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Controls/Buttons/Dials (6.00)
All of the buttons on the HP 3600n laser printer are located on the dark gray control panel near the top of the printer’s front. (The main power switch, as with most laser printers, is located on the side of the printer.) The buttons on the gray control panel above the access door are all properly labeled and useful, but probably won’t be used as much as on multifunction models. This printer communicates mostly through networked computers, so users won’t likely be printing from the control panel. Nevertheless, some functionality is necessary and the few included buttons that serve those needs are easy to interpret and utilize. The digital display provides minimal information at any one time due to its small size. When the ink is running low, the display will blink a message above the aligned icon. Perhaps the most useful button is the blue Help one, which explains menu items like "Paper Handling" as "Set Paper Type (and size if not detected)," for example.
Menus (8.00)
The 3600n’s control panel menu is viewed on the simple two-line display, illuminated when in use but darkened in sleep mode. Given the extensive menu, a two-line display seems cruel, but this is the standard on most laser printers. The grayish background with blue text is legible in a sans serif font, much like Arial, with the selected option in gray text with a blue bar surrounding it. It doesn’t have a wide field of view, and if glare obscures the screen, you’ll have a hard time reading it.
The menus allow for a wide range of customization. There are five main menu items: Information, Paper Handling, Configure Device, Diagnostics, and Service. Pressing menu brings these items up and scrolling through them is done with the up and down arrow buttons on the right side of the control panel. The desired option is selected by pressing the check button in between the arrows. A reverse-direction arrow button allows users to return to the previous menu level.
The Information option allows printing of basic printer settings like the menu map, configuration, supplies status, demo, and RGB samples, which allow the user to match the color in the application with the printer color, with 380 different color swatches.
Paper Handling displays and allows users to change information about the media size and type in printer trays.
The Configure Device menu is understandably the largest menu, with five subcategories and multiple sub-subcategories. Printing allows for changes to the number of copies, paper size, and manual feed settings. Print Quality allows for adjustment of color, providing options for changing the density of CMYK colors in highlights, midtones, and shadows. This would seem to be a shot in the dark, so to speak, harkening back to darkroom days of printing test strips. Registration of the page can also be adjusted by setting the x and y points. The Auto Sense Mode, which senses the type of paper in the printer, can be adjusted in this menu option, and Print Modes allows the user to change the settings for each type of paper listed, allowing for differing applications of toner on the page. Modes can be mixed and matched for desired effects. Examples include Heavy Mode, Tough Paper Mode, Glossy Mode, Humid Transparency Mode, and the like. Maintenance options such as calibration and cleaning pages can be accessed here, too.
System Setup, the third menu option under Configuration, allows changes to date and time, tray behavior, sleep mode, wake time, display brightness, and language. Optimum Speeds/Energy Usage allows users to choose either printing out the first page quickly or energy usage mode. The times for these are reported in our Performance section.
The I/O section allows for changes and test to the network settings. The fourth main menu option, the Diagnostics section, allows various tests of printer components, including belts, motors, and scanners.
Size / Footprint (3.13)
There are hand grips on each side of the HP Color LaserJet 3600n, but they only make it bearable to pick up. This laserjet printer measures 15.7 inches tall by 17.7 inches deep by 16.7 inches wide and weighs a hefty 61.6 pounds. This isn’t something that can be packed into a suitcase and toted to the next meeting. Nevertheless, HP advertises it as a "space-saver." So while it isn’t necessarily portable, it won’t take up an entire desk either.
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