HP LaserJet P1566 review

Small, cheap and easy to use, the HP LaserJet Pro P1566 is a mono laser printer aimed at single-user environments.

The two-toned chassis is compact at just 387 x 243 x 246mm and reasonably lightweight at 6kg. However, its compact nature means that the input and output trays jut out from the main unit. It also looks a little untidy, with a translucent plastic cover sitting in a rather ungainly way over the 250-sheet input tray.

USB is the only connection method available, highlighting that this printer is not intended for workgroup use. HP sells a separate wireless print server module that's compatible with the LaserJet Pro P1566 but, at £225+VAT, it's a very expensive option.

Installation was particularly simple thanks to HP's Smart Install utility. Instead of inserting the driver CD, you simply attach the printer to a PC, switch it on and the driver installation wizard pops up automatically.

However, although the printer works with Mac and Linux computers, this Smart Install feature is compatible only with Windows.

One thing we immediately noticed is that this isn't the quietest of printers. Run a long print job and the loud whirring noise will soon start to grate.

HP is clearly aware of this and includes a Quiet Mode option within the printer's driver. Switch this on and it becomes much easier on the ears, but print speeds take a noticeable hit.

Print speed
In standard mode we recorded a print speed of 22ppm; this figure doesn't include the time it takes for the first page to appear, which we timed at just over six seconds from standby and 18.5 seconds from cold. In Quiet Mode, the print speed drops significantly to 12ppm, with the first page taking 9.5 seconds to arrive.

Running costs
Lasers with low price tags tend to have relatively high running costs, and the LaserJet Pro P1566 is no exception.

With replacement cartridges available from HP at £62+VAT and lasting 2,100 pages, the price per page sits at just under 3p. Sadly there's no high-yield cartridge available, so this figure can't be improved.

There are no additional consumables to worry about, and HP quotes a recommended duty cycle of up to 2,000 pages per month; if you’re printing this much, though, you'd be better off buying a more expensive laser with lower running costs.

Print quality
Text is nice and crisp with solid blacks; the only noticeable issue is the slight jagged edges when printing extra large text. It has no problem with simple images, such as graphs in Excel spreadsheets but, as with all budget lasers, it struggled to reproduce detail in photos.

Further settings can be adjusted via the driver, including changing the print density to save on the amount of toner used. There are five settings to choose from, but we found it hard to tell the difference between the two extremes.

There's also a manual duplex option but, unlike full duplex units, this requires the user to flip the page over and reinsert it halfway through printing.

Overall, this is a decent mono laser from HP with a low initial outlay, but if you're intending to print large volumes you'll end up spending a lot on replacement toner.