yuan is sufficient.
Consider products in the C405's tier, or its successor model the C415.
You need to look at higher-end models, such as the AltaLink series or production equipment.
Final Advice
Before buying, it's best to check user feedback and see if there are common issues. Every model has its own problems—there's no perfect machine. Knowing what problems might occur and knowing how to handle them when they do is more important than buying an expensive machine.