The HP Color LaserJet 3550n is a color laser printer designed for the small or medium office environment.  It offers excellent print quality and fairly fast speeds, but its lack of processing power and expensive add-ons make it hard to justify its price. 

The HP 3550n is a fairly bulky printer, measuring 19.7 inches by 18.4 inches by 17.6 inches, and weighing 69.7 pounds.  Some of this bulk comes from its color printing engine, which takes up considerably more internal space than a monochrome printer.  The rest of the bulk comes from its large paper capacity.  The main paper tray can hold 250 sheets and the bypass tray can hold 100 sheets.  If more paper capacity is needed, a 500-sheet drawer can be added on later, but it is quite expensive, much more than the price of buying a printer with more capacity to start with.

Despite the LaserJet 3550n being seemingly geared toward networked environments, it does not have a built-in ethernet port, but instead comes with a JetDirect print server included, which plugs into the unit’s USB port and provides network access.  There is virtually no difference between using the print server and using an internal ethernet port, but it does add an extra piece of hardware that could get lost or stolen in the office.

The HP 3550n relies on the computer to do most of its image processing, which can sometimes slow down printing speed, especially in a busy office.  This design usually has benefits, though, as it often brings the cost of the printer down.  The 3550n, however, is around the same price as printers with more robust processors, making it hard to justify the cost.  Print quality is excellent for both text and graphics.  Print speed is decent, at 15 pages per minute for black and 4 pages per minute for color.

Overall, the HP Color LaserJet 3550n is a fairly inconsistent printer.  Print quality and speed are very impressive, but can’t overcome the processing limitations and its high price.

The HP Color LaserJet 3550n is a color laser printer designed for the small or medium office environment.  It offers excellent print quality and fairly fast speeds, but its lack of processing power and expensive add-ons make it hard to justify its price. 

The HP 3550n is a fairly bulky printer, measuring 19.7 inches by 18.4 inches by 17.6 inches, and weighing 69.7 pounds.  Some of this bulk comes from its color printing engine, which takes up considerably more internal space than a monochrome printer.  The rest of the bulk comes from its large paper capacity.  The main paper tray can hold 250 sheets and the bypass tray can hold 100 sheets.  If more paper capacity is needed, a 500-sheet drawer can be added on later, but it is quite expensive, much more than the price of buying a printer with more capacity to start with.

Despite the LaserJet 3550n being seemingly geared toward networked environments, it does not have a built-in ethernet port, but instead comes with a JetDirect print server included, which plugs into the unit’s USB port and provides network access.  There is virtually no difference between using the print server and using an internal ethernet port, but it does add an extra piece of hardware that could get lost or stolen in the office.

The HP 3550n relies on the computer to do most of its image processing, which can sometimes slow down printing speed, especially in a busy office.  This design usually has benefits, though, as it often brings the cost of the printer down.  The 3550n, however, is around the same price as printers with more robust processors, making it hard to justify the cost.  Print quality is excellent for both text and graphics.  Print speed is decent, at 15 pages per minute for black and 4 pages per minute for color.

Overall, the HP Color LaserJet 3550n is a fairly inconsistent printer.  Print quality and speed are very impressive, but can’t overcome the processing limitations and its high price.