The HP LaserJet Enterprise flow MFP M525c, a monochrome multifunction printer (MFP) is the high-end model in the line that includes the HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f, adding some features geared to improving workflow and increasing productivity. For many small to mid-sized businesses, it will be well worth the extra cost.
The flow M525c can print, scan, copy, and fax; it can scan to e-mail, a network folder, USB thumb drive, or an FTP server, and print from a USB key. It offers secure, password-protected printing, and has a built-in encrypted hard drive.
It measures 22.7 by 20.3 by 21.6 inches (HWD), much too large to share a desk with, and weighs 83 pounds. Its 100-sheet document feeder (ADF) scans both sides of a document simultaneously, saving time over scanners like the one in the HP M525f (with a smaller, 50-sheet ADF), which flips the document over to scan the other side. The M525c's scanner also incorporates some features lacking in the HP M525f's, including ultrasonic misfeed detection, auto orientation, auto page crop, and other image correction features.
Other features that the flow M525c offers over the M525f include a full-sized pull-out keyboard nestled beneath the 8-inch color touch screen; send to SharePoint, and embedded OCR.
The M525c has a standard paper capacity of 600 sheets, split between a 500-sheet main tray and 100-sheet multipurpose tray. You can add up to two 500-sheet optional trays as well, for a total paper capacity of up to 1,600 sheets. An automatic duplexer lets you print on both sides of a sheet of paper. On the side of the printer is a built-in stapler, good for documents up to about 25 sheets, which you have to manually insert.
In addition to the flow M525c and the M525f, there's a third model in the line. The M525dn ($1,799 direct) lacks fax capabilities as well as the hard drive and the stapler, and all the extras the flow 525c has over the M525f.
The flowM525c can connect via USB or Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet), and an optional Wi-Fi adapter is available ($269 direct). It's compatible with HP ePrint and Apple's AirPrint. I tested the printer on a wired network with its drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista.
Printing Speed
I timed the flow M525c on our business applications test suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at an effective 13.8 pages per minute (ppm), a good speed for its rated speed of 42 pages per minute. (Rated speeds are based on text-only printing, while our business suite combines text pages, graphics pages, and pages with both text and graphics.) This is a little slower than the Editors' Choice Dell B3465dnf Multifunction Laser Printer, rated at 50 pages per minute, which we timed at 15 ppm, and a bit faster than the 12.2 ppm turned in by the M525f. I timed the Dell B5465dnf Mono Laser Multifunction Printer, rated at 70 pages per minute, at a wicked-fast 18.7 ppm.
Output Quality
Overall output quality for the flow M525c was slightly sub-par, with average text quality, average graphics quality, and slightly below-par photos. Text quality is good enough for any business except perhaps desktop publishing applications using very small fonts.
With graphics, the output failed to distinguish between differences in shading in several illustrations. Graphics showed dithering in the form of fine dot patterns. Graphics are fine for most in-house use and maybe PowerPoint handouts, depending on how picky you are.
Photos tended to be on the light side, with significant loss of detail in bright areas. One image showed banding (a regular pattern of thin lines. You can print out recognizable images from Web pages or files; whether they're good enough for, say, printing out photos for company newsletters depends on how picky you (and your clients) are.
Running Costs
At 1.8 cents per page, the M525c's running cost, the same as the M525f, is a bit on the high side for a mono laser at its price. The Editors' Choice Dell B3465dnf had a lower per-page cost (1.5 cents) despite its much lower sticker price. Though the Dell B5465dnf is priced considerably higher than the flow M525c, its running costs are a mere penny a page. It would take roughly 100,000 pages in printing with the Dell to make up the cost difference between the two printers.
The M525c adds value over the HP M525f, for a $600 premium. For many differences, extras such as the 100-page ADF and scanner that scans both sides of a page simultaneously will justify the extra cost over the M525f. The Editors' Choice Dell B3465dnf matched the flow M525c's speed, is built for heavier duty printing, and sells for barely half its price. The Dell B5465dnf costs more, is faster, has a larger ADF (though it can't scan both sides of a page simultaneously), is built for massive print volumes, and has a much lower running cost. Both the Dells had better output quality than the flow M525c in our testing.
There are many good high-end mono laser MFPs out there. Some are faster, have better output quality, lower price, or lower running costs, but the HP LaserJet Enterprise flow MFP M525c provides a reasonably good balance between these factors, and its suite of workflow features are a nice extra that will appeal to many businesses.
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