Hewlett Packard 4550N Color LaserJet Printer

• Effective 2,400 dpi resolution from 600 x 600 dpi engine plus HP ImageREt 2400 technology
• HP ColorSmart II, sRGB, and improved Pantone color matching
• 16 ppm black, 4 ppm color printing speed
• 233 MHz processor, 64 MB memory, expandable to 192 MB
• Parallel and wireless infrared interfaces; embedded Web server and network-ready with HP JetDirect 610N internal print server

Amazon.com Product Description:
The Hewlett-Packard 4550N color LaserJet delivers outstanding quality and a number of versatile network options for the small office. Installation is a snap, with a simple interface, automatic color calibration, and imbedded Web server. Interfaces include standard parallel, two EIO slots, and an infrared receiver port that allows walk-up printing from equipped laptops or digital cameras. With resolution set to the maximum 600 dpi, you get high-quality, professional prints at 16 pages per minute for monochrome and 4 pages per minute in color. The included HP Image Resolution software further increases resolution to an exceptional 2,400 x 600 dpi. The lower paper tray can manage 250 sheets of either letter- or legal-size paper, while the upper tray handles transparencies, card stocks, and labels with customizable print sizes ranging from 3.9 by 7.5 inches up to 8.5 by 14 inches. Networking compatibility includes IPX/SPX, Ethernet, DLC/LLC & TCP/IP; and drivers are included for Macintosh, Unix, and Windows-based systems. The standard 64 MB of memory is upgradable to 192 MB; other expandable options include additional paper-handling trays and a dual-side printing accessory. HP provides the 4550N with an extendable one-year warranty that covers parts and service.

Excellent Print Quality And Paper Feed Reliability:
My employer purchased several HP 4550N printers a year ago. With us, the main advantages are compatibility with several operating systems both on Microsoft and Unix platforms as well as the ability to administer this printer over the network via a web browser. For instance, you can monitor the amount of toner left in each color cartridge so supplies can be restocked more efficiently. Also, remote administration allows for changing printer settings and preventing users from making unauthorized changes. I was part of the setup team. The printer weights 125 pounds and is rather large so at least two people are needed to move it. This makes worthwhile to look into purchasing an onsite maintenance agreement after the standard one-year onsite warranty is up. The installation process is straightforward. After removing the shipping material, the cartridges are installed and the printer automatically goes into calibration to initialize the cartridges. After this is completed and paper trays are filled, a test page can be printed. I was amazed at the printing capabilities of the 4550N when I saw the test page. It is simply incredible. With a 600X600 dots-per-inch print quality, virtually anything can be printed with superb detail. The installation was completed by one of our network administrator who assigned the IP address and then accessed the printer via the network. From what he told me, everything on his end went very smoothly as well. According to HP, the printing costs are 1.5 cents per page for black and 8 cents per page for color printing. This is based on 5% fill for black text and 20% for color. The drum kit is rated for 25000 pages of black text or 6500 pages of color printing. The 4550N printer's intended use is 35000 pages per month. This means that the monthly cost of utilizing this printer at its duty cycle can be anywhere from $627 to $3193. For this reason, your network administrator may want to seriously consider restricting access to this printer to minimize wastage. Performance: Our experience with these printers has been truly positive. Print quality as well as paper feed reliability is excellent. The only glitches we experienced on one or two printers was that the print was off center. This was only noticeable when printing the test page and required a minor adjustment by a service technician. The only other user complaint was noise during the printing process, which was traced to a toner cartridge.

Best Overall performance...:
i have used the HP 4000 color laser jet for the past 3 years at my school's computer lab. I have tried all kinds of paper including a relatively light card-stock, transperancies, label stock and regular paper stock. I found the quality to be consistently good and the printer itself invariably reliable. Very few paper jams and even fewer printer malfunctions. It has descriptive error messages which are useful to someone who isn't too hardware savvy like me. And maintainance on the printer is not too difficult either. The cartridges and drum are front loading and easy to replace. When I started my own design group this past summer, the HP laserjet 4000 seemed like the perfect choice. But I find myself leaning more toward this model because its newer and has few more advanced features over the older model. So, even though I don't have any practical experience with this particular model, maybe my thoughts on the 4000 model are still useful!