HP LaserJet 5L Review

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HP LaserJet 5L
2.9 stars
Average rating for this product is: 2.9 out of 5

From 7 ratings and 21 reviews

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ecogabriel's Review of HP LaserJet 5L Laser Printer

19th Jan 2008

Overall Rating

3.5 stars
  • Value for money
    3 stars
  • Ink Consumption
    Good
  • Ease of Set Up
    4.5 stars
  • Time Laser Printer Owned
    Over 1 Year
  • Print Quality
    4 stars
Good Points

Nice print quality, easy to set up and use


Bad Points

Paper feed jams! They happen more often as the printer ages.
Only parallel interface (no USB) (hey, it's an old printer...)
Base Memory (only 1Mb. of RAM) is not enough for printing large PDF documents


General Comments

I got this printer for free four years ago from a classmate.

The good: It has worked OK; printouts are crisp (I print mostly text) and the printer is fairly fast compared with some inkjets although it is not a speed demon compared with today's inexpensive laser printers that are way faster and have tons of more memory. Toner is not expensive especially if you are savvy - I bought a couple of cartridges from Ebay. Recharging used cartridges may also be an option.

The bad: Paper feed problem gets worse as printer ages.The feeding mechanism is awful and makes the problem worse -HP has abandoned the upright feeding mechanism long ago after the HP1100 I think. However, if you are technically inclined there are plenty of "paper jam kit" available from internet suppliers or on Ebay they are inexpensive (between $15-$30) and they work! But you have to disassemble your printer to get them installed though so beware. I installed one of those and the paper feed issues are gone.
Another problem: it come with only 1Mb. of RAM which is insufficient for printing PDF documents or complex printouts. Get the maximum amount of memory this printer manages (8Mb.); you can get it cheap ($10-$15) if you look for it. I did that and now the printer boasts 9Mb. Of RAM and no problem with complex printouts
Finally, no interface other than parallel. I do not know if the USB-to-parallel cables work with this printer; if they do then the interface issue may not be serious. Another way around is getting a network print server (like HP's jetdirect) and attach the printer to a network router; I did it this way and I can print from wherever in the network.

Bottom line: I would not pay money to get one; they are old and failure (as with almost anything mechanical and electronics) may be around the corner. Plus today's lasers are so inexpensive (no idea about quality though) that makes paying for one of these a nonsense. But I will gladly take one for free if all what it may need is toner or a paper jam kit fix.
Since I hate the idea of throwing more waste in the environment (and the fact that it still does its job) I'll keep my laserjet 5L running until it dies.

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