HP LaserJet 4250n Workgroup Laser Printer

This is a powerhouse of a printer. Single sided, it can print up to 45ppm, but most important for me is that the first page out after it is asleep is around 8 seconds. It generally takes me longer to walk the 20 feet to the printer.

This is the "n" version, so it has built in networking. Setting up the printer was very easy, as was setting up my own router. You do need to use HP's network printer installation software (or be very good with Windows to do it manually) if you are using a workgroup (like most home users) instead of a domain. But that software is a small download and is very easy to use.

Once the printer is setup, it is just another printer in your printers folder. Only a really fast one.

One definite plus to this class printer is the much lower cost of toner cartridges, from a price per page point of view.

For example, the high yield toner for my old (and very reliable) HP LaserJet 1200 is $82 from Staples. This toner yields around 3500 pages. The high yield toner for the 4250 is much more at $224 (also at Staples). But that is for a 20,000 yield toner.

Price per page, it is 2.3 cents per page for the 1200 but only 1.1 cents per page for the 4250. Less than half the cost for toner.

The other VERY nice thing about the 4250 is the easy that you can install a duplexer unit. The duplex installs into the back of the machine after removing one door (no tools required). The printer will automatically find the duplexer when you power it up and then add duplexing as a printing option.

For me, this was one of the key selling points of this printer. I have needed to print out several manuals in the 200 to 400 page range. If I print them single page, you end up with a stack of paper almost 2" thick. By duplexing the printing to both sides of the page, I cut my page use in half, plus I can use a smaller 3 ring binder to bind up the documents when I am done printing.

You also have a lot of options in how you configure the paper supplies and sorting. You can add up to two additional 500 sheet trays (a full ream of most laserjet paper) and you can also had a 1500 sheet tray that also acts like a printer cart if you REALLY plan on going through a lot of paper quickly.

For the paper sorting, you can add an optional stapler that will allow you to make "bound" copies of your smaller print jobs. Very handy if you have a 20 page presentation and you need 20 copies for a big meeting. And definitely faster than taking it to Kinkos or some other printing supply place.

All in all, this is a very heavy duty printer that is designed to work in large workgroups and be kept busy all day long. It is a fully repairable printer too, unlike the generally disposable home printers. If you are conscious of what you toss into the land fill, it is nice to have a printer that is cheaper to repair than it is to just toss it and buy a new one.

There are only two negatives of this class of printer: 1) it is physically larger than most home printers and definitely a lot HEAVIER than them. It's not a monster, but if you barely have room for your smaller printer, this one might not fit there without some changes. 2) It is definitely noisier when printing than most home printers. Of course, it prints so quickly that is is sitting nice and quite again before you know it.

The HP LaserJet 4250n is a great printer choice! The only thing about this model is that the optics need cleaning every once in awhile to keep it from printing lightly in the middle of the page. It is just part of the design of the printer. A lot of printer technicians do not know this and have trouble fixing this model of machine. They think it is running low on toner when it really isn't anything to do with the cartridge. We have seen it happen numerous times. If you want to save on your HP Toner buy it from Laser Cartridge Plus.

The refurbished HP4250 printer we purchased works really well - this was a great buy. We saved a lot of money and we now consider this a great alternative to buying brand new printers.

Great printer for the money. A workhorse of a printer- very dependable and very fast. No issues with the paper feeder or noise levels. It's a printer and it makes noise. Compared to others, this one is relatively quiet!

This LaserJet printer is one of the fastest and durable printers on the market in the last 8 years. It is inexpensive to run and very reliable.

But if it does ever break, I can rest assured that LaserSmith will repair for a great price and by a professional and courteous repair man.