During recession, the first thing to go is usually IT spending. Every new purchase goes through a microscope, and is scrutinized like crazy before being green-lighted, which means companies are looking for the most bang for the buck to maximize their returns. The HP OfficeJet 6500 MFP is aimed at companies trying to cut printing and energy costs while still delivering the performance that people associate with HP.

The HP OfficeJet 6500 is an amalgamation of different office devices, as it’s an all-in- one device—it’s a printer, copier, scanner and fax machine. The simple fact that it’s a multifunction saves customers money right there—the cost of running separate machines (maintenance, electricity) is a lot compared with the OfficeJet 6500.

Setting up the OfficeJet 6500 is pretty easy. The unit comes with an idiot-proof start-up guide that tells you what you need to do before plugging it in—including the removal of safety tabs on the machine. After that, it’s just the matter of finding space that’ll fit the printer’s 476x410x258mm bulk. The OfficeJet 6500 is clad in the traditional white/dark gray color scheme, which makes it a bit, well, boring to look at. There is an LCD display that’ll help you fine-tune settings and check ink levels. The control panel is well laid-out, with the controls pretty much self-explanatory regarding function. The paper tray will accept up to 250 pieces of paper, and you can load the OfficeJet 6500 with different types of paper (plain, inkjet, photo), envelopes, brochure paper, transparencies, labels and cards (index, greeting). There’s an automatic document feeder on the top of the unit. The OfficeJet 6500 can scan documents up to its maximum resolution of 2400x4800 dpi and can accommodate media up to 216x297mm in size. You can network the OfficeJet 6500 through Ethernet if you wish.

During the test, the OfficeJet 6500 performed well, and during the roughly 200-page print test that we performed, it never suffered a paper jam or failed to print a document. Scanning documents is pretty easy, and the automatic document feeder really helped out when I was trying to digitize a multipage press kit. The printer has an advertised print speed of up to 32 ppm (pages per minute) black and white, draft quality. During our tests it hit about 30 ppm, which is just a few pages off of their projections, and pretty fast for an inkjet. Color performance is excellent as well, and clocks in at about 29 ppm—just a few pages off of their advertised 31 ppm. The OfficeJet 6500 is fully capable of printing in high-quality mode, and can print on glossy photo paper for collaterals or photos. In addition, the OfficeJet 6500 boasts a 40-percent reduction in energy and cost per page than traditional lasers, further saving you money.

The only complaint I have (and it’s more like an observation) is that the OfficeJet 6500 prints are a bit too intense for my liking. Of course, that complaint is subjective and intense to me might be OK to the next guy, and really, the OfficeJet 6500 does everything you’d want from a multifunction, and the print quality is excellent for its segment. I’d heartily recommend it for any business that wants to save money on one device.