Perfect Office Printer (HP Laserjet 4050)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	HP Laserjet 4050
Date:	15/05/08 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: excellent print quality, quiet, low maintenence

Disadvantages: not for home or very small spaces

I was the first person in my office to get a laser printer and the one they chose for me was this HP 4050 LaserJet printer. I've had this for so many years I can't even remember when I had my previous one. This is probably one of the best printers ever made, and here is why.

First of all, this machine is extremely durable. We print hundreds of pages a week, and every page is as clear and crisp as the first one. Over the years, we've had to have the drum replaced twice, but that's hardly excessive, considering the number of pages we print.

The paper bin holds a full ream of paper (500 sheets), and we also purchased an extra bin to hold letterhead, which also holds the same number of pages. If you have some special paper or envelopes to print out, there's a flap that flips down on the front for putting those in. I've been able to use this for all sorts of unusual things including individual address labels and note cards. If the paper is particularly stiff, you might want to have the pages come out of the back of the printer so they don't get bent on the way out - which is usually on the top of the machine. That area also flips out, for very easy access.

This is also a fairly quiet machine and while it's no longer the fastest machine on the market at 17 pages per second, it also isn't the slowest. We never bothered to upgrade its internal memory of 8MB since it is very seldom that we need to send that much to the printer at one time. Still, if that isn't enough for you, it is upgradeable to 2GB.

If, by chance a page gets stuck in this machine, opening up the top and taking out the toner cartridge is the easiest way to grab those pages. This has happened so seldom that I can't remember the last time I had to do this. From this, you can already tell that changing the toner is a real snap - you just pull the old one out and slot the new one in. Mind you, like with every laser printer, the cartridges aren't cheap, but that should be expected. Since this is my work printer, I don't actually have to pay for these, but you should know that despite being a heavy user, we only need to change the toner 2-3 times a year, so it is also economical. And speaking of economy, this also has a power saver built in, so it doesn't use electricity when it isn't in use. The best part is it takes no time at all for the printer to warm up after it's been idle for a while.

The only drawback I can think of is that this is pretty large and wouldn't be suitable for a cramped space like a home-office.

I'd say that I can wholeheartedly recommend this printer to anyone looking for a monochrome printer for an office or small business. It will last you for years and years, doesn't eat up toner or electricity, hardly ever needs maintenance, and gives you page after page of perfectly clear printed documents. A full five stars from me!

Thanks for reading (and don't forget to rate)!

Davida Chazan © May, 2008 (for both DooYoo and Ciao USA)

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Technical Stuff:

While the HP LaserJet 4050 series has been discontinued, you can still buy these (in the UK refurbished for £346.63 from Ameiva.co.uk and in the USA from everprint.com new for $52.99, refurbished for $47.84 and Everprint refurbished for $42.69).
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Summary: An old, but reliable monochrome printer from HP

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