-
CNET editors' rating:
2.5 stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 61 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The good: Inexpensive; easy to use; great black-text quality.
The bad: Prints text slowly; expensive toner; mediocre color-graphics quality; USB cable not included.
The bottom line: This HP is affordable if you want a simple color laser printer with wired networking, but it's sluggish.
Specifications: Printer Type: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color; Max media size: Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in); Connectivity technology: Wired; See full specs
Price range: $297.99 - $649.99
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 06/30/2005
- Released on: 05/10/2005
The two-tone gray HP Color LaserJet 2600n measures a compact 16 by 18 by 15 inches (WDH). Two sturdy handgrips in its base make this 40-pound machine easy to move. In order to keep production costs down, HP cut corners in ways that are difficult to forgive. For example, the control panel on the top-right corner of the machine features a tiny two-line LCD that's hard to read because it's set at an awkward angle and lacks backlighting. The control panel provides buttons to move across the menus and drill down through them, but not to climb back up; so after setting a menu item, you have to jump back to the starting point. In other words, to save money on a plastic button, HP designed a control panel that accesses only one menu item at a time.
Still, HP got some of the 2600n's design elements right. The enclosed paper drawer at the bottom holds 250 sheets, and you can add a second 250-sheet drawer for $149--pricey but essential for a workgroup that prints a lot. Adjusting the paper drawer's width and length guides for A4 or legal paper was painless. The auxiliary tray for alternative media and envelopes includes a unique, easy-to-feed single-sheet bypass slot. The 2600n's front wall flops out on sturdy hinges to expose the four combination toner-cartridge and imaging-drum units, whose convenient handles make changing components easy.
HP deserves credit for not exaggerating the Color LaserJet 2600n's print speed. Its advertised 8 pages per minute (ppm) for black text was close to the poky 7ppm clocked by CNET Labs' tests. Color graphics printed at a more reasonable 6.3ppm. That's fast enough for most home offices, but not for any workgroup of more than a few people. (CNET tested the 2600n over a USB connection; Ethernet performance may vary.)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
Color graphics | |
Color text | |
Black graphics | |
Black text |
In terms of print quality, our plain-text samples looked great, with a crisp black that few color lasers achieve, and sharp, clean letters, even at 2-point size. It also printed grayscale graphics well, with some blotchiness in areas but good detail, particularly on photos. The weakest area was probably color graphics: gradients made abrupt transitions, solid colors had odd mixtures of extra colors, and photos came out unpleasantly dark and brown, though they did preserve detail well.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
|
Color graphics | |
Color text | |
Black graphics | |
Black text |
Click here to learn more about how CNET Labs tests printers.
Upkeep for the 2600n is expensive. A page of black text uses about 3 cents' worth of toner, and a lightly covered color page uses about 15.3 cents' worth, according to vendor specs. However, there are no other consumables to replace, and HP provides full cartridges in the box instead of the increasingly common half-full "starter" cartridges.
The HP Color LaserJet 2600n ships with a competent setup poster but no manual. The only other information is in a help file, but it's one of the better ones we've seen. HP covers the 2600n with a standard one-year warranty that generously includes paid next-day shipping exchange and toll-free tech support on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. A three-year warranty extension costs a hefty $169.
- See more CNET content tagged:
- workgroup,
- color laser printer,
- Konica,
- HP,
- laser printer
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 61 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 61 user reviewsSee all 61 user reviews
-
17 out of 19 people found this review helpful
-
15 out of 15 people found this review helpful
"This printer is one of the best printers for home and home-office needs with good quality print."
-
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
-
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
-
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
- See all 61 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
Where to buy
HP Color LaserJet 2600n:
$297.99 - $649.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com
|
$649.99 | See Site |
|
|
$354.35 | Yes |
|
|
Neximaging
|
$299.99 | Yes |
|
|
$599.00 | Yes |
|
|
Alwayslowest.com
|
$351.00 | Yes |
|
