Office workers rejoice, high speed, reliable printing is here!
Written: Aug 28 '03
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Pros: Print speeds up to 22 ppm, reliable, wide-format printing, very upgradeable, no paper jams.
Cons: Needs a large area to operate properly, somewhat noisy when printing.
The Bottom Line: A great machine for small to medium offices with networked printing. Fast and reliable prints in a large variety of sizes. You won't regret purchasing the LaserJet-5100.
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| openroad's Full Review: Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5100 Laser Printer |
HP LaserJet 5100 Wide Format Printer
Key features on the 5100:
* 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution
* fast printing with speeds up to 22 ppm
* wide-format designed for CAD, desktop publishing, finance, and general office use.
* 16 MB on board ram, expandable to 192 through 3 open DIMM memory slots
* 300mhz processor for fast printing of complex large format jobs
* network capable with optional HP JetDirect 10/100 print server
* optional HP duplexer enables printing on both sides of each page
* dual paper trays: 250 sheet main feed with 100 sheet secondary
* recommended maximum monthly duty cycle: 65,000 pages/month
* accepts and prints a wide range of media sizes and types from 3”x 5” to 11”x 17”
* instant on fuser guarantees first page printed in under 13 seconds, even from Powersave mode
* Toner cartridge life expectancy: 10,000 sheets
* Toner cartridge replacement cost: $145 - $160
----- Overview -----
Working in our small family business, we tend to change slowly and keep a step or two behind the technological timeline. Up till this year, most of our day to day paperwork was still done by hand. As we slowly start to switch to a more computer-based office, we needed a large format (11”x 17”) printer that would be upgradeable with our needs. Since we’ve had great experiences with our HP LaserJet 1200 series printers, we looked to HP for our new unit. The 5100 is Hewlett Packard’s entry level model in the professional laser series. As the basic model, the 5100 doesn’t come with built-in networking like is bigger brother the 5100tn ($1500), nor does it have a duplexer like the 5100dtn ($2200). These features can be added to the basic model, but if you’ll be needing them eventually, it’s cheaper to just by the whole package from the start.
According to HP, the wide-format 5100 is; “Designed for any office that requires high-performance, fast, 11”x 17” printing at an affordable price”. This was their mission for the 5100, and this model has worked wonderfully for us over the past few months.
----- My experiences with the HP 5100 -----
When you bring your new printer to the office, (or maybe have it delivered, it’s no lightweight) you will find quite a few items in the box. Besides the printer unit, there is the toner cartridge (#C4129X), 100 sheet feed tray, 250 sheet oversize feed tray, power cord, printer software and online user guide CD, several control panel overlays in various languages, and the printer setup guide.
Pay very close attention to the setup guide, as there are many various packing/shipping materials that must be removed from the printer before powering it up. Failure to do so will result in damage to your printer. As with all HP printers, this doesn’t come with a printer cable. The 5100 uses a parallel cable, USB is not supported. Startup requires you to select a few options such as feed tray preference and language.
Once powered up, it will stay ready for a minute or two then go into powersaving mode. While in this mode the printer is whisper quiet, even the cooling fan won't annoy you. The activity window on the control panel displays the current action, such as powersave, printing, etc. It lets you know which tray the paper is feeding from, and other current information about the job that is printing.
The main 250 sheet feed tray has three internal adjustable “walls” that allow you to configure for any paper size: 8.5”x 11”, 8.5”x 14”, A4, 11” x 14”, and several other sizes are easily selected. Load tray 2 is set up to run either 8.5”x 11” or 8.5”x 14”. In our office we have tray 1 filled with 11”x 17" and the smaller tray has 8.5"x 11". It's very easy to select which tray you wish to print from using print software. HP offers upgrades to both trays that double their paper storage. The 5100 also offers PCL6, PCL5E, and full PostScript emulation.
This printer does generate a decent amount of heat when it's printing 100 sheets or more. Noise level is a bit on the loud side when in operation, but not higher than the average office copier.
----- Bottom line -----
We only have 3 months experience with this printer, but it has proven to be a real asset to our business. It prints wide Excell sheets with ease, and will spit out charts and presentation graphs without a hiccup. For a greyscale workgroup printer this is an excellent choice. The 5100 is overkill for a home printer, unless you must have 11"x 17" printing. For small to medium sized offices the 5100 is the perfect print center, and a great platform to upgrade in the future.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!
Openroad
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1350
Operating System: Windows
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