HP DeskJet 5550 Inkjet Printer

by HP

Product Details

Product Manual [948kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 11.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000067R8W
• Item model number: HEWC6487C
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 1, 2002

Product Description

From Digital Living Today

It's only every once in a while that you come across a product that doesn't introduce new features, but rather improves the ones we come to expect to such a degree that it makes a splash. Hewlett Packard's new DeskJet 5550 Color Printer is just such a machine. The ink use is more efficient than ink jets of yore, and the resolution matches some of the best laser models available (and exceeds many others). 17 pages per minute in black and white, and 12 ppm color is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it's accompanied by an amazing 4800x1200 pixels of resolution on photo paper, allowing you to print incredibly sharp photographs on your home printer. Top it all off with an optional Ethernet connection for networking, and sell it at a price south of $200 and you've got a machine that arguably sets a new industry standard in high-quality, affordable, home and small business printing.

From the Manufacturer

With outstanding features and performance, the HP Deskjet 5550 produces laser-quality black text at up to 17 ppm and exceptional photo-quality color at up to 12 ppm. A great all-around printer at a great price, the HP deskjet 5550 color inkjet printer offers stunning photo-quality results with up to 4,800 x 1,200 optimized color dpi (on premium photo papers with 1,200 x 1,200 input dpi). Optional upgrades are available, including six-ink color printing, two-sided printing, and an Ethernet adapter for easy networking.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Immediate gratification - however, time will tell, August 14, 2002

By 

Ellen "Melon Bell" (South Bend, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP DeskJet 5550 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

Purchasing this printer was such a difficult decision for me. My main hesitation was a direct result of the ink cartridges (they are quite a bit smaller than those of the 900 series - black containing 19 ml of ink, and the tri-color containing 17 ml). I didn't want to buy this printer and then end up being afraid to print anything out because of my need to save ink. No one wants to buy a printer only to be a slave to the ink cartridges, plopping down $60 every time you turn around, right? After reading an independent reviewer say that the cartridges only decreased by a little more than 20% after printing out over 100 b/w & color images, I figured I'd buy it.
I don't think you will find a negative review on the quality of this printer - it's unlike anything I've ever seen: vivid colors, high resolution, stunning photograph-quality prints. Bottom line: if the ink-life equals the price we pay, then this is by far one of the best printers you will find on the market today. For those of you who have not yet bought a printer and are considering this one, you may want to watch for more reviews to come in regarding quantity vs. quality before making your final decision.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great all around home printer!, January 1, 2003

By 

Patrick Madigan (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP DeskJet 5550 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

After having used an HP laser printer at home for so many years, I was skeptical about buying an ink jet. They're slow, they gobble up ink, and if you get the printouts wet, the ink will run. Well, when I heard about the 5550 I knew it was time to "get color". And I was totally blown away by the performance of this affordable little printer.

Text and color graphics are great, of course. Color photos come out perfect, limited only by the quality of the source image. I even borrowed a good digital camera from work, and was amazed by the quality of photos produced by the 5550, far better than what we ever got from our regular 35mm camera. It's kind of a hassle to switch the ink cartridge and paper when printing photos, but if you only do this once in a great while, it's not a big deal. Takes just a few seconds.

So far I've printed a ton of pages, many with lots of color, and still haven't replaced any ink cartridges, so they seem to last quite a while. Plus, it's faster than my old laser printer. So I highly recommend this as a great HOME printer, especially if you'd like to print photos once in a while. For an office environment, I'd recommend sticking with laser (I've worked as a lan administrator, and have purchased a lot of printers over the years).

The only downside is that the ink on the printouts can run if you get them wet. But that's not likely to happen often, and the high quality color printouts are worth it. I believe that this is the best overall home printer available.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bargain Price For Quality, September 13, 2002

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: HP DeskJet 5550 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I have purchased so many printers over the years (less expensive ones) and they never seem to last. Although this one is new to me, I am completely impressed. It's fast - pumping out a page every 7-8 seconds and the quality on every type of paper matches my roommates LASER printer! I can see no difference and he paid $250 more than I did. The resolution is photo quality and this has never been true for me in the past. The ink cartridges cost the same as most machines, but are easy to find in any store (and here on Amazon.com). The sleek design is a bit much, but that's not really that important to me. Time will tell how long it lasts, but for this price, how can you lose? You can always send it back, but I doubt I will.