HP LaserJet 5L Reviews

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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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Average Ratings for HP LaserJet 5L

  • Quality3.1 stars
  • Print Quality4.2 stars
  • Ease of Set Up4.9 stars
  • Value for Money3.4 stars
  • Reviewer Ratings3.3 stars
  • Overall Rating2.9 stars

21 Reviews For HP LaserJet 5L

  • echo6 21st Jul 2008

    Reviewer rating: 1.5 stars


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    Good Points: Compact space saving design. Print quality.


    Bad Points: As with most HP products, I have had to constantly unstick paper jams. This printer has more than its share of paper path issues it jams more frequently than not for me.


    General comments: Overall this is a machine I would pass on, I have experience with three of them. While the print quality and small foot print are attractive the machine just does not work consistently, unacceptable paper handling capability, constantly jams therefore I do not recommend the HP LaserJet 5L laser printer.

  • Guest 3rd Mar 2008

    Reviewer rating: 3.5 stars


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    I've had mine since they came out 10+ years ago. It's provided excellent service for my modest needs - low cost, low volume, but high text printing quality.

    The paper feed was a known issue even then - it came with a little sticker to affix on it, "Remove paper before reloading". That didn't work so I've been manually feeding it one sheet at a time, but it's small enough to sit next to my keyboard and I seldom print more than 3-4 pages at a time. The fact that it uses a parallel port and not US ...

  • ecogabriel 19th Jan 2008

    Reviewer rating: 3.5 stars


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    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 wo ...

  • linuxbot3000 Rank: Lance Corporal 28th Dec 2007

    Reviewer rating: 3.5 stars


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    Good for very light duty printng as of the page feed problem makes it hard to use for heavier work.

  • derrymore 18th Feb 2007

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    I have this printer since 1997 - 10 years. However a month ago it made a discreet click and since then the yellow (fault) light stays on and it doesn't work at all. There is no obvious problem like something loose or dropped into it.

  • kittyshack 28th Sep 2004

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    The HP 5L is a great, inexpensive printer with one common flaw, paper jam. I have owned 3 of them now and wouldn't hesistate to recommend them to any readers out there if they can get them for a good price. Cost of ownership is fairly inexpensive, just get a high yield toner and you're set.

  • krazykirk 13th Jun 2004

    Reviewer rating: 3.5 stars


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    I think this Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5L laser printer is pretty cool. I got it for free off my dad. It prints pretty fast and isn't that big. It was really easy to set up - plug & play! One problem I found is that when the paper gets low, it starts taking a few/all of the pages at once! To get around this problem...

    1.Keep the paper full.
    2.Feed only 1 page at a time.
    3.Replace the roller thingy.

    Also, I can't figure out how to get the toner out!

  • vladski 7th Jun 2004

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    I had my Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5L printer for 7 years, and yes it does take about 10 pages at a time, but the trick is to keep the loading tray full and also it sometimes refuses to print pdf files if its more than one page, the solution for that one is just press the print button on the actual printer.
    Otherwise great printer, good quality and fast printouts....the main thing is not to get too frustrated, although I did though it against the wall once and did punch it and kick it around... ...

  • David Castle Rank: Lance Corporal 12th May 2004

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    The Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5L is a great trouble-free Laser printer. One must use dry paper though. Fast print. Great for recycling used paper.

  • martindale 5th Mar 2004

    Reviewer rating: 1.5 stars


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    The Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5L is an excellent compact desktop laser printer when new. Unfortunately, it ages quickly with a rapid tendency to develop paper jams, sometimes pulling the entire stock of paper through with the desired printout. HP are aware of this problem and offer a "tool" to sort it out - it never did much good in my case.
    Also the cartridges are prohibitively expensive!

  • corbtrain. 26th Jan 2003

    Reviewer rating: 0.5 stars


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    Don't even except one of these printers for free. You will either end up breaking something more expensive from frustration or throw away your money on repair kits that don't work

  • Lori Ruff. 4th Nov 2002

    Reviewer rating: 0 stars


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    When the 3 prong is in pluged into thw wall and I hit print 3 different color lights come on, and it says it has committed an elegal act, and will now shut down. If it's pluged into the circuit
    plug on top of the desk, and I hit print it does the same thing won't print, or attempt to.
    Sincerely Lori Ruff

  • John. Rank: Lance Corporal 30th Jul 2002

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    This Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5L is a fantastic home/small office printer. The detail is excellent when doing fine print details, such as printed circuit board traces onto transparencies. It's not lightspeed fast, but so what, I use it as it was intended. If you develop the multi-sheet feed problem, just get the replacement kit from fixyourownprinter.com. It's much cheaper than getting a new printer, and the printer feeds like a champ, as good as new. No more multi feeds.
    I guess after so many ...

  • Ian. 26th Jun 2002

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    Paper jams and multiple page feeds became a problem after 5 years of moderate office use on my Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5L Laser printer. The fixyourownprinter.com replacement parts ($29) look better than the HP parts. Kit takes about 40 mins to fit, and the video that comes on the CD is pretty damn good. Since then, no misfeeds or multiple feeds. Printer is just as good as the day I purchased it.

  • rtphokie. 12th Jun 2002

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    I bought my Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5L printer 6 years ago and it still runs great. It's uncomplicated and it just works. I've tens of thousands of sheets of paper through this thing and it just keeps on working. When the rollers got a little slick from use,I rubbed them down with some rubbing alcohol and they were good as new. I wish the bigger, more expensive HP printers at work were this reliable.

  • chimp1. 9th Feb 2002

    Reviewer rating: 1.5 stars


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    Probably pretty soon parts won't even be available for the Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5L printer. I noticed, at least here in the USA (in Raleigh, NC) this printer was nowhere to be found in any of the stores like Staples, office max or any of those. So it must now be a 'legacy' printer. You are better off buying a new printer of some kind and if you're not planning to do tons of printing, I would go with the ink jet technology or some 'all in one' kind of printer.

  • Nick. 26th Jan 2002

    Reviewer rating: 3.5 stars


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    The Hewlett Packard Laser Jet 5L printer is pretty good.

  • filarxos. 24th Nov 2001

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    Overall good print quality. I solved the multiple paper jams by ordering a spare part for free from HP web site. It then works just fine.

  • bubba. 4th Nov 2001

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    This product has certainly paid for itself. It has been fairly reliable.

  • Jim. 25th Jul 2001

    Reviewer rating: 1 stars


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    Overall I would not recommend it, not even if it someone paid you fifty bucks to take it!!