HP 2600n Color Laserjet w/networking $300 Sam's Club

[dkerfoot]

I was wandering through Sam's club the other day and saw they had HP 2600n Color Laserjet printers for $299. Color laser with built in networking for less than $300?

I am a big fan of HP printers, so I did some research that night and found good reviews. Excellent text quality, Good+ image quality, Decent color speed: 8ppm, Lousy B/W speed: 8ppm

Well, here are the specs:
* Type: Printer Only
* Color or Monochrome: 1-pass color
* Laser Type: Laser
* Maximum Standard Paper Size: Legal
* Rated speed at Default Resolution (Mono): 8 ppm
* Rated Speed at Default Resolution (Color): 8 ppm
* Duty Cycle: 35000 pages per month
* Input Capacity: 250 sheets
* Network-Ready: Yes
* Duplexing: No
* Cost Per Page (Mono): 2.9 cents
* Cost Per Page (Color): 14.9 cents

Pretty much exactly what I was looking for, but cheaper than I expected. Not having to pay to ship it (40 lbs) and having the option of an easy return if it dies in the first month or two are bonuses. HP Home and Home Office has refurbished ones even cheaper - $250 shipped - http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/pro...AR%2523ABA
but I decided having it today and being able to return it for any and every reason was worth the extra $50.


I have some glossy stock ordered. I was going to order a 1000 piece product flier print job in the next week or two that would have cost $400. I think I can achieve similar quality for about $250. Even better, I don't have to do all 1000 at once, so I can update things if they change.

[Holbren]

I have that printer and I think it's incredible for the money and even better than other brands for much more $$$.

Only think that anoyed me was the toner indicator went off and the machine stopped working when the page count hit I think 2500 which is what the cartridges are supposedly good for. I found out how to disable that and am still going on the original color cartridges but did replace the black.

[Holbren]

I should add that I use a HP4000N for all black and white printing because the cost per page is lower than the 2600N. If you do a lot of of B&W printing and the color is a novelty, make sure you check supply cost and cost per page costs.

I think the 7500 page black toner cartridges for the 4000 are the same as teh 2500 page cartridges for the 2600 and there are no knockoffs for the 2600, yet.

[Slik Geek]

Only think that anoyed me was the toner indicator went off and the machine stopped working when the page count hit I think 2500 which is what the cartridges are supposedly good for. I found out how to disable that and am still going on the original color cartridges but did replace the black.

I used to be a devoted HP printer user. I found them to be workhorses with great quality. Every laser printer at work was HP and we worked them into the ground. They just kept going, and going...

I purchased them excusively at work until I ran into that programmed road block that was intended to force the user to replace the drum. When I priced the replacement, I came to the realization that I had made a purchasing mistake. Besides that, the printer was troublesome. I figured up the per page cost and was astounded at the result. (I don't recall it being as good as dkerfoot found - maybe they have addressed that issue, as this was a few years ago). My conclusion was that it was way too expensive to operate. (I wasn't as smart as Holbren to find the work around on the programmed road block).

We abandoned the printer. Everybody hated it and was glad to see it go. (It was ironic because everyone loved the earlier HP printers).

I take exception to HP telling me when it is time to replace a component.
I no longer purchase HP printers. It will take a long time for HP to convince me to trust them again. I have an HP DeskJet at home that is giving me trouble (print quality - and yes, I use genuine HP cartridges). I'm about to give that printer the "heave ho" and the replacement won't be HP.

I'm glad that Holbren has has good success... I'm just too skeptical after my last two experiences.

Just wanted to share my experience to see if it was isolated - if not, then it is good caution to prospective buyers.