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The 2600dn is the latest addition to HP's range of business inkjet printers. It has a duty cycle of 12,000 pages per month (ppm) and can handle media sizes up to Super A3/A3+ (329mm by 483mm).
The 2600dn is capable of full automatic duplex printing and is equipped with a 10/100Base-T adapter, in addition to standard parallel and USB interfaces. With a resolution of 1,200dpi by 600dpi, the 2600dn is capable of producing high-quality output.
Installation is quick and simple, and the 2600dn can be managed across the network via a web browser thanks to its embedded web server. This can be configured to send email alerts in the event of a paper jam or low ink levels.
The printer has two paper input trays with a total capacity of 400 sheets. These can be used for different-sized paper or for headed and continuation paper.
The printer driver is intuitive and simple to use, and offers the options of selecting output paper size or source (Tray 1, Tray 2 or manual feed), simplex or duplex printing, colour or monochrome output, output quality and so on.
To the left of the paper trays is the 2600dn's control panel. This has power and job cancel buttons, a small LCD and four menu navigation buttons. The LCD also displays a comprehensive list of error messages in the event of any problems.
The set-up menu is easy to navigate and can be used for diagnostic or configuration tasks.
The device offers a good degree of paper handling flexibility, with users being able to set media size and type for each paper tray.
It's also possible to set the printer up to complete a print job using media from the other tray if your selected type or size runs out. This is a useful option for a network printer, where an interrupted print job can cause delays for the whole workgroup.
The option is even more relevant to the 2600dn, since the job mismatch time-out (the length of time it takes the printer to recover from media size or type mismatch or an empty selected tray) can only be set to a minimum period of one hour.
Another option users will have to change from the installation default is enabling duplex printing. These configuration tasks can be accomplished from the 2600dn's front panel but, for day-to-day use, it's far simpler to manage the printer across the network via a web browser.
To the right of the paper trays is a large flap that covers the ink cartridges and print heads. These are high-capacity units (black, £28 ex. VAT; cyan, magenta and yellow, £24 ex. VAT; all 28ml) with a separate 69ml black ink cartridge.
Paper tray one can be used for all media types and sizes supported by the printer, but for individual print jobs there are manual feeds at the front and rear of the device.
Paper tray two is intended for larger media sizes and can't handle card stock. Its paper handling is exemplary and, in the event of a jam, access to the paper path is very good.
The duplex unit, which attaches to the rear of the device, can't be used for envelopes or heavy media, but works faultlessly with normal paper. The output tray holds 100 sheets, which should be enough for even the busiest office.
The 2600dn's subjective output quality is very good. Monochrome text is sharp and colour graphics are bright and vibrant. Photo quality output is also of a high standard.
In use, it's hard to achieve HP's claimed 8ppm (monochrome, normal mode), with speeds of 4ppm to 6ppm being more realistic. In the highest quality mode, colour throughput can fall to 1ppm, but this depends on image complexity. Output speeds in draft mode are closer to HP's claimed speeds of 15ppm (monochrome) and 11ppm for mixed text and graphics colour output.
One useful option is an MPI Tech Bluetooth printer adapter (£99.99 ex. VAT). Developed in conjunction with HP, the adapter plugs into the parallel interface and allows printing from any Bluetooth-enabled device within range, such as a PDA or notebook PC. The 2600dn supports PCL 5C, emulates PostScript 3 and has 45 built-in TrueType and 35 PostScript fonts.
It's possible to source a colour laser printer for less than the 2600dn, but low-cost models don't handle the same range of media sizes as the 2600dn (from A4 to Super A3) and few offer the same resolution or output quality.
However, if you don't need full-duplex printing and the 2600dn's network interface, the base 2600 model is available for £1,130 (ex. VAT).
The 2600dn is easily managed and offers full-duplex printing on a wide range of media sizes.
Price: £1,540 (ex. VAT).
Specifications:
OS: Windows 9x/NT 4.0/2000/XP
Engine technology: thermal inkjet
Print processor: 160MHz MIPS/167MHz ColdFire 4
Memory: 48Mb
Duty cycle: 12,000ppm
Interfaces: parallel, USB, 10/100Base-T
Contact: Hewlett Packard 0870 474 747
www.hp.co.uk
See also:
An A4 colour laser printer designed for the small business or home office. 20 Jun 2002
The 3320mfp is a capable business tool capable of performing most office chores. 24 May 2002All Inkjet Printers
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