One of the largest form factor printers in our roundup, HP’s Colour LaserJet 1500L has a giant footprint. Although not unattractive, with a purple ramp-like front cover, be prepared to sacrifice a reasonably sized piece of office real estate for this printer.
Loading the 1500L is a breeze, since it uses a well thought-out barrel loading mechanism. Simply pop the hood and insert the first toner roll into the well-labelled recess, then spin the barrel with a dedicated button located on the chassis, insert the next toner roll and continue until all four CKMY toner rolls have been inserted. Following this, insert the large black toner roll, which is good for 5,000 pages, close the lid and away you go.
We encountered an interesting error during testing whereby only two consecutive pages could be printed when in 2-bit 600dpi mode; this was rectified when we put it back into normal 600dpi print mode.
Lacking network connectivity, this printer isn’t the quietest operator of the bunch; mechanical sounds were fairly audible even through the thick housing.
Similar to the Canon Laser Shot LBP-2410 in the TCO department, the two are the top two most expensive printers in the roundup for small and large quantity printing with the HP coming out more so at just above $6,200 over a two year 3,600 page monthly printing cycle.
The third most expensive printer for initial purchase outlay, TCO costs rise sharply as the print volume increases. Head to head the Canon LBP-2410 produced better quality print results, printed faster and with the lower plant cost, scored better in our value rating system and thus higher overall.
Not too shabby as a SOHO printer and consistent with HP’s range -- they’re big, bulky and expensive, but reliable so there shouldn’t be a need to claim on your warranty. Should you need to; the one-year next day on-site warranty will ensure your business downtime is kept to a minimum.