HP Color Laserjet CM2320n - A No Frills High Speed Machine
HP Color LaserJet CM2320n The easiest and arguably most accurate way to describe the HP Color LaserJet CM2320n is as a "no frills high-speed machine.
" It's possibly HP's answer to the rantings over its earlier models - the CM1312nfi, for one - that offered some fancy features, marketed as laser printer "must-haves", but lagged behind, literally, in output speed.
At first blush though, the Color LaserJet CM2320n may not seem to offer you such a bargain.
After all, this new printer-copier-scanner model costs about 20% more than the year older CM1312nfi, yet has done away some of the latter's features like the color LCD screen and the memory-card reader.
When it comes to SOHO (small office and home office) printers, however, I'd choose speed and efficiency over sleek and fancy features.
And that's the CM2320n's major come-on - an amazing rated output of 21 pages per minute, whether printing in color or black-and-white.
You'll find that a faraway better deal than the CM1312nfi's rated speed of 12 ppm for black and 8 ppm for color.
Industry tests, I've learned also record "first print" times for this model at 20 to 30 seconds, with successive prints at two seconds - whether printing from a cable or wireless over a network.
Just as impressive is the LaserJet CM2320n's print quality.
This is attributed to the HP ImageREt 3600 engine which, as explained by its marketers, positions pixels so the printer's 600 by 600 dpi engine can mimic 3600 dpi resolution.
For a small office, the CM2320n is meant to be and possibly best set-up on a network rather than as a USB printer for a solo operator.
Thus, the printer is accessible and responsive to any machine on the LAN, with the proper driver installed, without going through printer sharing or print servers.
On top of this, the HP installer can locate the printer on the network so you don't need to get into IP addresses, which I've always found rather tedious and confounding.
You get the same rather basic templates for several kinds of jobs, from envelopes and glossies to snapshots and labels, and options such as printing multiple pages per letter-sized sheet.
What I believe they overlooked, which I think is necessity for color laserjet SOHO users and which some laser drivers have, is a toner-saving mode for printing at reduced resolution.
Actually, you can always manually lower print quality to 600 dpi in monochrome mode, but I've always felt the option to economize should always be offered and easily accessed.
In the looks department, the CM2320n does not fall too far behind its peers.
The flatbed scanner is poised atop the 60-pound laser printer, with a space in between for the paper output.
Up front are the two paper input trays: a manual feed door that pops open as needed, and a drawer-style 250-sheet tray.
You get to glimpse the 4 toner cartridges also through the door to the manual input tray.
Paper jams are cleared through a door at the rear end, where you'll also find the 10/100 Ethernet and USB 2.
0 connectors.
The provided software drivers support both Windows and Mac OS X.
The Windows installer took rather long to finish.
Besides drivers for PCL6 and PostScript 3 emulation, the software also installs a TWAIN and WIA driver for the scanner.
The best advice I'd give to anyone considering getting the CM2320n is to prioritize your needs.
If print output speed and quality are high up there, or even at the top of the list, I'd say - go for it.
What you save on time will eventually translate to savings in cash.
" It's possibly HP's answer to the rantings over its earlier models - the CM1312nfi, for one - that offered some fancy features, marketed as laser printer "must-haves", but lagged behind, literally, in output speed.
At first blush though, the Color LaserJet CM2320n may not seem to offer you such a bargain.
After all, this new printer-copier-scanner model costs about 20% more than the year older CM1312nfi, yet has done away some of the latter's features like the color LCD screen and the memory-card reader.
When it comes to SOHO (small office and home office) printers, however, I'd choose speed and efficiency over sleek and fancy features.
And that's the CM2320n's major come-on - an amazing rated output of 21 pages per minute, whether printing in color or black-and-white.
You'll find that a faraway better deal than the CM1312nfi's rated speed of 12 ppm for black and 8 ppm for color.
Industry tests, I've learned also record "first print" times for this model at 20 to 30 seconds, with successive prints at two seconds - whether printing from a cable or wireless over a network.
Just as impressive is the LaserJet CM2320n's print quality.
This is attributed to the HP ImageREt 3600 engine which, as explained by its marketers, positions pixels so the printer's 600 by 600 dpi engine can mimic 3600 dpi resolution.
For a small office, the CM2320n is meant to be and possibly best set-up on a network rather than as a USB printer for a solo operator.
Thus, the printer is accessible and responsive to any machine on the LAN, with the proper driver installed, without going through printer sharing or print servers.
On top of this, the HP installer can locate the printer on the network so you don't need to get into IP addresses, which I've always found rather tedious and confounding.
You get the same rather basic templates for several kinds of jobs, from envelopes and glossies to snapshots and labels, and options such as printing multiple pages per letter-sized sheet.
What I believe they overlooked, which I think is necessity for color laserjet SOHO users and which some laser drivers have, is a toner-saving mode for printing at reduced resolution.
Actually, you can always manually lower print quality to 600 dpi in monochrome mode, but I've always felt the option to economize should always be offered and easily accessed.
In the looks department, the CM2320n does not fall too far behind its peers.
The flatbed scanner is poised atop the 60-pound laser printer, with a space in between for the paper output.
Up front are the two paper input trays: a manual feed door that pops open as needed, and a drawer-style 250-sheet tray.
You get to glimpse the 4 toner cartridges also through the door to the manual input tray.
Paper jams are cleared through a door at the rear end, where you'll also find the 10/100 Ethernet and USB 2.
0 connectors.
The provided software drivers support both Windows and Mac OS X.
The Windows installer took rather long to finish.
Besides drivers for PCL6 and PostScript 3 emulation, the software also installs a TWAIN and WIA driver for the scanner.
The best advice I'd give to anyone considering getting the CM2320n is to prioritize your needs.
If print output speed and quality are high up there, or even at the top of the list, I'd say - go for it.
What you save on time will eventually translate to savings in cash.