Dan Littman

HP Color LaserJet 4600n

HP's LaserJet 4600n produces essentially perfect text--clean, evenly weighted, and solid but not too bold or too heavy. It also does a great job on gray-scale graphics, with fine detail and realistic shading. Its color-printing speed of 3.1 pages per minute is the fastest of any printer we've tested--almost a page per minute quicker than the average speed turned in by color lasers we've tested to date. Its text-printing speed of 10.8 ppm is just above average. Operating the 4600 is easy, with toner trays that slide into horizontal racks, and a backlit LCD to help you see your way through the simple, hierarchical menus. Network managers will appreciate the 4600's browser-based controls, which are accessible from remote locations.
We were a little disappointed with the 4600's color output quality; though not terrible by any means, it paled in comparison to the unit's attractive text and gray-scale output, looking somewhat overexposed and lacking in fine detail. HP's extensive online manual covers unpacking and assembling all the components via the control panel, and you also get a brief printed set-up guide, but there is no mention of installing the printer. The online manual has information on configuring a network. We were able to guess our way through the USB installation.
The basic 4600 model costs $1999 without a duplexer or network interface. The 4600n model that we tested includes a network interface, bumping the price to $2369. If you need duplexing capability on top of that, you'll have to buy the 4600dn configuration, which costs $2499. A 500-sheet paper feeder is an additional $399 and works with any version. The LaserJet 4600's print path is vertical, and the printer is more than 22 inches tall to accommodate it. That could put the control panel and output tray out of reach if the printer rests on an ordinary office table, especially when it's stacked on top of an extra 500-sheet paper-feeder. On the other hand, the design makes the entire paper path easily accessible for clearing jams.
With fine text and adequate color printing, the 4600n is a good choice for businesses looking for a jack-of-all-trades printer.

Buying Information

HP Color LaserJet 4600n $ http://