Your needs, this model
Does it fit your priorities?
Can native Ethernet color printing provide 375 ordinary Legal sheets and occasional envelopes?
Qualifies with earlier references enabled and compatible desktop software. The n includes its 250-sheet cassette and internal network server; envelopes still use Tray 1 as a separate routine.
Explore this need in the finder →Will USB A4 reports automatically print on both sides?
Fails. The n has the same attended manual-duplex routine; an extra cassette does not provide an automatic duplexer.
Explore this need in the finder →Can the included main paper cassette feed originals for network scanning?
Fails. Tray 2 supplies blank printing paper. There is no physical scanner or original-document feeder.
Explore this need in the finder →The n is the supplied-cassette configuration
The HP Color LaserJet 2550n is worth distinguishing from both the L and Ln when assessing an earlier printer. It includes the internal 10/100Base-T Jetdirect network server and a 250-sheet second paper tray, alongside the common 125-sheet multipurpose input. That makes it the configuration to consider when a compatible wired office setup needs fewer paper-loading interruptions without sourcing that cassette separately.
HP's exact US reference identifies Q3704A#ABA and marks it discontinued. This is an assessment of that included hardware, rather than a current offer or a promise about an individual machine's condition. It prints in color but has no scanner, copier, document feeder or fax. In particular, the lower cassette feeds blank paper into the print engine; it is not an original-document feeder.
375 ordinary sheets can include Legal
The original capacity basis is 75-g/m² ordinary paper: 125 sheets in the multipurpose tray and 250 in the included cassette. The cassette's media table explicitly lists Letter, A4 and Legal, so the supplied total is 375 for each of those sizes when both inputs are loaded appropriately. It is not necessary to reduce Legal input to the multipurpose tray alone on this model.
For longer paper, use the main tray's documented extension and adjust both sets of guides. Load only the supported paper, avoid overfilling or fanning the stack, and match the computer's size and type settings. Keep space around the extended cassette and any open output path rather than judging installation solely from the closed body.
A further 500-sheet tray is optional and supports Letter and A4. Its capacity cannot be added to a normal n package, or automatically applied to Legal. Inspect the actual accessories if a seller shows a taller printer. The original body table lists a separate, larger configuration with that feeder installed.
Envelopes, labels and other supported special material use the multipurpose input, not the main cassette. Up to ten envelopes are documented, with the rear straight output path used to reduce bending. Those jobs need their own material selection and loading routine. The output bin is separate from the input total.
Extra paper does not mean automatic duplex
The two-sided routine remains manual. A compatible driver prints the first side, after which someone removes unused sheets from Tray 1 and returns the printed stack blank-side up with the top edge first. A panel button resumes the second pass. The additional cassette reduces ordinary reloads, but it does not turn this into an unattended two-sided printer.
The original guide explicitly restricts its manual-duplex feature: the PS driver does not support it, and neither does then-current Mac OS X. Verify the actual computer and driver before relying on this workflow. Historical installation media and operating-system lists should not be mistaken for a present compatibility guarantee.
Use the included network server deliberately
Ethernet is native on the n. The original setup connects the printer to an active wired network port, prints its Jetdirect and configuration pages and locates the printer's IP address. Computer USB and legacy parallel are also available with appropriate separately supplied cables. Choose a compatible period-software route and confirm that a real print job works before planning a shared role.
Ethernet alone does not establish AirPrint, Mopria, Wi-Fi Direct or PIN job release. Those remain unconfirmed here. Generic toner-page language about an ADF or other advanced functions is rejected where it conflicts with the original print-engine configuration. A team needing current mobile printing or confidential held jobs should compare a model with the exact operating arrangement documented.
Allow for color speed, supplies and service access
The n inherits the common engine's declared rates: up to 20 black Letter pages per minute, separately 19 on A4, and only 4 color pages per minute on either size. The technical table and an independent original language edition support those distinctions despite an erroneous opening sentence in the Swedish guide. An extra paper tray does not accelerate the color engine, and these figures are not our measured results.
The original n describes black toner for about 5,000 pages and colors for about 4,000 each at 5-percent coverage. Its imaging drum is separate, with life depending strongly on black versus color use. Verify the precise cartridge and drum identities rather than treating those declared figures as remaining supplies or modern ISO yields.
With its included cassette, the original metric body converts to about 18.98 by 17.76 by 14.8 inches and 52.7 pounds. Allow service clearance and inspect the electrical plate because separate regional supplies exist. Keep this model when its compatible wired color routine already works; prefer a documented current duplex or multifunction printer when its manual handling would create a recurring obstacle.
Key details at a glance
| Color printing | Yes |
|---|---|
| Scanner | No |
| Copying | No |
| Fax | No |
| Flatbed scanner | No |
| Automatic document feeder | No |
| Automatic two-sided printing | No |
| Automatic two-sided scanning | No |
| Single-pass two-sided scanning | No |
| Color scanning | No |
| Instructed envelope handling | Yes |
| Included ordinary-paper capacity | 375 sheets |
| Declared one-sided mono Letter rate | 20 pages/min |
| Declared one-sided color Letter rate | 4 pages/min |
| Unit-body width | 18.98 in |
| Unit-body depth | 17.76 in |
| Unit-body height | 14.8 in |
| Unit weight | 52.7 lb |
| Imaging engine | laser |
Use the exact model’s instructions for operating limits, supplied equipment and version differences.
Paper, software and setup details
Print-rate conditions
Exact original n inherits the common engine: technical table/independent Chinese original support up to 20 Letter black ppm, 19 A4 black ppm and 4 Letter/A4 color ppm. Swedish opening 16-color-ppm sentence conflicts and is not used. No exact recommended monthly workload or maximum duty established here, and no measured performance claim.
Paper handling
n includes 125-sheet Tray 1 plus 250-sheet Tray 2, original 75-g/m² ordinary-paper basis. Tray 2 explicitly supports Letter/Legal/A4, so supplied ordinary input is 375 for each named size. Optional 500-sheet Tray 3 is excluded and supports only Letter/A4. Legal needs the main-tray extension. Envelopes up to ten, labels and other special material use Tray 1 with documented rear straight output. Manual duplex refills Tray 1 through compatible driver controls; output capacity separate.
Scanning arrangement
Original print-engine, parts and control configuration has no scanner, copier, original feeder or fax. The included paper cassette is not an ADF for scanning originals.
Computer and mobile connections
Exact n includes computer USB, IEEE-1284 parallel and internal HP Jetdirect 10/100Base-T Ethernet. Network setup connects an active wired port and uses the printed Jetdirect/configuration IP page with compatible period software. Included Wi-Fi/Wi-Fi Direct is not established; no mobile protocol is inferred from the Ethernet server.
Supplies and declared yields
Original n configuration and supply table declare black around 5,000 pages and each included color around 4,000 at 5-percent coverage. Exact Q3704A maker table identifies Q3960A black, Q3961A/Q3962A/Q3963A 4,000-page colors and Q3971A/Q3972A/Q3973A lower-yield alternatives, plus separate Q3964A imaging drum. Standard A4/5-percent basis, not ISO yields, measured remaining toner or current US stock. Drum life differs by black versus color use.
Software and support
Original manual duplex excludes the PS driver and then-current Mac OS X. With suitable driver controls, first-side output is reloaded into Tray 1 blank-side up/top edge first and resumed at the panel. Exact legacy driver/software compatibility must be checked for the actual computer; historical OS lists do not promise present support. AirPrint, Mopria and included PIN release remain unknown.
Electrical edition and setup
Exact discontinued US Q3704A#ABA established. Original n with included 250-sheet Tray 2 is 482 × 451 × 376 mm and 23.9 kg, about 18.98 × 17.76 × 14.8 inches and 52.7 lb, cartridge basis unstated. Optional third-tray body is taller and excluded. Allow Legal extension, open rear-output and service access. Separate 115–127-V and 220–240-V, 50–60-Hz editions lack an independently established actual-plate mapping, so mains unknown.
Sources for this assessment
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