User guide
What You Should Know
Hands-On Test Report
HP Officejet 4500 All-in-One Printer
March 2010 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org
Page 30
MEDIA HANDLING
The Officejet 4500 Series is an A4 color All-in-One system that
prints on up to letter- and legal-size media. It can also accept
custom media sizes up to 8.5”x30”. It’s equipped with a 100-
sheet paper-input drawer, 25-sheet output tray, and 20-sheet
automatic document feeder. Duplexing is manual.
Paper-Drawer Capacity
Up to 100 sheets of letter/legal-size paper; up to 25 sheets of transparencies; up
to 10 sheets of labels; up to 40 sheets of 4”x6” photo stock; or up to 40 cards.
Acceptable Media Types
Paper (ink-jet, photo, plain), envelopes, cards, transparencies, iron-on transfers, HP
premium media.
Acceptable Media Weight
U.S. letter, legal, envelopes: 20 to 24 lb.
Cards: up to 110 lb. index.
4”x6” photo stock: up to 145 lb.
Recommended Media Weight: 16 to 24 lb. bond.
Acceptable Media Sizes
Letter, legal, executive, cards; Custom Media Sizes: 3”x4” to 8.5”x30”.
Max. Media Size: 8.5”x14”
Min./Max. Custom Media: 3”x4” /8.5”x30”
Recommended Media Weight: 16-24 lb. bond
Max. Media Weight: 110 lb. index
Borderless Printing: Up to 8.5”x11”
Std./Max Media Capacity: 100/100 sheets
Paper Sources: 1
Automatic Duplexing: No
Automatic Document Feeder: Yes (20 sheets)
Output Tray Capacity: 25 sheets
STRENGTHS
Standard 20-sheet automatic document feeder, which is
often not available in this class. When there is no
automatic document feeder, copying or scanning multi-
page documents is very time-consuming, as the user has
to place each page on the platen, remove it, place the next
sheet, etc.
Borderless printing up to 8.5”x11”.
Users can also print on custom media up to 8.5” x 30”,
which is useful for printing signs, banners, larger
presentation materials, etc.
Print on heavier weight media—up to 110 lb. index stock.
LIMITATIONS
There is no dedicated output tray. This is only a minor,
not functional inconvenience.
COST PER PAGE
One of the challenges facing customers in the market for a printer
or All-in-One is cost per page. For instance, although a device
may have a low acquisition cost, high cost per page can quickly
negate any savings obtained with a low purchase price.
The Officejet 4500 Series ships with a 901 Tri-color Officejet Ink
cartridge that yields approximately 360 pages, and a 901 black ink
cartridge that yields approximately 200 pages.
HP also markets a high-yield 901XL black cartridge that yields
approximately 700 pages and lists at $31.99. This translates into a
black cost per page of 4.5 cents. The 901 Tri-Color ink cartridge
contains dye-based cyan, magenta and yellow inks; this color
cartridge yields approximately 360 pages, and lists at $28.99.
This translates into a color cost per page of 12.5 cents (including
black ink), and CYM-only cost per page of 8.0 cents.
COMPETITIVE COST PER PAGE COMPARSION
Black Cost Per Page* Color Cost Per Page*
Hewlett-Packard Officejet
4500 Series
4.5¢ 12.5¢
Lexmark Interpret S405
4.9¢ 13.6¢
Canon PIXMA MX330
5.4¢ 13.1¢
Epson Workforce 310
5.0¢ 14.6¢
*Based on ISO page yields using highest-yield ink cartridges.
901XL Black Ink Price/Yield*: $31.99/700 pages
901 Tri-Color Ink Cartridge Price/Yield*: $28.99/360 pages
*Pages at 5% area coverage.
Black/Color Supply Cost Per Page: 4.5/12.5* cents
*Using 901XL black ink cartridge. CYM-only color cost per
page is 8.0 cents.
STRENGTHS
Competitive black consumables’ cost per page of 4.5
cents (901XL cartridge) and competitive CYMK color
consumables’ cost per page of 12.5 cents (using 901XL
ink cartridges). This is competitive for All-in-Ones under
$500, which average 2-5 cents per page for black, and 10-
14 cents per page for CYMK color. When we compare
the Officejet 4500’s cost per page to that of a competitive
All-in-One in the $99-$130 segment, the competitor’s
cost per page is actually 0.4 (black) and 1.5 (color) cents
per page higher, so the Officejet 4500’s black and color
cost per page is also very competitive.
The Officejet 4500 Series’ ink cartridges incorporate
technology that enables users to complete a print job even
if a particular ink is low, so that, for instance, they can
produce a critical print job without having to first replace
ink.