HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn Toner

The £500 HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn printer has been designed with small work-groups in mind and it has network capability, can print on both sides of paper automatically, and is rated at 20 pages per minute (ppm).

There are two paper trays at the front of the CP2025dn. One is a 250 page drawer and the other opens above it and can be used for different purposes. The front also houses the control panel which you can use to input print jobs and other commands.

USB and Ethernet leads can be connected at the rear of the HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn. It was easy to set up although it weighs nearly 53 pounds so you may need some help lifting it. It has four low capacity toner cartridges already installed and all you have to do is peel off some tape from them before you plug the machine in. When connected to a network the printer appeared without any problems.

There were no problems getting the software for the HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn installed. You just have to insert the accompanying CD into your computer and do what you are told. The printer will work with Windows operating systems from 2000 and up and Mac from OSX 10.2.8 and, while not provided, Linux drivers are available from HPs website.

The only consumables are the all-in-one toner cartridges, all four of which fit into a single horizontal tray that slides out from behind the front panel. The black cartridge, the CC530A, is rated at 3,500 pages and each of the colours, CC531a, CC532A and CC533A are rated at 2,800 pages. You can save money when using the printer by using non-HP cartridges which are far less expensive.

Print speeds for the HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn were more than acceptable at 20 pages per minute (ppm) for mono and colour. Prints are, generally, of a high standard. Mono text proved to be sharp and clear. Colour graphics were bright and stood out from the page.

High quality photo prints could only be produced using high quality paper. On 80gm paper prints were disappointing because of dull reds which resulted in inaccurate combinations of colours such as purple together with noticeable banding. Using higher quality paper produced much better results that were exceptional for a printer this cheap. Prints were sharp and detailed with vibrant and accurate colouring.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced (about £500), compact colour laser printer that prints high quality documents quickly, then the HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn should be on your short list. However if you plan on printing a high volume of colour document you will find it is relatively expensive to run, and good quality photos could only be produced using high quality paper.

You can get HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn cartridges here.

Theodore Beach is a long time member of the Cartridge Concept team which specialises in printer cartridges.