Editing HP LaserJet (section)

===1990s===
[[File:Laser,_Lens_and_Scanning_mirror_from_a_1991_HP_Laser_Printer.jpg|thumb|Laser and scanning mechanism from a 1991 LaserJet III]]
[[File:HP LaserJet 4.jpg|thumb|HP [[LaserJet 4]] series printer]]
In March 1990 HP introduced the LaserJet III, priced at US$2,395, with two new features: [[Resolution enhancement technology|Resolution Enhancement technology (REt)]], which dramatically increased print quality, and HP PCL 5.<ref name="hall" /> Thanks to PCL 5, text scaling became easy, and thus customers were no longer restricted to 10- and 12-point type sizes. This had a dramatic effect on [[Word processor|word processing]] software market.

The LaserJet IIID was the same as the LaserJet III except it had 2 paper trays and duplex printing. It sold for $4,995 in the fall of 1990.<ref name="hall" />

The first mass-market [[JetDirect|Ethernet network]] printer, the LaserJet IIISi, debuted in March 1991. Priced at $5,495, it featured a high-speed, 17 ppm engine, 5MB of memory, 300-dpi output, Image REt and such paper handling features as job stacking and optional [[duplex printing]]. The LaserJet IIISi also was HP's first printer to offer onboard [[PostScript|Adobe PostScript]] emulation as opposed to the font-cartridge solution offered on earlier models.<ref name=LaserJetIIISi17ppm>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
	|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/10/business/the-executive-computer-if-superman-were-a-printer.html
	|title=The Executive Computer; If Superman Were a Printer . . .
	|author=Peter H. Lewis |date=March 10, 1991  |access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

In October 1992, HP introduced the [[HP LaserJet 4|LaserJet 4]] featuring a Canon EX engine with native 600-dpi output and Microfine toner for US$2,199. This model also introduced [[TrueType]] fonts to LaserJets which ensured that the printer fonts exactly matched the fonts displayed on the computer screen.  (TrueType fonts could print on an original LaserJet Plus or later, but they would be printed as graphics, making the printing slow and restricted to a limited page area or reduced resolution.)<ref name="hall" /> Some competitors also utilized the Canon EX engine, including Apple (LaserWriter Pro 600 and 630), [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEClaser 5100), and Canon.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://visual.ly/users/driverhp123/portfolio
|title=TPW - EX Laser Printers Parts Catalog - Information}}</ref><ref>{{cite web 
|url=http://www.printerworks.com/Catalogs/EX-Catalog/EX-NewUsers.html |date=2014-11-29
|title=Printer Works, Inc  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129044103/http://www.printerworks.com/Catalogs/EX-Catalog/EX-NewUsers.html
|access-date=August 3, 2014|archive-date=November 29, 2014
}}</ref>

[[File:Hewlett-Packard JetDirect J2555-60001-48238.jpg|thumb|[[JetDirect]] J2555 print server card for connection to a [[Token Ring]] network]]
By installing an HP [[JetDirect]] print server card, a LaserJet 4 / 4M printer could be connected to a network, for example as a departmental printer in companies instead of the larger III&nbsp;Si and 4&nbsp;Si models.

In 2020 ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote "by the 1990s, it was a staple of offices around the world."<ref name="StarkLaserNYT2020">{{cite news |author=Cade Metz |date=January 15, 2020 |title=Gary Starkweather, Inventor of the Laser Printer, Dies at 81 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/technology/gary-starkweather-dead.html |access-date=January 12, 2023}}</ref> The flagship of the family was the LaserJet 4 SiMX, launched in May 1993. It had several network interfaces by default, both Ethernet, Appletalk and TokenRing.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]]
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTsEAAAAMBAJ&dq=hp%204si%20infoworld&pg=PA56
|title=HP ad in InfoWorld: Announcing the first network printer that adapts to multiple environments |date=May 24, 1993}}</ref> Instant-on fusing was introduced with the LaserJet 4L in the spring of 1993. It included a new low cost print engine.<ref name="hall" /> It sold for $1,229.

* In April 1994 HP shipped its 10-millionth LaserJet printer.
* In September 1994 HP introduced the Color LaserJet, the corporation's first color laser printer. The printer had an average cost per page of less than 10 cents. The Color LaserJet offered 2 ppm color printing and 10 ppm for black text, 8MB of memory, 45 built-in fonts, a 250-sheet paper tray and enhanced PCL 5 with color. It was priced at $7,295.
* In March 1995 HP introduced the [[HP LaserJet 5|LaserJet 5]] family of printers.<ref>{{cite web
   |url=http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/feature_stories/2004/printerstimeline.pdf
   |title=Twenty Years of Innovation: HP LaserJet and Inkjet Printers 1984–2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313204956/http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/feature_stories/2004/printerstimeline.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2007 }}</ref> They supported HP [[Printer Command Language|PCL]] 6, a printer-language which gave noticeably faster output – especially with complex, graphics-intensive documents. They also featured 600-dpi output with REt, and a 12 ppm engine. Prices started from $1,629. The models were updated next year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hp.com/peripherals/press/news/96apr29a.html
|title=New HP LaserJet 5, 5N and 5M Printers Provide Workgroups with Faster Graphics Printing, Improved Ease-of-use and Lower Price
|date=April 28, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970709175650/http://www.hp.com/peripherals/press/news/96apr29a.html
|archive-date=July 9, 1997
}}</ref>

The Color LaserJet 5 and 5M were introduced in March 1996, with 1200 dpi resolution.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://www.hp.com/peripherals/press/news/96mar18.html
  |date=March 18, 1995  |title=Color LaserJets: 5, 5M|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970709172007/http://www.hp.com/peripherals/press/news/96mar18.html |archive-date=July 9, 1997 }}</ref> The LaserJet 6P and 6MP were introduced October 1996. They included infrared technology, for wireless printing.

In November 1996 HP introduced the network-ready LaserJet 5Si,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/HP+Introduces+World's+Most+Advanced+Network+Laser+Printer%3B+LaserJet...-a017547438 |title=LaserJet 5si |date=November 6, 1996 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> a major revision and upgrade to the 3Si (IIISi) and 4Si, which had used the Canon NX engine.  The 5Si, based on the Canon WX engine, could thus provide 11"x17" printing at an unprecedented 24 pages per minute and at 600 dpi with resolution enhancement.  An internal duplexer enabled full-speed double-sided printing.  Automatic personality switching (between PCL and PostScript), a feature that first appeared on the 4SiMX, was standard on the 5SiMX.  The 5Si series were true workhorses, but initial production models were somewhat hobbled by a vulnerability to slightly low voltage (i.e. crashing if mains voltage was less than 120 Volts) as well as a weak clutch in Tray 3 (thus resulting in paper jamming for Tray 3 as well as the optional 2,000-sheet Tray 4), and also a weak solenoid in the manual feed tray (Tray 1).  These paper-handling issues were easily dealt with, and many 5Si LaserJets remain in service today.  The HP 5Si Mopier, a 5Si equipped with all available options, was marketed as the first network printer that was optimized to produce multiple original prints (mopies). It had a 100,000 copies-per-month duty cycle, and 24 ppm print speed.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19970605114035/http://www.hp.com/pressrel/nov96/11nov96f.htm HP Press Release 11 November 1996] HP Introduces World's First Mopier</ref>
 
In 1997, HP introduced the [[HP LaserJet 4000 series|LaserJet 4000]] family of printers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19981203155103/http://www.hp.com/pressrel/nov97/10nov97.htm HP Press Release 10 November 1997] HP Introduces LaserJet 4000 Family of Printers</ref> They included features from the LaserJet 5 plus higher resolution of 1200 dpi.  These are mostly used in offices, and most recently in people's homes mainly to replace the LaserJet 4/5 series if the user had them previously. In 1999, HP released the LaserJet 4050 series, which was identical to the HP 4000 but with a faster formatter and an easily accessible paper registration area (where the paper is stopped, registered, and then advanced for printing; a flip-up cover here made clearing of this component easier.)  The 4000 series, as well as the 4050 and the 4100, used partly external duplexers.<ref name="HP4050LAT2007">{{cite news |author=Amber Dance |date=August 1, 2007 |title=Printing could be hazardous to your health |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://rpgmaker.net/users/driver-hp/ |access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

The world's first mass market [[Multifunction printer|all-in-one laser device]], the LaserJet 4101 MFP, debuted in April 1998. Users could print, fax, copy, and scan with a single appliance. In July 1998 HP shipped its 30-millionth LaserJet printer.

In February 1999, HP introduced the LaserJet 2100 printer series {{Citation needed|reason=please give a reliable source for this release date, as I bought one of these in summer 1998.|date=January 2011}}
– the world's first personal laser printers in their class{{Which|date=November 2009}} to offer high-quality 1200x1200-dpi resolution without significant performance loss.

In the network laser-printer market, the 5Si series was succeeded by the 8000, and later by the 8100 and 8150.  The 8000 brought 1200x1200-dpi resolution, which was continued in the 8100 and 8150.  The 8100 and 8150 brought faster printing (32 pages per minute), but this speed was only realized for single-sided (simplex) printing; double-sided printing remained at 24 pages per minute.  These models, which used the Canon WX engine, provided durability and good maintainability.