HP LaserJet 5200: wide monochrome pages over USB review

A direct-connected route to wider monochrome pages

The base HP LaserJet 5200 is useful when a prepared computer needs monochrome Letter, Legal, A4, A3 or Tabloid printing without an included network interface. Its wide-paper engine is the attraction; its normal package provides USB and parallel connections, 350 ordinary sheets and manual two-sided work. An Ethernet requirement or unattended duplex requirement changes the choice.

HP's exact US product page identifies Q7543A#ABA and marks it discontinued. This review covers that documented low-voltage configuration as an earlier reference. It does not establish current stock, the condition of a surviving machine or present-day driver support. The preserved source originally called a user guide is actually HP's July 2006 product newsletter; the actual original user guide and model columns were checked separately.

Prepare the two included inputs for the chosen size

The front input holds 100 ordinary sheets and the lower input holds 250, giving a nominal 350. The original size table positively supports Letter, Legal, A4, A3 and 11-by-17-inch Tabloid in both inputs. That means 350 of the selected ordinary size when both inputs contain it, rather than 350 sheets of every size simultaneously.

The front input accepts paper short edge first. Extend its support for long sheets, adjust the guides to the centered stack and keep the paper below the height limits. For long paper in the lower tray, release the extension lock and extend the rear. Set the width and length guides, then set both its size switch and size dial correctly. This rear extension needs space beyond a casual small-paper installation.

The nominal input-count basis is not explicitly established at a particular paper weight in the checked sources. Separate limits specify 60–199-g/m² ordinary front media and 60–120-g/m² lower media. Those limits do not promise the full sheet count with heavier stock. The extra 500-sheet input is optional on this base version.

Use the computer port the package actually includes

Hi-Speed USB 2.0 is the straightforward direct-computer route. IEEE 1284 parallel is also included for a suitable legacy host and cable. These are printer connections, not a promise of USB-stick printing. Check the real operating system and driver before committing to an earlier machine; the historical software list is not evidence that a modern computer will install it automatically.

The embedded 10/100 Ethernet interface belongs to the n, tn and dtn configurations. A separately fitted Jetdirect server is an upgrade, so this base package fails an included-Ethernet requirement. Neither an empty EIO slot nor optional wireless networking establishes Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, AirPrint or Mopria in the reviewed arrangement.

Plan manual second sides and envelope handling

The base model does not include the automatic duplexer. The original compatible Windows-driver routine prints first sides, then requires the stack in Tray 1 with blank side up and top edge first. Remove unused blank paper from that input and press the panel selection button if prompted. HP recommends using only Tray 1 for the second sides.

That front-only return path limits each return batch to its input capacity. A lower tray full of first-side paper does not make the job unattended. Paper direction also changes with the size: one-sided front letterhead for Letter and A4 uses its top short edge to the right, while A3, Tabloid and Legal use the top short edge toward the printer. Follow the exact size-specific diagram rather than applying one direction to every format.

Up to ten supported envelopes use the front input face up, with the postage end away from the printer. Open and extend the rear output for the straight paper path and select the actual envelope size and type. Envelope handling is separate from ordinary-sheet capacity and is not automatic duplex.

A PIN menu does not establish an included hard drive

The actual job-storage chapter limits its stored and private-job features to printers with an installed hard drive. That drive is optional on the base 5200. The normal package therefore does not qualify for PIN-held printing here, even though the guide describes PIN entry and a RAM-disk control elsewhere.

The hardware is print-only. There is no document scanner, flatbed, feeder, copy function or fax. Management alerts and network options cannot add document capture to this engine.

Allow for a wide body and a documented workload

HP declares up to 35 one-sided Letter pages per minute, separately 35 A4 and 18.5 A3 or Tabloid. The recommended monthly range is 2,500–10,000 pages; the 65,000-page maximum duty is a different limit. These are source declarations, not tests or a prediction of real long-page throughput.

The closed body is 19.3 inches wide and 10.8 high, with guide weight 44.5 pounds without the cartridge. The guide and original brochure disagree on closed depth, so this review does not provide a single exact depth for a tight cabinet. Allow access for trays, rear output, cables and cartridge replacement, and verify the actual 110–127-V, 50/60-Hz plate. Original Q7516A replacement yield does not tell you the toner remaining in a used printer.