If you have a large workgroup and need a printer that can meet your needs with quality prints, the HP Color LaserJet 5550dtn printer could be a great choice. This printer works very well for groups that feature desktop publishing or other highly intensive graphics. The printer offers speed of up to 27 ppm for color or black prints. Photographs can also be produced rapidly. Prints made with the HP Color LaserJet 5550dtn toner are rated from good for photos to excellent for text.
When compared to other printers, the HP 5550dtn is large. It is not designed for desk top use, but is made instead to sit on the floor. The printer is thirty two inches tall and thirty inches wide. It is just over twenty four inches in depth. It weighs 250 pounds, but fortunately is on wheels so it can easily be rolled from the packing materials into place easily.
As with many of HP's printers, installation is fairly easy. You will need to install the four toner cartridges before you begin further installation. Then add paper and connect all the cords, including the power cord. The printer will automatically install itself onto the computers on your network. Once the printer has been installed, it can be managed from your remote computer using HP's software.
Photographs are printed in a fairly rapid manner. It takes under twenty seconds to print an 8 x 10 photo and smaller prints are even quicker. Other machines may print photos that are slightly higher in quality, but speeds are nowhere near those of this printer for the same quality photograph.
Paper handling may be the only weak link in this particular printer. The duty cycle is only 120,000 sheets each month. That capacity is relatively low by the standards of today. Many large work groups may need a printer that offers a higher duty cycle to meet their needs.
There is no finisher, sorter or stacker for the Color LaserJet 5550dtn. These are not an option offered by HP for this particular printer. HP does indicate there may be a future option for additional paper handling capacities. It may also be possible that a third party could develop a paper handling attachment for this popular printer.
Along with letter and legal sized papers, this printer can print the super tabloid paper. This allows for full color, full bleed paints on 11 x 17 ledger sheets of paper. This is an excellent choice in printers for graphic artists. It is also a good choice if you must print lots of photographs.
The HP 5550dtn printer is one of three in the 5550 family. This model includes duplex printing, not available with the other machines. It also includes the additional 500 sheet paper tray that increases the paper capacity to 1,100 sheets. It has a larger RAM (228 MB total) and a printer stand. Some of these features can be added as options on the other members of the family, but other cannot. Be sure that you choose the machine that offers the features that are important to your work group.
