HP 2550 Color LaserJet

[Brad Bishop]

Are there any thoughts on this (good/bad)?

I've got an old Lexmark Optra R that's almost 10 years old that's starting
to give up on me. I'm thinking about replacing it with a color laser printer
(I just don't want to fool with inks).

What I want is:
* Reliable / Quality - I just want it to print. My Lexmark was great for
this. It always just 'worked'. It also felt like it was built like a tank.
* Internal print server - I just want to plug it straight into my network
and don't want to deal with external boxes.
* Color - I'm not looking for 'wow - it looks like a photo!' - if I want
that I'll take my pictures to Kinkos. What I'm looking for color-wise is if
I print off a flyer or a web page then it looks nice.

I'd also like duplex but that drives the cost up quite a bit.

I've looked into the HP4550 printers and would look into getting one if
there was a definite 'the old 4550 printers are great and built like a tank'
kind of recommendation (over the HP 2550).

I've done Google searches and really haven't come to a good conclusion about
this purchase. The HP 2550 looks like it'd do well in my home (it's just me
there) but I don't want to get it home and have to deal with problem because
I bought a cheap laser printer.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,

Brad

 

[Mushroom]

What I want is:
* Reliable / Quality - I just want it to print. My Lexmark was great for
this. It always just 'worked'. It also felt like it was built like a tank.
* Internal print server - I just want to plug it straight into my network
and don't want to deal with external boxes.

I've used this model a lot and I have to say, in my experirnce, the
CLJ2550 is *MILES* better put together than the CLJ4500 series. The
toner is the easiest to change on any colour laser than I've ever used
and, like all HPs, it does "just work"

* Color - I'm not looking for 'wow - it looks like a photo!' - if I want
that I'll take my pictures to Kinkos. What I'm looking for color-wise is if
I print off a flyer or a web page then it looks nice.

In terms of colour, it has good colour matching. However, you are right,
the CLJ2550 is not a photo printer. For that you have to go for the new
CLJ9500 (which is an A3 departmental printer) and even then, it's not
as good as ink. However, the 2550 is good enough for flyers and adverts.

I'd also like duplex but that drives the cost up quite a bit.

I've looked into the HP4550 printers and would look into getting one if
there was a definite 'the old 4550 printers are great and built like a tank'
kind of recommendation (over the HP 2550).

I've done Google searches and really haven't come to a good conclusion about
this purchase. The HP 2550 looks like it'd do well in my home (it's just me
there) but I don't want to get it home and have to deal with problem because
I bought a cheap laser printer.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Found this at Epinions:
http://www.epinions.com/content_156222852740

The page-counting on the toner carts and drum bugs me a little. The fact
that a color print on knocks off 4 pages from the drum (and, presumably from
the article, the drum will stop functioning at 20000 until it's replaced) is
also a little troubling.

The next step up is the 3700 series (well, there's the 3500 series but I
really don't want a Win-Printer).

Of course, I don't know that I want to sink $1500-2000 into a new printer,
either.

Brad