HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M653x: 1,200-sheet color workgroup printing review

A color workgroup printer with three included paper feeds

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M653x is a print-only color laser for a substantial office workload. HP's exact US page identifies J8A05A#BGJ and marks it discontinued. This review concerns the documented 100–127-volt, 50/60-Hz configuration. The separately specified 220–240-volt version is different hardware, so the model name alone is insufficient when checking an imported or previously owned machine.

The x configuration matters. Its original model column includes a 100-sheet multipurpose feed, the main 550-sheet tray and another included 550-sheet feeder. Together they provide 1,200 ordinary sheets at the stated paper basis. Optional additional feeders, high-capacity equipment and stands are separate purchases. A listing showing several cabinets underneath the engine needs an inventory of the actual included parts.

HP rates this model at up to 60 Letter pages per minute in black or color, separately 56 A4. The recommended monthly printing range is 2,000–17,000 pages; the 120,000-page maximum duty cycle is a different specification. These are original maker figures, not performance measurements from this review. HP also classifies the US product for a commercial environment, which suits the intended shared office role.

Included Wi-Fi Direct is different from office Wi-Fi

The standard computer connections are USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. The exact x column also positively includes Wi-Fi Direct, allowing a compatible nearby device to establish a direct wireless print connection. That does not make the printer a standard client of the office's wireless router. Infrastructure Wi-Fi requires the optional Jetdirect 2900nw accessory.

For an ordinary shared office setup, connect Ethernet to the local network and install a compatible printer driver on the computers. A phone can reach that wired printer through the same local network. HP documents AirPrint and Mopria support; the original AirPrint instructions require the appropriate shared network or subnet. The phone's Wi-Fi connection and the printer's Ethernet connection can coexist without adding a radio accessory to the printer.

The direct-wireless routine is listed separately here. Its basic printing capability does not inherit every duplex setting, mobile protocol or private-job feature established for a computer driver. Likewise, an optional accessory's NFC or wireless instructions should not be treated as proof that every such function exists in the included configuration.

Duplex paper and envelopes use different procedures

Letter, Legal and A4 are supported through the included feeds and the automatic duplexer. Set the tray guides and control-panel size and type correctly, then select the matching driver options. For ordinary plain paper, the exact US specifications distinguish the multipurpose feed's broader weight allowance from the 60–163 g/m² guidance for the main feeds and duplex path. A heavy stock accepted somewhere in the printer is not automatically approved for two-sided printing.

Envelopes use Tray 1, with up to ten loaded face down and their top edges toward the front. Select the correct envelope size, Envelope media type and instructed manual-feed settings. This is not the same loading orientation as every other HP laser. The original guide directs labels to Tray 2 or a 550-sheet feeder, rather than Tray 1. Neither envelopes nor labels are assigned an automatic-duplex promise in this review.

Quoted capacities concern ordinary sheets under HP's loading conditions, not thick media or envelopes. Keep enough space to open the trays, reach the rear and service the cartridges. The consistent body width and depth are approximately 20.08 by 18.03 inches. Published height and weight information uses conflicting configurations or inconsistent conversions, so this review leaves those figures unknown instead of using an uncertain cabinet footprint.

Temporary private jobs do not require the optional hard disk

The original guide explicitly supports storing jobs in printer memory and releasing a Personal Job with a PIN through a compatible computer driver. This establishes temporary PIN-held printing without assuming that the optional 500 GB hard disk is installed. Select the private-job mode, set the PIN and release the job at the printer. A temporary personal job is normally deleted after printing and can be lost when power is switched off.

This is a print-only machine. It does not acquire a scanner, copier or fax function from software on a computer or phone. The private-job routine is also different from a printer administration password or a PIN used to pair a wireless connection. Verify the actual driver and release procedure with the intended computer before depending on it for office documents.

Check cartridge identities as well as nominal yields

The original supply table identifies 655A cartridges CF450A black, CF451A cyan, CF452A yellow and CF453A magenta. HP's original ISO/IEC 19798 report declares approximately 12,500 black pages and 10,500 composite color pages for that set. The higher-yield 656X family uses CF460X through CF463X. These are declared replacement yields under specified test conditions, not the remaining life of cartridges installed in a used printer.

An exact US page contains a malformed magenta part number. The actual original manual table, HP's exact CF453A cartridge page and its yield report agree on CF453A, which is the identifier retained here. For an office with a verified US electrical configuration, the correct included feeders and a suitable connection, the M653x offers substantial color-print capacity with clear limits around wireless setup and optional equipment.