HP Color LaserJet 3600n

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CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 16 reviews
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Product summary

The good: The HP Color LaserJet 3600n is well designed, handles paper well, and has a low cost for consumables.

The bad The bad: The HP Color LaserJet 3600n has limited expandability options and its text quality is not up to par.

The bottom line: The HP Color LaserJet 3600n is an average-performing color laser printer.

Specifications: Printer Type: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color; Max media size: Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in); Connectivity technology: Wired; See full specs

Price range: $285.45 - $511.99

See all products in the HP Color LaserJet 3600 series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Dan Littman
Edited by: Felisa Yang
Reviewed on: 05/26/2006
Released on: 10/28/2005

The $700 price tag on HP's Color LaserJet 3600n seems steep for an individual buyer but modest for a small workgroup seeking a network color laser. Unfortunately, its text quality leaves something to be desired and its expandability options are limited. Lexmark's similar C522 sells for $200 less and provides better text quality, though Lexmark's cost per page is slightly higher than HP's and the difference may add up over time.

The 60-pound 3600n is small and has deep handholds, so one person can carry it easily. The printer's front wall folds out to expose the paper path, four integrated toner cartridge/imaging drum units in a vertical rack, and the image-transfer belt clipped inside the front wall itself. The design couldn't make jam-clearing and maintenance any easier. However, the wall and hinges could be sturdier. The main paper tray also feels wobbly and has no stop when you pull it out, so users should be careful not to drop it. The paper-width and paper-length guides are easy to adjust. In addition to the enclosed 250-sheet tray, the printer has a 100-sheet auxiliary feed; you can add a 500-sheet feeder for $250.

A two-line backlit LCD on the 3600n's top panel displays a complete set of menus, which we found easy to navigate with buttons for drilling down through menus, selecting items, and backing out. The 3600n comes with 64MB of memory and unfortunately, you can't expand that, nor can you add a duplexer, which makes expansion options very limited. If you need those extras, consider HP's 3600dn, an $849 model with a duplexer and twice the memory.

The 3600n prints black text at a reasonable 13 pages per minute (ppm) and color graphics a bit faster, at 13.5ppm; for comparison's sake, the Lexmark C522n prints text at 14.2ppm and graphics at 12.3ppm. But if saving money is your real priority--and you don't print much color--consider Ricoh's inkjetlike G700, which prints fine text at 12.1ppm but drops the ball on graphics speed and quality.

See more CNET content tagged:: Lexmark,; HP,; printer,; laser

User reviews

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 16 reviews
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Showing 3 of 16 user reviewsSee all 16 user reviews
5.0 stars

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

"Great printer - after firmware update!"

by bb-miler on April 7, 2007

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0.5 stars

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

"If it actually works out of the box, it's a good printer"

by mvagenas on April 11, 2006

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4.5 stars

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

"Great product but noisy..."

by uahogs on August 28, 2007

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HP Color LaserJet 3600n

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Where to buy

HP Color LaserJet 3600n: $285.45 - $511.99

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$499.99	Yes
	$349.99	Yes
	$285.45	Yes
	$299.00	Yes
	$499.98	Yes

see prices from 12 stores

Reviews from
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maclife.com

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: . For small businesses and home offices that print over 200 pages per week, a color laser printer such as the 3600n is a cheaper and faster way to print than an inkjet printer or a service bureau.

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macworld.com

Editors' rating: 70

Summary: Unlike some entry-level printers, the 3600n does offer upgrades like wireless networking, duplexing units, and additional paper trays. Unfortunately, even though its text and fine line printing are excellent, the overall output was a little light

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pcmag.com

Editors' rating: 40

Summary: The HP Color LaserJet 3600n does okay on performance and text quality, and reasonably well on graphics. But its price and subpar image quality keep us from strongly recommending it.

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pcworld.com

Editors' rating: 74

Summary: The estimated cost per color page is low--11.5 cents. Better yet, HP ships the printer with full-size cartridges that are rated to print 6000 black pages and 4000 color pages--a $501 value

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