This Printer is a Reliable Workhorse
Written: Mar 15 '03 (Updated Mar 07 '04)
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Pros: Fast quality printing, automatic duplexing, infrared receiver, two print trays, handles variety of media
Cons: Expensive -- a bit noisier than expected
The Bottom Line: An excellent printer that reliably produces professional copy, both text and gray-scale graphics. It’s expensive, but I’m glad I bought it. I would buy another one.
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| dlstewart's Full Review: Hewlett Packard LaserJet 2200dse Printer |
After 23 years of consistent use, my HP LaserJet III printer died. Not once had it needed repair. It did whatever I asked of it. A champion machine, it’s no wonder that when I extensively researched the printer market for a replacement, that HP printers headed the top of my list.
What I Like Best about the HP LaserJet 2200dse Printer
* It is built to last – a durable, solid machine
* It’s fast! Prints 19 pages per minute
* With 1200 x 1200 dpi, the print is crisp, grayscale graphics look great
* Has a built-in automatic duplexing feature for double-sided printing
* Has built-in paper trays – no more trays hanging into my work area
* Infrared receiver allows printing directly from PDA and other devices
* Toner cartridge prints 5,000 pages
HP LaserJet 2200dse vs. HP LaserJet 1200
As you can guess from my writing this review, I chose the HP LaserJet 2200dse. However, when first deciding between printers, it became a close race between choosing either a HP LaserJet 2200dse or a HP LaserJet 1200.
What ultimately sold me on the HP LaserJet 2200dse is its print quality, solid appearance, reliability, the duplex feature, the two paper trays, the infrared receiver. The paper trays are also an internal part of the machine. Since the paper tray is inside the printer, the paper is not exposed to as much humidity, which keeps the paper flat and easy to handle.
One thing that is a bit misleading regarding the two paper trays for the LaserJet 2200dse is that Paper Tray # 1 is not a pull-out tray. It is a flip-down door on the front of the printer that holds up to 100 sheets of paper (or labels, etc.). Paper Tray # 2 is a drawer located at the front base of the printer that slides out and holds 250 sheets of paper. The HP product literature that I’ve seen never mentions that Paper Tray # 1 is not actually a pull-out drawer.
Here are some side-by-side comparisons between the two printers:
The HP LaserJet 2200dse is listed first, then the HP LaserJet 1200.
Print Speed in Draft Quality -- 19 pages per minute (ppm) – 15 ppm
First Page out of Printer -- 15 seconds -- 10 seconds
Print Resolution -- 1200 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi) -- 1200 x 1200 dpi
Memory Comes With -- 8mb -- 8mb
Maximum Monthly Print Volume -- 40,000 pages -- 10,000 pages
Paper Trays -- 2 trays (100 sheet & 250 sheet) -- 1 tray (250 sheet), 1 priority tray (10 sheets)
Duplex Printing -- Yes (automatic) -- Manual duplexing possible
On/Off Switch -- Yes -- No
Average Price of Printer -- $750 -- $400
Average Cost of Toner -- $99 -- $65
You can understand my indecision. There isn’t too much difference between these standard features. There is a huge difference in price. I kept returning to the HP LaserJet 2200dse, though. The HP LaserJet 2200dse is a workhorse able to print up to 40,000 pages a month. The two paper trays enable me to have two different types of paper loaded into the printer, or the same paper can be loaded into both trays for a 350-sheet capacity (when one tray empties, the printer automatically feeds from the other tray). After the paper is printed, it falls into a holding area on top of the printer -- 8 1/2” x 11" paper fits into the holding area with no piece of the paper overhanging any edges (legal-size paper 8 1/2" x 14" overhangs the edge a bit). The automatic duplexing is a terrific bonus as I work with projects that require double-sided printing. The HP LaserJet 2200dse is built to last.
In comparison, the HP LaserJet 1200 has a flimsy plastic cover that sometimes doesn’t sit well over the paper. The end of the cover, away from the printer, is open to dust and humidity. After the paper prints and cycles through to the holding tray, the 8 1/2" x 11" paper overhangs the tray edge and will curl if left there. Cable installation for the HP LaserJet 1200 also requires a side panel of the printer to be removed, the cable connected, then the panel snapped back into place. I’ve read some horror stories about the difficulty of snapping that panel back into position. Also, the HP LaserJet 1200 has a larger footprint than the HP LaserJet 2200dse. On the positive side, I know someone who owns a HP LaserJet 1200 and is very happy with it (her only complaint is that the paper tray intrudes into her work area).
After weighing the pros and cons, I decided the HP LaserJet 2200dse best suited my needs. I also lucked into a good deal on this printer. Normally it sells for $750, but a store coupon for $50 and a rebate of $100 reduced the cost of the printer to $600.
What I Print
I produce a wide variety of documents. I’m a writer and print novel-length manuscripts, sometimes printing over 500 pages at a time. I also design web sites and print organizational charts, proposals and invoicing. I create a variety of spreadsheets, letters, envelopes, labels, and postcards ... as well as print promotional materials such as business cards, bookmarks, handouts and transparencies for presentations. In addition, I am editor of a literary journal and prepare the camera-ready copy. Being involved with several organizations means that I use the printer for correspondence, lists, reports, certificates and address books. As if that isn’t enough work for a printer, I also quilt and print quilt patterns.
What Comes in the HP LaserJet 2200dse Box?
* Printer (10" high x 16" wide x 17" deep – weighs 29 pounds)
* Power cord (does not come with parallel or USB cables)
* Toner Cartridge
* HP Laser Jet 2200 CD (includes drivers and user manual)
* Getting Started Guide (26 pages instructing how to set-up the printer)
Installing the Printer -- Easy!
1. Place printer on a flat surface, allowing room for ventilation
2. Install toner cartridge
3. Load paper into tray
4. Connect the printer cable (either a parallel or USB cable)
5. Attach power cord
6. Install printer software
Connecting the Printer Cable
The right side-panel on the printer easily swings open by pressing two buttons. There are three ports for connecting the cables, depending upon the cable type (parallel, USB or networking cable). I chose to use a USB connection, which offers faster printing than a parallel connection. Plug in the cable and close the side panel. The side panel is very easy to open and close.
Though I did not network this printer, note that the HP LaserJet 2200dse has the ability to network with the optional HP Jetdirect print server. I don’t know much about networking, so I can’t go into detail regarding this optional feature. However, the HP LaserJet 2200dn and 2200dtn models include "HP Jetdirect EIO internal print server for Fast Ethernet 10/100 Base-TX".
Installing the Printer Software
The "Getting Started Guide" instructs how to install the software on both Macs and PCs and the different operating systems. My computer automatically detected the new printer and walked me through an installation wizard. It’s a good idea to install the User Guide on the computer if there is room on the hard drive. The User Guide details all the printer features and how to use them.
Using the Printer Software
There are a variety of printing options available for the HP LaserJet 2200dse. Choose between four types of print quality (1200 x 1200 dpi at its highest resolution to 600 x 600 dpi at the lowest resolution). Select the size paper you are using (a variety of sizes are listed as well the option to optimize printing quality for labels, transparencies, etc.). Check a box to print in portrait, landscape, reverse order or text only (no graphics). Choose to print your document at normal size or smaller or larger. There is also N-up printing, which allows up to nine pages to be printed on one piece of paper. The duplexing feature also offers many different ways to print two-sided documents.
Automatic Duplexing
I’ve never seen a duplexing unit in action until this printer. Side one prints, then the paper halfway ejects from the machine and is pulled back into the machine to print side two. The completed two-sided copy is fed into the holding bin. Personally, I wouldn’t use the printer to do huge volumes of double-sided printing. I would take volume jobs to a copier facility and let their high-speed machines to do the work. This automatic duplex feature is a great, easy way to save on paper costs.
Cost of Ink
At first I was concerned about the high cost of toner cartridges for the HP LaserJet 2200dse. They retail for about $99.00 each. Then I did some research and discovered the price is misleading. This toner cartridge is an excellent value. One $99.00 cartridge can print 5,000 pages at a cost of a bit less than two cents per page (.019 cents).
The HP LaserJet 1200 toner cartridge costs about $65.00 and prints 2,500 pages, which makes the cost a little over 2 1/2 cents per page (.026 cents).
My old HP LaserJet III toner cartridges cost $95.00 and yielded 4,000 pages, which made the cost a little less than 2 1/2 cents a page (.023 cents).
HP has developed a new toner formulation and print cartridge for the 2200 series of printers. According to HP, their Ultraprecise Print Cartridge (C4096A) "ensures optimal printing of text and graphics ... superior detail and gray-scale quality ... 23% increase in yield over the previous C3903A print cartridge." I’ve printed a lot of material, both text and gray-scale graphics, and they look fantastic.
Summary
I highly recommend this printer to everyone. It’s a trooper. It has yet to jam, and each print is crisp and looks professional. If I had to choose one thing to complain about, it would be that the printer is noisier than expected. However, when the printer is not in use, it goes into a Power Save mode, so quiet I would never know the printer is on. If you need a printer that is reliable, prints excellent copy, does heavy volume printing and prints quickly ... the HP LaserJet 2200dse is a definite consideration.
I hope you have found this review helpful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
HP LaserJet 2200dse Printer Specifications
Printer Output: 19 ppm / First sheet out in 15 seconds
Max Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi (black and white)
Total Media Capacity: 350 sheets (1 250-sheet tray, 1 100-sheet tray)
Media Types: Paper, envelopes, transparencies, card stock, postcards, labels and recycled paper
RAM Installed: 8mb (expandable to 72mb ) -- DIMM 100-pin
Processor: 133 MHz RISC microprocessor
Language Simulation: HP PCL 5E, Adobe PostScript 2, HP PCL 6
System Requirements:
Operating Systems Supported: Windows NT 4.0, 3.1x (PCL 5e, 6), 9x, 2000, XP, Me, Mac OS System 7.5.5 and above, IBM OS/2, UNIX/LINUX
Required: 15mb free hard disk space, CD-ROM disk drive, USB port or (Windows only)dedicated IEEE-1284 compliant bi-directional parallel port
Warranty 1 year warranty Power AC 110/220 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Please read my other computer product reviews:
Belkin UPS for Home and Office
Logitech Cordless Optical Keyboard and Mouse
Sandisk ImageMate Compact Flash Card Reader
QuickPad Pro Laptop
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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