Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Lasers have come a long way since the compact car-sized monochrome business lasers of yesteryear. And HP has been in the forefront of development of laser printing technology, with literally dozens of models for home/business applications. This model is a good example of their desktop line of lasers. Remarkably svelte for what it does (although it does weigh over 50 pounds) - ten years ago this type of printer would have been on wheels, with it's own room and IT staff. And it does everything - automatic duplex printing, scanning and copying, fax with a phone bypass, 28 ppm output, monochrome or full color (and HP has some of the best color profiles in the business), multiple paper weights (HP has a full line of light and heavy weight plain and photo laser papers), finishes and input options (accessories available for tray expansion up to 550 sheets) - truly business-friendly. It's a do-everything laser printer. Setup was relatively easy (more below), the built-in LED screen is fast and intuitive, with a galaxy of setup/input options), and it's fairly quiet for a laser. Monochrome text is crisp and high resolution, and even larger (8x10) photos print at an acceptable 600x600 dpi with perfect color matching. Not bad. It's also economical, in spite of the Bentley cost of laser toner cartridges - standard replacements are north of $100 each, and a full set (4) of high-yield cartridges will set you back, shipping and tax, on the near side of $1,000 - the standard toner cartridges are good for over 2,000 pages, and high-yield around 6,000. As a comparison, a standard business inkjet cartridge ($40) will yield 300-400 pages realistically, between clearing dry cartridges and cleaning printer heads, for a best cost of about .10 per page (it can get worse, because you may need to toss out cartridges that have dried out and are unusable - if you print full color brochures or photos with your inkjet infrequently you may pay over .25 per page). A high yield toner cartridge ($230+) will yield 6,000 pages, for a best cost of .04 per page (standard cartridges will cost per page about the same). For high volume business printing, your finance department will tell you it's a no-brainer. For home use, toner cartridges are pricey, but will require no maintenance, can be left in the printer unused for weeks and will still print perfectly, and will yield the full rated number of pages. The only thing a laser won't do compared to an inkjet is print large format, high resolution photos on graphic arts photo paper - for this you need a dedicated inkjet, warts and all. As far as the setup mentioned above, my first printer arrived DOA - two screens into the setup the onboard LED read "Printer Failure." HP online support seemed to be under the impression I had a different printer, and continually provided instructions that didn't apply to this printer, so ultimately we declared the printer bricked. Amazon shipped out a new printer ASAP, which went through the setup perfectly. Could be shipping - HP laser printers don't like their innards shaken- or could be a manufacturing defect. Stuff happens. I should also mention that HP printer construction is not quite as robust as some rivals - thinner plastic and hinges, more movable bits - but overall fine for light business or home use, and does come with onsite support from HP for a time. If you're a small business, this printer does everything you need, economically, with HP's expansive universal support network available. If you're currently a home user with an inkjet on your desk, you might take a longer look at this one if you're thinking of the switch to lasers - long-term, it will serve you as well, with less fiddling and maintenance, and even though supplies are costlier on the front end, it really is no more expensive and likely even cheaper for general printing needs, with faster and better output. Recommended.