HP Business Inkjet 2250TN

The effects of the advanced print engine were better seen when it came to colour reproduction. The 2250TN managed to successfully distinguish a 0.1pt white line in our colour performance test, which isn't often achieved. The colour fades and fills were also dealt with superbly, with minimal stepping. Photo printing was also handled well, showing good contrast and colour reproduction, although this was marred by slight graininess, and an occasional banding effect. Taking just five minutes, 33 seconds to print an A4-sized photo under PCL5, it's also fairly quick.

As a business inkjet printer, the 2250TN should be able to cope with a wide variety of print requests, and it copes remarkably well. The combinations of text and graphics in DTP documents were printed crisply and accurately, although again speed was an issue. It managed only 0.51ppm at the maximum print quality, though this was slightly faster than the 0.46ppm from the 990Cxi.

As a workgroup printer the 2250TN has all the features you need, although realistically it needs a larger paper tray. The print quality is superb, especially with regards to colour reproduction, and the new technology in the print engine and bundled network server all add to its appeal. Unfortunately, speed is a major criterion for workgroup printing, and this is the Achilles heel of the 2250TN. However, if you do a lot of specific colour printing, and don't mind waiting for the results, the 2250TN is worth considering.

Author: Gareth Ogden