HP's latest Color LaserJet CP1515n printer is a curious in-between printer that, according to the manufacturer, is aimed at providing “high-impact printing for near professional-quality business” and yet it seems more likely to appeal to home users and small businesses who want a back-up printer when their main high-volume machine breaks down.

It certainly has the weight of an office printer, carrying a chunky 18.2kg of mass in its 399 x 453 x 254mm frame. It also looks suitably unobtrusive with its two-tone shades of grey and minimalist controls, the latter consisting of a two-line, 16-character LCD display with simple menu controls beneath. Ease of use is definitely the main item on the agenda here, as the four toner cartridges come pre-installed behind the drop-down front panel.

One of the reasons we describe this as an ‘in-between' printer is that when it comes to, say, paper capacity, HP appears to have been in two minds about how many functions to include. The main paper tray only holds up to 150 sheets, which isn't very impressive as a main business printer, and the reason for this is because directly above it is a single-sheet multi-format feed.

This is a useful extra to have if you're already generating good volumes, but in this case maybe it would have made more sense to ditch the single-sheet feeder and increase the main tray limit to a more standard 250 sheets, especially as the current maximum output for one operation is 125 sheets.

Obviously cost is a big selling point with this printer, so you don't have a WiFi connection (although you do have Ethernet) or other gizmos like memory card readers, duplex add-ons or flash card inputs. You can, on the other hand, upgrade the RAM from 96MB to a maximum of 352MB to make things move a little faster and handle more complex print jobs.

You have little choice over print quality as the default resolution is 600 x 600dpi and, despite the use of HP's supposedly next-generation ColorSphere toner, the results in colour photos are dark, muted and lacking definition. Speed, though, is no problem as an A4 photo whizzed into the output tray in just 15 seconds. Black text averaged closer to 10ppm (as opposed to the official 12ppm) and by contrast with photos the blacks were bold, solid and razor sharp.

Speed is an issue, however, when starting any printing task, as you'll have to whistle for thirty seconds on average before any operation gets under way. There's also considerable post-operation noise after a print-out is completed, which might become irritating over a lengthy period.

Verdict
The Color LaserJet CP1515n is a bit of a puzzle as it has a solid build quality, high-grade black text quality and competitive pricing alongside restrictive paper limits, low quality colour photo printing and noise and speed issues.

Company: HP

Contact: 0845 270 4215

Tags: printers hp laserjet ethernet hewlett-packard liquid crystal display wi-fi memory card laserjet