HP Officejet Pro K550dtn: The World's Fastest Desktop Color Printer

Several months ago, a newly purchased ink cartridge exploded in my HP Officejet 990cse printer, causing major damage to the printer, my desk and the flooring below. After several attempts to have the beloved printer fixed, I finally gave in and called HP. They graciously agreed to replace the winged printer with the new Officejet Pro K550dtn, if I would return it to them. As promised, the new unit promptly arrived early the next morning.

First Impressions

The first thing that struck me was the size of the box it came in. The box was so big, the delivery person had to help me bring it into the house. Having had a relatively small printer for the past 9 years, I was unprepared for the size of this machine. ( 19.5"W x 19.8"D) Upon opening the box, I was, however, very impressed with the sleek looking black and silver unit. It smacks of professionalism and demands my attention when I walk into my office. Eager to know more about it, I immediately began the set-up process.

Set Up

Once I had it out of the box, set up was relatively smooth sailing. The first step was to install the 2 printer heads and 3 HP's Vivera ink cartridges. HP touts that you can print up to 2,350 pages before replacing the Black Cartridge and up to 1,200 pages before replacing any Color ones. I am extremely impressed at their claim for high production quota for very little cost! Next, I proceeded to the printer configuration and self-test phase. This process did take some time, however, I was rewarded with a test sheet that showed laser-quality text and professional quality color graphics. Elated to find I could share the printer with my other PC's, using the built-in Ethernet capabilities, I promptly loaded the drivers onto my laptop, as well. Finally, I discovered that I could still work as efficiently as I had once done with my 990cse because the unit came with automatic two-sided printing and an extra paper tray. (The extra paper tray allows for a total input capacity of 600 sheets of paper.)

Accolades

HP has dubbed the K550 the "World's fastest desktop color printer for business". It has won 14 National and International awards. (See resources) PC World, PC Magazine and Better Buy For Business, have honored it with 2005 and 2006 Editor's Choice Awards. An efficient high-volume producer, it spits out laser-quality documents with speeds up to twice the speed of a color laser, at a 30% lower cost per page. This translates into a cost to operate at 7.7¢ per Color page and 1.5¢ for Black ones. You can rely on an out-put speed of up to 37 ppm for Black and 33 ppm for Color. Even using the Draft Mode, I found the final print quality was excellent. You can print your photos with the K550, but the intended use is for office production. Stick with an Epson or Canon if your main interest is photo reproduction.

Advantages:
32 MB Memory
Two Sided Printing Capability
4800 x 1200 dpi Color Resolution
High Speed USB Connectivity
Laser quality prints on a Budget
Lightening fast Productivity
Network capability via 802.3 Wired Ethernet
Extra tray allows for 600 Sheet Input Capacity

Disadvantages:
Machine is larger than most
It can be noisy at times
Paper under 80 gsm tends to jam

It has been two months now since HP replaced my previous printer and I have had nothing less than a very positive experience. I have adjusted to the larger-sized, noisy Desktop because the trade off is a professional high-end product. Bottom line: If you want a reliable workhorse that produces exceptional laser- quality prints on a budget...then this top-rated printer is the one for you.