In Short:
The CP4005n is the printer that Hewlett Packard wants to place in the small office category. It is basically a 4700n but with lower yield toners. The end result is a higher operating cost but a lower purchase price. Like it’s the 4700n, the HP CP4005n is very large and requires more space than other printers in this class due to the vertical configuration of the in-line imaging/toner units. Most people are surprised by the size when they see this printer in our showroom. Set-up was easy once the printer is unpacked and plugged into your system or network. The driver installation was straight forward. The CP4005n did well in most of our speed tests though it had one of the slowest warm-up times, (for actual test-print times from our lab go to the Printer Comparison page). Output quality overall is good and the text was sharp. This quality is more than adequate for most office applications like spreadsheets and presentations. The 600 dpi limitation does show up when printing hi-resolution graphics or any document with small details. HP’s Resolution Enhancement technology, (ImageRet), smoothes out low-res images and text but photos and hi-res images look washed out and dull as compared with other color lasers. Part of that may be caused by the flat look of the printed output generally produced by this engine even on glossy paper. Paper handling is good. The HP CP4005n can handle cover stock up to 80lb. from the MP tray. Both configurations include PostScript3 emulation, at least 128MB, IEEE 1284-C, USB 2.0, and Ethernet 10/100BaseTX. The CP4005dn has 256MB and also includes auto-duplexing. The supplies for this engine are similar to the 4700 in that the toner is also an imaging unit, (OPC).

The Bottom Line:
The Hewlett Packard CP4005n series is a big fast color laser printer that is adequate for most office applications but would not be the best choice for hi-resolution graphics or high volume printing. The printer works well with most all networks and is easy to set-up. Just like the 4700n, the CP4005n seems too big overall as compared to other competitive models. The biggest negative factor may be operating cost, however, due to the way the consumables are configured and used by the printer.