HP Laserjet 1320nw

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, HP's Laserjet is the original corporate office workhorse. The 1320nw is the company's latest personal printer, aimed at home users and small workgroups. While its relatively small footprint and claimed 21ppm print speed make it an attractive option, more exciting is built-in support for wireless operation.

The 1320nw comes as standard with 16MB of Ram (expandable to 144MB), and supports Postscript level 2 emulation and HP PCL 5e/6 printing at up to 1,200dpi. It handles envelopes, transparencies, cardstock and postcards, as well plain paper up to A4. It also has automatic double-sided printing - unusual at this price and something we heartily approve of. A sliding 250-sheet paper input tray and a 125-sheet face down bin door for special media sit at the front.

Along with 802.11g wireless connectivity, the 1320nw can be linked to a standard Ethernet network or directly to a PC via USB2. HP includes an Ethernet cable in the box but no USB lead, which seems a bit tight.

Setting things up proved straightforward and in tests the 1320nw really did manage 21ppm at its default 600dpi resolution. Performance dropped to around half this, with A4 images at 1,200dpi, but text was crisp and clean in all modes. Configuring the printer is easy thanks to HP's browser-based Toolbox utility, although we did need to set the duplex printing option in the Windows Printer Control Panel as well to get it to register.

It's easy to see why the Laserjet series has been so successful, and the 1320nw should prove just as popular. There are cheaper personal printers available, but with excellent build quality, top performance and wireless support, this one is a winner.

Contact: HP 0845 270 4222
www.hp.com

Specifications:

• Up to 21ppm (A4)
• Automatic duplex printing
• HP PCL 55, 6 & Postscript level 2 emulation
• Built-in Jetdirect server
• USB2 & 10/100 Ethernet ports
• 802.11b/g
• 16MB of Ram (expandable to 144MB)
• 250-sheet input tray, 125-sheet media bin
• 350 x 355 x 256mm (w x d x h)
• 1yr warranty
• 11.2kg