HP Laserjet 5L

The HP 5L is a very small and somewhat oddly shaped laser printer that proved so popular and reliable that although it is more than 10 years old it is still quite widely used. At 4 pages per minute performance is quite adequate for many small offices and although the cartridges have a small capacity they are readily available in original, clone and recycled forms so print costs can be low.

5L - C3941A - Basic 4ppm printer.
5L-Xtra - C3941C - came with a software bundle.
5L-FSi: - C3941B - came with just Font Smart and not home-user software.

The 5L was originally bundled with 8 free software programs and trial versions of 7 others.

The printer is based on a Canon "AX" engine. The printer launched in Autumn 1995

The HP 6L looks much the same, the control button switches sides for some reason. The 6L also runs more quickly - 6 pages per minute, so it uses a different fixing assembly, formatter and some rollers are changed. HP also reckon its more robust and give it a 6,000 page per month rating - but anyone who prints half that would be nuts, its convenient for the odd print but in no way suited to long reports.

Notice that the 5L and 6L have a fixing assembly, not a fuser. Instead of a distinct fuser assembly there are two parts, a low pressure roller and a fixing film assembly. The fixing film assembly is a rounded ceramic heater with a lose film sleeve. The sleeve isn't powered, it just turns with the pressure roller.

The 6L fuser parts are different from those in the 5L. 6L parts will work in the 5L but both must be changed at the same time. Although there are non of the optional trays and accessories expected for larger printers the LJ 5L proved a remarkalby capable and resilient little machine.

Control:

Just one button and 3 lights on the printer itself. So far as it needs configuration that is done from a Windows printer driver.

Duty Cycle:

Maximum of 4,000 pages per month. The C3906A cartridge has a page yield of around 2,500 pages. By comparison with office printers which often have 50,000 page per month ratings this is a light duty printer but it was often used for small work groups shared via Microsoft Windows.

Print Speed:

4 pages per minute but with one of the first instant-on fusers to give a quick response when it's needed. First page out in 20 seconds.

Copy Abilities:

The print engine was speeded up to 6ppm in the LJ 6L and used as the basis for the LJ 3100 and LJ 3150 multifunction machines.

Print Resolution:

600x600 dpi and HP REt. Microfine toner

Paper Handling:

A 100 sheet vertical tray and a priority override slot for 1 page.

There is a (more or less) straight-through path for wrinkle-free envelope printing.

Media can be paper, envelopes, postcards, labels and suitable transparencies. Media from 60 to 105 gsm can use the 100 sheet paper out bin. Media up to 163 gsm need to use the staright through path.

Media sizes are HPs normal range from 3x5 to 8.5x14 inches (76x127 to 216x356 mm).

Face Down:

Paper output is normally to a vertical face-down tray at the front of the printer.

Face Up:

A switch at the front of the printer puts paper out of the front onto the desk.

Duplex:

There is no auto-duplex accessory but there is some driver support for manual duplexing.

Processor:

Motorola 68030 at 24 MHz

Memory:

1MB as shipped which with HP's Memory Enhancement technology (MEt) is sufficient for most uses. There is a standard DRAM slot for expansion to 9MB.

Interface:

IEEE 1284 compliant parallel port using the large "B" plug. Network: Support from some external network print servers.

Network:

Its not a network printer although it was often shared via Windows 95 etc.

Print Languages:

Enhanced PCL 5

System Compatability:

Works with DOS and Windows or anything else that supports PCL 5. There is support in Linux CUPS.

Power:

220-240 Volt World Model. 110-120 Volt Model for the US and Japan

Power Consumption:

6 Watts in Power Save mode and 100 Watt printing

Power Consumption:

6 Watts in Power Save mode and 100 Watt printing

Dimensions:

336x312x226mm

Consumables:

One-piece cartridge holding the toner, developer, drum and waste bottle.

C3906A HP Laserjet 5L/6L/3100 Black toner cartridge. Yield 2,500 pages - C3906A

SI1000M Silver Reed Black Toner Cartridge for HP Laserjet 5L/6L/3100 equivalent to C3906A MAXI SI1000M

Fuser:

Fixing film assembly for 5L - RG5-1964

Spares:

Paper Feed Repair Kit for Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5L (contains Paper Pickup Assy RG5-3486, separation pad kit RY7-5077

RY7-5077 Paper Separation Kit RY7-5077 (RY7-5008)

RG5-3486 Pickup Roller Assy RG5-3486-040CN (Possibly Discontinued)

RG5-2004 Laser Scanner - RG5-2004-000CN (Discontinued)

RF5-1516 Pressure Roller - RF5-1516

Service and Repair

There is some information on repair on the HP LJ 6L Page (here)