The HP Colour LaserJet Professional CP5220 series is specifically targeted at small businesses that may need to do a fair amount of A3 colour printing, whether it's for presentations and marketing materials or posters and photos for advertising purposes. Released at the same time as the almost identical CP4520 series (which is designed for larger enterprises), the range of the CP5220 series is for small workgroups of 3-15.

Like many heavy duty printers, you're going to need at least a couple of people to move this workhorse into position as it weighs just under a hefty 41kg out of the box and measures 545 x 599 x 338mm. Styled in conventional black and cream, the CP5225 model will fit comfortably into the office environment and there's a minimalist approach to controls and inputs.

The control panel on the front keeps all key functions to a minimum, with a 2-line, 16-character backlit front panel display, five action buttons (Cancel, Left arrow, Right arrow, Select, Back) and two LEDs (Attention, Ready). There are also indicators for ink usage for the four cartridges that are housed in the large front panel.

On the side is a flip-down in-tray that holds 100 sheets or twenty envelopes and in the base is the slide-in second input with a maximum load of 250 sheets of A4. An optional additional tray could be added underneath for a further 500 sheets should your needs be especially taxing.

The CP5225 comes in three versions, with network capability on the CP5225n and CP5225dn models and the standard high-speed USB 2.0 connection on all of them. Manual duplex operation is required on all but the CP5225dn model, which can do it automatically, but fortunately the minimum 192MB memory can be expanded to 448MB, which, allied to the 540MHz processor, aims to provide plenty of speed.

In reality, the 'up to 20ppm' A4 print speed promised for black text only manages a disappointing 8ppm at normal quality, although this improves greatly to 18ppm when set at 600dpi print resolution. The rate is much faster when it comes to colour printing, though, with glossy A4 photos of normal quality zapping out in 4 seconds and both matt and glossy A3 photos (in both standard and Vivid modes) emerging in 12 seconds.

Colour results were variable, with the solid, unbroken and deep blacks in text documents the most impressive. The Vivid setting for colour prints tended to over-emphasize the reddish hues and there was a general softness to the tones throughout.

Verdict
For small businesses needing to produce a large amount of A3 size colour photos or marketing materials, this is a nippy, uncomplicated workhorse that gets the job done with good but not exceptional results.

Company: HP

Contact: 0845 270 4142

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