HP Makes an Even Better Impression

Hewlett-Packard's LaserJet 4000 brings better performance in a smaller package and ushers in a new communications standard.

Alex Pournelle

Hewlett-Packard's newest workgroup printer, the LaserJet 4000, bests its predecessor, the LaserJet 5, in speed and compactness. The 17-page-per-minute printer -- BYTE's Best of Show winner at Fall Comdex -- also introduces a communications technology, called JetSend, that could become the lingua franca of all network devices.

I tested the 4000TN , which has two 250-sheet paper-input trays, a manual paper tray, 8 MB of RAM, and comes with JetDirect 600N print server software. Its new fe atures include a 1200-dot-per-inch (dpi) marking engine and a 100-MHz NECVR4300 processor.

My first impression of this printer, as usual with HP products, is that it's solid. It installed easily, and it printed every standard PCL5 or 6 test page I threw at it without incident. With the supplied work-alike that comes on expansion ROM, it also printed PostScript. Additionally, the ProRes 1200-dpi setting, which runs the engine at half speed, produced noticeably blacker blacks than the full-speed FastRes at 1200 dpi.

I was impressed with the printer's options and upgrade possibilities. The LaserJet 4000 offers expansion of up to 100 MB of RAM, using three 32-MBSIMMs. Options include a third 500-sheet paper-input tray, 75-envelope feeder, duplex printing handler, PostScript-clone ROMs, and local hard disk storage.

I was also pleased with the LaserJet 4000's drivers, which support bidirect ional and parallel communications on Windows NT (though Microsoft won't have native OS support for this until NT5.0). Bidirectional communication is also available on a Windows or a Macintosh network with the JetDirect 600N Print Server, which comes standard with the 4000TN.

JetAdmin 2.5 software provides network IP address configuration and the ability to view available printer memory and jobs queued. In my tests, JetAdmin did have some problems with NT4.0 Server. There's a new version, Web JetAdmin 3.0 (which is now available for downloading from http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/software/hpwjnten.exe.html ), but it was not available at test time.

The LaserJet 4000TN is a fine addition to HP's expansive line of departmental printers. With the PostScript-c lone option, and 1200-dpi ProRes, it's also a great desktop publishing printer. For anyone needing a workgroup printer, the potent combination of speed and quality should make this LaserJet the first one to look at.

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Where to Find

Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4000TN...........$1599
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Santa Clara, CA
Phone:    800-752-0900
Internet: http://www.hp.com

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HP LaserJet 4000TN Ratings

Technology	*	*	*	*	*
Implementation	*	*	*	*
Performance	*	*	*	*
Key: ***** Outstanding, **** Very Good, *** Good, ** Fair, * Poor

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Still Power Performing After All These Years

photo_link (78 Kbytes)

The HP LaserJet 4000 prints up to 12 00 dots per inch, at 17 pages per minute, and weighs just 45 pounds.

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Alex Pournelle (Pasadena, CA) is a computer integrator and data-recovery specialist. You can contact him at alexp@earthlink.net .