Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 8500 N

Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 8500 N

WHAT'S HOT: Paper-handling. The 8500 N has two 500-sheet paper trays as standard equipment as well as a 100-sheet auxiliary feed, and they all support tabloid-size paper. The optional duplexer also can handle tabloid-size paper. The printer has HP's trademark crystal-clear control panel buttons and menus (with the exception noted below).

WHAT'S NOT: Output quality. The 8500 N prints text so pale that smaller type breaks up, yet it still manages to leave a slight shadow around letters; color graphics look somewhat blurry and the colors appear slightly off. HP also priced the 8500 N for only the most demanding applications, at $6800. Another minor irritation is that HP, which almost invariably finds the best design solutions for human interface problems, surprised us on the 8500 N by putting the control panel LCD at a nearly vertical angle that forces the user into a crouching position.

WHAT ELSE: Small consolation for sticker shock: This printer's consumables costs are the lowest of any color laser here, at only 1.6 cents per page for black and 8.5 cents per page for color--over the years, that can add up to some real savings. The 8500 N is also enormous: It comes on its own rolling cart, stands 42 inches high, and requires a patch of floor about four feet wide by five feet deep.

BEST USE: We can't recommend this printer to anyone until HP finds a way to improve the output quality. If and when that happens, the paper-handling capabilities may outweigh the stiff price tag for a large office.

SUMMARY

$6799

SUMMARY

800/752-0900 www.hp.com