Subscribe to the Free Print Edition!
Celebrating 25 Years

GCN Home > July 12, 1999 issue

Easy-to-set-up LaserJet 2100TN printer is worth short wait

HP’s product gives good quality output to managerial types, despite slowness with large documents

By Michael Cheek
GCN Staff

Most offices have a few network laser printers scattered around for common use. A few managerial types get their own printers for confidential output or convenience.

The Hewlett-Packard Co. LaserJet 2100TN is just right for this particular executive privilege. It also serves as a small workgroup printer.

The 2100TN’s output looks good as or even better than that of the high-end HP Mopier 320 [GCN, Feb. 22, Page 25], probably because the 2100TN produces true 1,200-dot-per-inch resolution. The Mopier’s 600-dpi engine achieves a 1,200-dpi look through software enhancements.

I never waited long for documents from the 2100TN, whose 10-page-per-minute engine cranked out pages at almost the advertised rate.

I waited only 20 seconds to see the first page of a 180-page document. From mouse click to last-page clunk, the 180 pages took an hour. But the 2100TN paused several times during the large job, probably because its 8M memory buffer overloaded.

Small, five-page jobs finished in 45 seconds or less, not much slower than a 32-ppm Mopier.

Without an LED readout panel, I found it a little hard to figure out what the flashing red or green lights meant.

Green usually meant printing was under way, and red meant out of paper. I had no big problems except that one paper drawer was too large, so the printer would not print from it. I had no paper jams.

The 2100TN has a 10/100-Mbps HP JetDirect card, tucked behind a panel on one side along with the parallel port. No extra space is needed at the back for plugs or cables.

The panel gives a finished look for the executive suite, and the printer’s small 16- by 17-inch footprint fits the corner of a desk nicely.

I had no problem getting the little printer on the network using JetDirect Admin. JetDirect lets you monitor the 2100TN remotely without having to enter the executive suite or disturb a workgroup.

The 2100TN’s front infrared port permits printing from a handheld or notebook computer. Wireless printing from a palmtop running Microsoft Windows CE went without a hitch.

Several government contracts list the LaserJet 2100 family in these price configurations:
  • LaserJet 2100TN: $908 to $922 including PostScript Level 2 emulation, 8M of memory, JetDirect card, two 250-page drawers and a 100-page manual input tray for total 600-page capacity.
  • LaserJet 2100M: $730 to $741 including PostScript Level 2 emulation, 8M of memory, one 250-page drawer and a 100-page manual input tray for total 350-page capacity.
  • LaserJet 2100xi: $644 to $650 including 4M of memory, one 250-page drawer and a 100-page manual input tray for total 350-page capacity.


Box Score A

LaserJet 2100TN
Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif.;
tel. 703-204-2100
www.hp.com
Price: $908 to $922 on several government contracts

Pros and cons:
+ Good-quality output
+ Very easy to set up
– Slow on large documents

More news on related topics: Product Reviews



GCN Popup