Color laser multifunction printers (MFPs) that can print at up to tabloid size are a rarity, but the HP Laserjet Enterprise 700 Color MFP M775DN fits that bill. This massive MFP can print, copy, and scan (but not fax) documents at sizes up to 11.7 by 17 inches, in monochrome or color. It's a little on the slow side, but its output quality is good.

The M775DN is a huge machine, measuring 23.4 by 25.2 by 23.3 inches (HWD) and significantly heavy at 140.5 pounds; it took three of us to move the test unit into place. The front panel houses an 8-inch color touch screen that can tilt; nearby is a port for a USB thumb drive. It has a built-in 320GB encrypted hard drive.

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At a glance, this MFP's price may seem as daunting as its stature—especially since it doesn't include fax capabilities, a $299 (direct) option—but comparing it with other tabloid-size MFPs puts it into perspective. The Dell Color Multifunction Printer | C7765dn, for instance, lists for $7,499, and the HP LaserJet Enterprise MFP M725dn costs $3,599.99 but only prints in monochrome.

Paper Handling
The M775DN scans at up to tabloid size from either its flatbed or automatic document feeder (ADF), which prints on both sides of a sheet of paper. The reversing ADF (which scans one side of a sheet, flips it over, and then scans the other side) can hold up to 100 sheets.

Standard paper capacity is on the light side: 350 sheets, split between one 250-sheet tray—which fits tabloid-sized paper—and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray. Paper handling options include a 500-sheet tray, 500-sheet tray with stand, three 500-sheet trays with stand, or a 3,500-sheet high-capacity input tray with stand (but for letter and A4 paper only). The M775dn has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 120,000 pages.

The M775dn is the base model in HP's M775 series of color laser MFPs. The M775f , M775z, and M775z+ add standard fax plus considerably greater standard paper handling capacity.

Drivers include PCL, HP's PostScript emulation; native PDF printing is supported. The M775dn offers USB and Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet) connectivity. It is AirPrint enabled and compatible with HP's ePrint, though WiFi doesn't come standard. I tested it over an Ethernet connection using a computer running Windows Vista.

Print Speed
Speed is not a strong point for the M775DN, although it's within the acceptable range. I timed it on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at an effective 6 pages per minute (ppm). It's rated at 30 pages per minute; the rated speed is based on printing text documents without graphics or photos, while our test suite includes text pages, graphics pages, and pages with mixed content.

We have no tabloid-width color laser MFPs to compare it with, but we have reviewed some good higher-end color laser MFPs that print at up to legal size. The Dell C3765dnf Color Laser Printer, the Editors' Choice in its price range, tested at 8.2 ppm despite a rated speed of just 23 pages per minute for both monochrome and color printing. We timed the Dell C5765dn Color Laser Printer, rated at 47 pages per minute, at 11 ppm. The monochrome-only HP Laserjet M725dn, a tabloid-width MFP, with a 40 page-per-minute rated speed, tested at 11.1 ppm.

Output Quality
The M775dn's overall output quality is good, with above-par text, slightly above-par graphics, and photos of average quality. Text should be fine for any internal business use, and perhaps good enough for use in desktop publishing applications that require very small text.

With graphics, the M775dn did okay in displaying thin lines. Generally colors were well saturated, though some dark backgrounds looked blotchy. In one illustration, I saw some slight misregistration between elements in an illustration. Graphics quality should be good enough for PowerPoint handouts, even going to people you're seeking to impress.

Photo quality is a mixed bag. Some images were good enough for pictures in client newsletters, while a couple were below the curve.

Running Costs
The M775DN's running costs, based on HP's price and yield figures for toner and other consumables, are on the high side for its price: 2.1 cents per monochrome and 13.3 cents per color page. The monochrome-only HP Laserjet Enterprise MFP M725dn's costs are 1.5 cents per page. The Dell Color Multifunction Printer - C5765dn comes in at a penny a page for monochrome and 6.6 cents per color page. (We haven't reviewed it, but the Dell Color Multifunction Printer | C7765dn, a color MFP that can print at up to tabloid size, appears to have even lower running costs—in the neighborhood of 0.8 cents per monochrome and 6.2 cents per color page—that in time could offset its stratospheric price tag.)

The M775DN is one of the few MFPs that offer the ability to print, copy, and scan in color at up to tabloid size. It isn't fast, it has relatively low paper capacity (the HP M725DN takes 600 sheets standard, while both the Dell C3765dn and C5765dnf take up to 700 pages), and its running costs are on the high side for its price, but its unusual attributes can make up for these drawbacks.

If you don't need all its features, there are other alternatives; for instance a moderately priced color tabloid printer like the Editors' Choice Xerox Phaser 7100/N or the OKI M831N ($1,699, 4 stars), plus a color laser MFP such as the Editors' Choice Dell C3765dnf Color Laser Printer. Or you could buy a tabloid-sized monochrome MFP, like the HP M725dn, or a tabloid-width scanner.

But none of these choices give you the convenience of the M775DN. If you need to print and scan a lot of larger color documents, the HP Laserjet 700 Color MFP M775DN is—for the most part—an effective solution, one that should appeal to many businesses looking to add some color to their printing and scanning.