Hewlett-Packard (known for short as HP) is an information technology company that comes from California, USA. They are well known for their desktop and laptop computers as well as their digital cameras. But most of all, they are known for providing high quality printers. HP’s printers seem to be so good, that once a person has bought one, when on the look-out for replacing it, they still chose HP. On top of that, they also offer a varied range of consumables, like special photo paper and ink cartridges.

The HP Laserjet series is pretty old on the market. The first printer from the Laserjet line became available for use in 1984. It was known as, simply, the Laserjet. Later on (probably when more models were released) it started being referred to as the Laserjet Classic. In the fall of 1991, the first color Laserjet printer hit the market, which was a major achievement for US-based Hewlett Packard.

One example of HP’s quality is the HP Laserjet 5500 color laser printer. Let’s start by saying that it is a floor standing printer, quite bulky and space consuming. It’s pretty safe to say that in 99% of the time it will end up in a rather large office with a workgroup of over 10 people relying on it. Since it was designed to handle multiple print jobs, the printer has some pretty advanced features and hardware. It’s meant to be a workhorse, that almost never breaks down or fails to print. Its maximum resolution is of 600dpi, and it has a built in 400 Mhz processor (that allows better speeds to complex printing, like color images, for example). While it may intimidate you with its size, in all reality the printer is very simple to use.HP understood that in an office environment people need to move fast and not be bothered with complex navigation menus.

One thing that doesn’t really make it a top notch printer is the printing speed. At 22 pages per minute, it could have done much better for a pretty expensive device. Another down side is it’s low paper capacity of 600 sheets. Since it’s a workgroup printer, several users can and will print documents at the same time on a daily basis. Now, unless there’s a designated person that will re-stock the printer with paper every time it runs out (which will probably happen often), this will cause a bit of frustration.

What it does good is printing color, rather fast and in high quality. It also fits well in an environment where users will require larger size printing. The HP Laserjet 5500 color laser printer has no problem with 12 x 18 inch tabloid extra or A3 prints. It also offers pretty high capacity toner cartridges.

As a conclusion, the HP Laserjet 5500 is just as sturdy and reliable as most HP products, but somewhat more expensive than similar printers with comparable features. What you seem to be buying, when paying the money, is a guarantee that the printer will continue functioning, without needing repair, for years on end.

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