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The Way We See It
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| Excellent |
| Good |
| Average |
| Poor |
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| Setup |
6.3 |
| Print Quality |
6.5 |
| Speed |
5.5 |
| Paper Handling |
6.0 |
| Supplies |
5.5 |
| Service/Reliabilty |
6.0 |
| TOTAL |
35.8 |
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In Short: The Hewlett Packard Color LaserJet 2500 series is a desk-top color laser printer about half the size and weight of most business class models. The HP 2500 is available in several configurations starting under $1000 for the 2500L and going up to $1799 for the 2500tn. All versions of the printer print at 600X600 dpi and include 64MB RAM, parallel & USB ports, PostScript3 emulation, and a 125 sheet multi-purpose tray. The 2500 includes a 250 sheet feeder and the 2500n adds a network Ethernet 100 Base T internal print server. The 2500tn ships with an additional 500 sheet feeder for a total capacity of 875 sheets including the MP tray. The print quality is ok for most business applications but the 600 dpi limitation shows up on small details and color accuracy. The black text looks good but the color has a grainy-ness to it. At a maximum rating of up to 4ppm in color and a slow processor, this printer won't be setting any land speed records anytime soon. The five main replacement supplies are in a carousel inside the printer. They are accessible once you open the hood on the bread-box shaped printer. Replacing toner is a little more time consuming but that is a minor inconvenience. Like all other HP personal lasers, the 2500 series lacks a front panel display for messages or any menu navigation. Unlike their business class models like the HP 4600, the 2500's one-year warranty is a ship back to HP warranty instead of the normal on-site warranty.
The Bottom Line: The HP color LaserJet 2500 series is a small color laser that will fit on a desk. The printer is much slower and more limited compared to most business class color lasers, but not much slower than other personal color lasers. A relatively high cost per page and limited paper handling make this printer undesirable for most office users. In addition, by the time you get the network version 2500n, you're already in the price range of more significant network color laser printers. It seems as though you are paying a premium for the small footprint and at the same time giving up performance. Unless you really need the small size, you should look at the lower end of the business class models, which will be cheaper and more serviceable in the long run. The 2500 works well in the UNIX, Mac OS, and Windows environments.
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