HP 5500 Ink
Designjet 5500 Ink Cartridges

HP 5500 Printer Review

Those looking for a large format inkjet printer should take a peek at the HP DesignJet 5500. With print speeds of as fast as 1.5 minutes per page using the color HP 5500 ink, needs of offices will definitely be met, and resolutions of 1200x600 dpi are possible too using its six DesignJet 5500 ink cartridges. The paper is roll fed, although sheet fed options are included too. There is also an automatic cutter and a take up reel included.

Windows, Linux and UNIX operating systems are all compatible with the 5500. As far as connection goes, buyers can do this via parallel port. A size of 96x27x50 inches makes this machine a little difficult to find a spot for in small offices. It is also hard to move around with muscles alone because there is a 264 pound weight to worry about, but thankfully wheels are included on the bottom that make it easy to push around.

The six HP 5500 ink cartridges used inside are filled with cyan, magenta, black, yellow, light cyan and light magenta printer ink. These tanks of DesignJet 5500 ink come in two different sizes—standard and high capacity. The standard capacity tanks should last about 1,000 pages each, while the high capacity options last around 1,312 pages each. This will make most buyers quite happy, because ink shouldn't need to be replaced too often. The high capacity size is definitely the better buy, because for only a few more dollars buyers can get a lot more prints.

Though replacement HP 5500 ink shouldn't be too expensive, buyers should seriously consider remanufactured printer ink which are available from third party vendors. These cost only a fraction of the OEM price. Both the standard and high capacity HP 5500 inkjets can be purchased in the remanufactured version.