Printer review: HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 M603dn

08/08/2019

The HP LaserJet Enterprise M603dn was pitched by HP as a heavy duty, workhorse printer that could handle the changes and challenges of the modern workplace. We’re pleased to report that, nearly six years after its release, the Enterprise M603dn is living up to those promises.

Note: This printer model has been discontinued.

Monochrome Monster

The HP LaserJet Enterprise M603dn is a monochrome monster, with a page speed of 62 pages per minute. With a monthly duty cycle of up to 275,000 pages and a recommended monthly volume of between 5,000 - 20,000 pages, the 603dn is built for busy offices.

HP built this machine to handle heavy duty printing tasks. While the 603dn comes standard with two paper trays (a 500-sheet drawer and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray), you can stack up to six trays for a total paper capacity of 3,600 sheets!

That’s a lot of printed pages before running out of paper! The printer supports page sizes as small as 3 x 5" and up to legal sized paper (8.5 x 14").

The HP M603 Family Tree

The printer interface features a four line color display. There’s a walk-up USB port allowing you to print documents from external drives, and HP’s ePrint allows wireless printing from nearly any device.

The M603dn differs from its little brother, the M600n, by offering built-in duplex printing. (One-sided printing only on the M600n, unless you buy the optional duplexer.) Big brother, the M603xh, comes with extra paper trays and an HP high performance secure hard disk inside.

The 512MB of included memory can be increased to 1 GB, and the 603dn’s Hardware Integration Pocket (HIP) offers additional expansion opportunities.

For example, slide a proximity badge reader into your HIP to control user access to the 603dn’s features. Plus, you can trick your M603dn out with accessories like a stacker, stapler, envelope feeder, and mailbox.

Speed Machine

The HP M603dn offers fast gigabit networking, and HP’s Future Smart firmware promised this machine would be upgradable. Some have described the process of downloading firmware updates to a thumb drive and them uploading to the printer as “a pain in the ass.”

Users have two options when it comes to printer cartridges for their HP M603dn. The HP 90A Black LaserJet Toner Cartridge CE390A delivers 10,000 pages, while the high capacity HP 90X Black LaserJet Toner Cartridge CE390X produces 24,000 pages.

In addition, it's worth noting that to maintain peak performance and extend the lifespan of your printer, we recommend using genuine HP cartridges. These cartridges are designed to work seamlessly with your HP M603dn, ensuring not only outstanding performance but also hassle-free printing.

Better Than The M604

For the most part, the Enterprise 600 M603dn scores well for reliability. Most users are happy with this machine in terms of cost per page (approximately 1.7 cents) and toner usage.

One user’s machine developed a strange squeal after two-and-a-half years of use that couldn’t be remedied.

However, some users prefer the M603 series to the newer M604-606 series. For starters, the newer line of HP printers don’t accept high capacity toner cartridges.

Also, you can’t use an external Jet Direct drive with the M604. If you have problems with your USB or Ethernet ports you’ll need to replace the enter circuit board.

Overall, the HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 M603dn Network Monochrome Laser Printer is a workhorse monochrome printer that can easily handle high volume office environments.

Save yourself some money — treat yourself to a 2-pack of HP90x!

HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 M603dn — Product specifications

First page out (ready) black: As fast as 8.5 sec
Resolution (black): Up to 1200 x 1200 dpi
Resolution technology: HP ProRes 1200, HP FastRes 1200, HP REt, 600 dpi, 300 dpi
Monthly duty cycle: Up to 275,000 pages
Recommended monthly page volume: 5000 to 20,000
Print Technology: Laser
Display: 4-line LCD (color text and graphics)
Processor speed: 800 MHz
Number of print cartridges: 1 (black)
Replacement cartridges: HP 90A Black LaserJet Toner Cartridge (~10,000 pages) CE390A; HP 90X Black LaserJet Toner Cartridge (~24,000 pages) CE390X
Print languages: HP PCL 6, HP PCL 5 (HP PCL 5 driver available from the Web only), HP postscript level 3 emulation, native PDF printing (v 1.4)
Automatic paper sensor: No
Paper trays, standard: 2
Paper trays, maximum: Up to 6
Mobile Printing Capability: HP ePrint; Apple AirPrint™
Connectivity, standard: 1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0; 1 Gigabit Ethernet; 2 External Host USB (1 walk-up and 1 external accessible); 2 internal Host USB 2.0-like ports (for 3rd party connection); 1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 HIP (for 3rd party connection)
Connectivity, optional: 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN (Station mode), other networking accessories; HP Jetdirect 2700w USB Wireless Print Server (available in early 2012)
Network ready: Standard (built-in Gigabit Ethernet)
Ports: 1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0; 1 Gigabit Ethernet; 2 Host Hi-Speed USB 2.0; 1 Hardware Integration Pocket (HIP)
Security management: Management security: SNMPv3, SSL/TLS, WPA2-Enterprise, 802.1X authentication (EAP- PEAP, EAP-TLS), IPP over TLS, IPsec/Firewall with Certificate, Pre-Shared Key Authentication, and Kerberos Authentication; Support for WJA-10 IPsec Configuration using IPsec Plug-in
Minimum system requirements: Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6, 10.7; 150 MB available hard disk space; operating system compatible hardware system requirements, see: http://www.apple.com
Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (SP2 or higher), Windows Server 2003 (SP1 or higher), Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2; 200 MB available hard disk space, operating system compatible hardware system requirements, see http://www.microsoft.com
Compatible operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (SP2+), Windows Server 2003 (SP1+), Windows Server 2008 (all 32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit); Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6, 10.7.
Memory card compatibility: USB Flash drive
Memory, standard: 512 MB
Memory, maximum: 1 GB
Printer management: HP Web Jetadmin; HP SureSupply; HP Utility (Mac)
Supported network protocols: IPv4/IPv6: Apple Bonjour Compatible (Mac OS v10.2.4 or higher), SNMPv1/v2c/v3, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, TFTP, Port 9100, LPD, WS Discovery, IPP, Secure-IPP, IPsec/Firewall; IPv6: DHCPv6, MLDv1, ICMPv6; IPv4: Auto-IP, SLP, Telnet, IGMPv2, BOOTP/DHCP, WINS, IP Direct Mode, WS Print; Other: NetWare NDS, Bindery, NDPS, ePrint
Hard disk: Standard, 8 GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
Paper handling input, standard: 100-sheet multipurpose tray 1; 500-sheet input tray 2, Automatic duplexer for two-sided printing
Paper handling output, standard: 500-sheet output bin; 100-sheet rear output bin
Duplex printing: Automatic (standard)
Finished output handling: Sheetfed
Media sizes supported: Multipurpose tray 1: A4, A5, A6, B5 (JIS), B6 (JIS), 16K, Dpostcard (JIS), executive (JIS), RA4, 10 x 15 cm, envelope (DL ISO, C5 ISO, C6 ISO, B5 ISO); Tray 2, optional 500-sheet input tray: executive (JIS), A4, A5, RA4, B5 (JIS), 16K; optional 1500-sheet High-capacity input tray: A4
Media sizes, custom: Multipurpose tray 1: 3 x 5 to 8.5 x 14 in; Tray 2, optional 500-sheet input tray: 5.83 x 8.27 to 8.5 x 14 in; Optional Custom media cassette: 4.02 x 5.83 to 6.69 x 11.10 in
Media types: Paper (bond, color, letterhead, plain, preprinted, prepunched, recycled, rough, light); envelopes; labels; cardstock; transparencies; shelf edge labels; user-defined
Supported media weight: Multipurpose tray 1: 16 to 53 lb; Tray 2, optional 500-sheet input tray, optional Custom media cassette, optional 1500-sheet High-capacity input tray: 16 to 32 lb; Optional Envelope feeder: 20 to 28 lb; Duplexer: 16 to 32 lb
Media weights by paper path: Multipurpose tray 1: 60 to 200 g/m²; Tray 2, optional 500-sheet input tray, optional Custom media cassette, optional 1500-sheet High-capacity input tray: 60 to 120 g/m²; Optional Envelope feeder: 75 to 105g/m²; Duplexer: 60 to 120 g/m²
Power: 110-volt input voltage: 100 to 127 VAC (+/- 10%), 50/60 Hz (+/- 3 Hz); (Option #AAZ) 220-volt input voltage: 220 to 240 VAC (+/- 10%), 50/60 Hz (+/- 3 Hz) (Not dual voltage, power supply varies by part number with # Option code identifier)
Print speed, black (normal): Up to 62 ppm
Power consumption: 920 watts (Printing), 21 watts (Ready), 5.5 watts (Sleep), 1.0 watt (Auto-Off), 0.3 watts (Manual-Off)
Energy efficiency: ENERGY STAR® qualified; EPEAT® Silver
Operating temperature range: 59 to 89.6ºF
Operating humidity range: 10 to 80% RH
Dimensions (W X D X H): 16.3 x 20 x 15.7 in
Dimensions Maximum (W X D X H): 16.3 x 30.2 x 15.7 in
Weight: 57.8 lb
Package weight: 66.22 lbs
Warranty: One-year, next business day, on-site limited warranty
Software included: Windows Installer, HP PCL 6 discrete driver; Mac Installer, PostScript driver
FCC: FCC Class A emissions - for use in commercial environments, not residential environments