Inkjet printer users are well acquainted with the swish swish of the heads shuttling back and forth across the page as they lay down their ink. That sound may soon be a mere memory, as HP Inc. launches its next generation of business desktop printers with stationary printheads, now branded PageWide.
PageWide technology has been available in HP's big production printers for some time. Instead of moving heads, it uses fixed modules that span the width of the page, and pulls the paper under them. Production printers like the HP PageWide Web Press can print up to 42 inch (nearly 107 centimetre) widths, and blast through paper rolls at 800 feet per minute.
HP's latest crop of PageWide printers, however, has more modest goals. It is designed for the small to mid-sized office, or for an enterprise workgroup. We had a look at the HP PageWide Pro MFP 577dw, the top of the line, which retails for $899.99 as reviewed. It's available through HP's retail partners.
The 577dw is not a dainty little desktop multifunction device. Weighing in at almost 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms), it measures a substantial 31.6 x 27.3 x 18.4 in when it's ready for action. Its duty cycle is as substantial as its heft. HP rates it at up to 80,000 pages per month, with a recommended monthly page volume of up to 6,000 pages.
Setup was straightforward: remove vast amounts of packing material, plug it in, turn it on, and follow the instructions on the printer's 4.3 inch (almost 11 centimetres) colour touchscreen to pop in the four individual ink reservoirs, add paper and wait a while for the initial charging of the ink system (it takes around 20 minutes). While that is going on, there's a good collection of software to install, either from the included CDs or via download. You'll find drivers and software for Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Mac OS X v10.6, Mac OS X Lion, Mac OS X Mountain Lion and Linux.
Connectivity choices are myriad. The printer has a 10/100 Base-TX Ethernet port, a high speed USB 2.0 port and 802.11 b/g/n wireless connectivity, as well as the phone connection for the fax. For smartphone users who want to print, you get near-field communications (NFC) – all you have to do is touch a NFC-complaint device to the designated spot on the device to get a printing connection. For mobile printing, it supports HP ePrint, HP Mobile Apps, Google Cloud Print v2, Apple AirPrint, Android Plug-in, Windows 8/10, Windows 10 Mobile, Chromebook and is Mopria-certified.
To protect customer data, the machine has a number of security features, including secure boot and secure code integrity validation to prevent introduction of bad code or malware.
A 50-sheet automatic document feeder on top scans both sides of the sheet at once, eliminating the need to flip double-sided pages over when faxing, scanning, and copying, and the flatbed scanner handles sheets up to legal size. Just below the control panel, you'll find a USB port that lets you print Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files from a USB stick, without the help of a computer.
The 577dw has a 500 sheet input tray, plus a 50 sheet multi-purpose tray,and can handle paper weights up to 110 pound (50 kilogram) card stock. You can tack on additional 500 sheet trays, though our unit only had the basic set. The output tray holds 300 sheets.
It needs good-sized trays — it's rated at up to 50 pages per minute (ppm) for both monochrome and colour in normal print mode, maximum 70 ppm in draft and 21 ppm duplex. Copier mode is a bit slower, at 40 ppm, or 26 ppm for two sided copies. While I didn't hit max speeds, performance was thoroughly respectable and relatively silent. Its automatic duplexing worked smoothly, without jams. There are other paper-saving features besides duplexing — the printer will also put multiple pages on one sheet, for example.
Text and graphics quality was very good, but don't think of this as a photo printer — picture quality was adequate at best.
HP offers three sizes of ink cartridge to serve all kinds of usage: standard (3500 pages black, $92.99; 3000 pages each colour, $105.99), High Yield (10,000 pages black, $185.99; 7000 pages each colour, $180.99), and Extra High Yield (17,000 pages black, $292.99; 13,000 pages each colour, $316.99). That puts the price of a full set of standard cartridges at $410.96, and the price of a monochrome page at roughly $0.027, and a colour page at $0.133 for the ink alone. High Yield cartridges cut the price per page to about $0.019 for monochrome and $0.097 for colour. The device comes with a set of starter cartridges good for about 3500 pages. The only other consumable is a waste ink container holding a sponge that soaks up excess ink if necessary.
Since this is designed as a business device, the 577dw can be managed both through its own management interface and through HP's enterprise tools such as Web Jetadmin. To protect customer data, the machine has a number of security features, including secure boot and secure code integrity validation to prevent introduction of bad code or malware. Output jobs can be locked until the user enters a PIN at the printer, and control panel functions can be locked to prevent unauthorized changes. The administrator can even control who can print in colour.
The device comes with a one year, onsite warranty; this can be extended.
Overall, the HP PageWide Pro MFP 577dw is a solid printer for the office or workgroup. It's fast, it's built like a tank, and its cost per page fits the most budgets. The big downside is the initial price. But if you can afford that, or have a managed print service provider who offers this device, it's a great choice.
Source → HP PageWide Pro MFP 577DW review: A fast and solid printer that�s built like a tank
