With prices dropping into the sub-$500 arena, laser printers–even multifunction lasers–are moving into the home, but the HP Color LaserJet CM1017 MFP is too expensive for the average home user. It is, however, a good choice for the small or home office user who needs high-quality laser prints–particularly graphics–but not necessarily fast prints. For $700, you get a network-ready color laser multifunction printer that prints, scans, and copies, and includes built-in media card readers, a rarity for laser printers. We think the HP CM1017 is a good choice for small offices that need great image quality from a laser, such as realtors and insurance agents.
Although multifunction laser printers are generally office-oriented, the HP Color LaserJet CM1017 MFP lacks fax functionality, which may be a deal breaker for some offices. On the other hand, it does provide a feature that’s relatively uncommon among laser printers: media card readers for printing photographs. You can print decent-quality photos on plain paper or on HP’s laser photo paper, a feature that can be useful in certain industries such as real estate or insurance.
The HP CM1017 comes with a 300MHz processor and 94MB of RAM standard (upgradeable to 224MB). It sports an Ethernet port for networking, or you can attach it directly to a PC via USB 2.0. Duplex, or two-sided, printing is a manual operation, as the HP CM1017 lacks a built-in duplexer.
As we mentioned before, the ability to print straight from a memory card is an uncommon feature on laser printers. With the HP CM1017, not only do you get the ability to print photos, but you get a decent range of features to boot. You can preview the contents of your card on the color LCD via a slide show or by manually clicking through the range of images. When it comes time to print, you can choose among a range of print sizes, paper sizes, and paper types, including HP’s laser photo paper. You can even choose to print a range of photos (by photo number, not date). And best of all, you can print an index sheet of all the images on your card or a proof sheet. The index sheet includes the photo number, the file name, and the date it was taken– all great references. The proof sheet lets you bubble in the images you want printed, select your paper type (plain or glossy), and a select a layout (from one image per page up to six images per page). Then you simply scan the proof sheet, and the printer takes care of printing the images for you. These aren’t photos you’ll necessarily want to frame and hang, but the ability to print good-quality photos on a laser printer is a very useful tool for some offices.
The HP CM1017 uses HP Q6000A black laser toner cartridge for about $75 and uses HP Q6001A, Q6002A and Q6003A color laser toner cartridge which cost about $89 each.