HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553dn review

HP unveils a lean, mean printing machine ideally suited to busy workgroups

IT Pro Verdict

HP changes the landscape for workgroup colour printing as the M553dn delivers a superb range of features and rock-bottom running costs. It’s fast as well and the new toner provides quality output whilst keeping power consumption to an all-time low

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Compact design; High print speeds; Good output quality; Low running costs and power consumption; Fast duplexing

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    No integral wireless

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Features

Installation is nicely handled by an automated routine which registers the printer with HP's Connected service so remote workers can email prints directly to it. For Google Cloud, we simply entered the printer's Connected email address to register it.

JetIntelligence accurately monitors toner usage and we could see from the well-designed web interface how many pages each cartridge had left in it. Its anti-fraud feature also verifies the authenticity of the cartridges to ensure you don't get ripped off.

AirPrint is ready out of the box so we could print directly via our iPad 4 but if you want wireless networking, WiFi Direct and NFC go for the M553x model that has these built in. For the M553n and M553dn, you'll need HP's optional Jetdirect 3000w NFC/wireless accessory which won't be available until later this year.

Access security is excellent with support for LDAP and Active Directory allowing us to create list of users or groups and decide what features they were permitted to use. The printer also has 4GB of NVRAM so we could store jobs on it, secure them with a PIN and walk up and print them.

Conclusion

More revolution than evolution, the Color LaserJet M553dn is a superb choice for small businesses and workgroups with a high printing demand. The lack of wireless networking is a drawback but this printer's fine blend of value, low running costs, performance and excellent output quality means we have no hesitation in recommending it.

Verdict

HP changes the landscape for workgroup colour printing as the M553dn delivers a superb range of features and rock-bottom running costs. It’s fast as well and the new toner provides quality output whilst keeping power consumption to an all-time low

Print capability: 1200 x 1200dpi A4 colour laser. PCL5c, PCL6, PostScript 3 emulation, native PDF Speed: 38ppm A4 colour/mono Duty: 2,000-6,000 pages/month (recommended), 80K pages/month (maximum) CPU: 1.2GHz Memory: 1GB RAM (max 2GB) Interfaces: Gigabit, 3 x USB 2 Paper handling: 550-sheet input tray; 100-sheet MPT, 250-sheet upper output tray Duplex: Automatic Dimensions: 458 x 479 x 399mm (WDH) Weight: 27.5kgs Power: Auto Off/WoL 1W, Sleep 4W, Standby 34W, Active 617W Warranty: 1yr on-site Consumables: Standard toner: Mono (6K pages), £89; C, M, Y (5K pages), £111 each. High yield: Mono (12.5K pages), £123; C, M, Y (9.5K pages), £168 each; toner bottle (54K pages), £13; 220V fuser (150K pages), £112 (all ex VAT) Cost per page: Standard; Mono 1.6p, colour 8.2p: High yield; mono 1p, colour 6.4p

Dave Mitchell
Dave Mitchell

Dave is an IT consultant and freelance journalist specialising in hands-on reviews of computer networking products covering all market sectors from small businesses to enterprises. Founder of Binary Testing Ltd – the UK’s premier independent network testing laboratory - Dave has over 45 years of experience in the IT industry.

Dave has produced many thousands of in-depth business networking product reviews from his lab which have been reproduced globally. Writing for ITPro and its sister title, PC Pro, he covers all areas of business IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, network security, data protection, cloud, infrastructure and services.

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