HP 2550L: earlier USB color printing with one 125-sheet input review

A basic earlier color printer for one compatible computer

The HP Color LaserJet 2550L is best assessed as an existing USB color printer with a small, attended paper supply. The standard L contains a 125-sheet multipurpose tray and computer USB and parallel ports. Larger paper cassettes and a network print server are options, so a photograph of a stacked family configuration can describe considerably more hardware than the base machine includes.

HP's exact US reference identifies Q3702A and explicitly marks it discontinued. No extra option suffix is invented here. Its original hardware is print only: a four-color laser engine, toner carousel, paper paths and job controls, without a scanner, copier, document feeder or fax. Generic supplies-page text claiming an ADF or automatic duplex does not match that physical configuration.

Plan around the 125-sheet multipurpose tray

The original capacity is up to 125 ordinary sheets at 75 g/m². The documented size range covers Letter, A4 and Legal, but the small input is still the same tray for each. Extend its paper support, load the print side up with the short top edge first, and move the guides until they lightly touch without bending the stack. Do not fan the paper or add sheets while the machine prints.

An optional 250-sheet cassette can reduce loading interruptions. A further optional 500-sheet feeder requires that cassette first and supports Letter and A4, rather than every longer size. Neither accessory is counted in this base assessment. The separate 125-sheet output bin is where finished sheets collect, not another input source.

Envelopes are supported in Tray 1, up to ten, with the rear straight output path opened to reduce bending. Labels and other supported special material also use that tray. Check the material's suitability for a laser printer, choose its type in the driver and remove ordinary paper before changing the job. Envelope capability does not mean an automatic envelope feeder or two-sided envelope printing is present.

Two-sided work is a driver-dependent manual process

There is no included automatic duplex routine. The original process prints the first side, requires the operator to remove unused paper from Tray 1, then reloads the printed stack with its blank side up and top edge first. A control-panel button continues the second pass. That is useful for occasional work when someone can remain near the printer, but it can become the main inconvenience in a large report.

The software restriction matters as much as the paper movement. The original guide excludes its PS driver and then-current Mac OS X from that manual-duplex feature. A surviving USB port does not guarantee that every modern driver exposes the same controls. Confirm a genuinely compatible computer and driver with a small job before depending on the old routine.

Keep connection and speed claims specific

Direct USB is the supported named finder route for the base L. Legacy parallel is another physical port, using an appropriate computer and cable. Network use needs the separately supplied external Jetdirect arrangement; the internal server included with the Ln and n is not borrowed here. AirPrint, Mopria and an included PIN-release workflow are unconfirmed, so no mobile or private-print promise is made.

The original installation connects the USB or parallel cable when prompted by the period setup software. That sequence and its historical operating-system list describe the original arrangement, rather than proving present support. Account for software availability and the actual cable before committing to an earlier machine.

For output speed, the original technical table and another original language edition distinguish up to 20 Letter black pages per minute from 19 on A4, and only 4 pages per minute in color on either size. A Swedish opening paragraph conflicts with that color figure; the technical table and independent configuration section control this assessment. No monthly recommendation is inferred from those rates, and these are maker declarations rather than our measurements.

Supplies and physical installation

The original L package describes black toner for about 5,000 pages and each color for about 2,000 at 5-percent coverage. Higher-yield color replacements and the separate imaging drum need their own identification. These older coverage-based declarations should not be relabeled as modern ISO yields or treated as the remaining toner in a used machine.

The bare L body is about 18.98 by 17.76 by 12.8 inches and 47.4 pounds, converted from the original metric specification. Leave space for the open input, rear output and service access. Check the electrical plate because separate regional supplies exist. Keep this configuration when its compatible USB setup and occasional color routine already work; prefer a documented current network or duplex printer when those functions are recurring essentials.