HP Color LaserJet 9500N 24/24ppm 160MB 500MHz 2/500SHT 1/100MP SHT

Size isn't the only big thing about the 9500n: It costs $6800. That seems like a lot of money for a printer, though the Xerox 7750DN costs about the same. The 9500n includes two 500-sheet feeders and a 100-sheet auxiliary tray as standard equipment. It also supports a 3000-sheet stacker that collates and staples; it costs $2020. The 9500hdn configuration includes a 2000-sheet tray that brings total capacity to 3100 sheets in four trays, as well as a duplexer and an internal hard drive--all for $9560.

We like the 9500n's design. The front opens French-door-style to expose the torpedo tubes where the toner cartridges and imaging drums slide in. A 250-page manual sits in a cubbyhole inside the doors--one of the few user manuals that HP still provides in paper form. Big flaps on the left and right sides provide access to paper jams. The control panel has a backlit LCD and crystal-clear hierarchical menus, with a plus sign to indicate menu items that have subitems, and arrows to indicate when you've hit the top or bottom of a list. The 9500n's control panel also has something extra: a numeric keypad for entering IP addresses, passwords, and other numbers directly instead of having to scroll through a list on the LCD.

Upshot: The Color LaserJet 9500n delivers excellent image quality and lots of paper-handling capability, but considering its high price, the fairly average print speeds are disappointing.

Dan Littman