Xerox Phaser 5550 Evaluator Guide 7
Section 2: Evaluating Black-and-White Laser Printers
Evaluate Deployment, Management and Ease of Use
How the Phaser
®
5550 laser
printer exceeds the deployment
requirement
Installation
Easy installation starts with unpacking the
device and ends when it’s powered up and
ready for use. The Phaser 5550 laser printer
is easily removed from its packaging, and the
included quick install guide helps install optional
accessories, connect the printer to your network
and a power source, and power-up the device.
The printer will automatically be assigned an IP
address and join the network via DHCP (other
networking protocols can be set at the front
panel), and device settings such as language
selection and feature setup are completed
either at the front panel or via remote manage-
ment software like Xerox CentreWare
®
Internet
Services (CentreWare IS) or CentreWare Web.
Driver deployment
Installing print drivers onto users’ computers is
a simple process. Simply insert the Phaser 5550
installation CD and follow the prompts. Or,
users can enter the printer’s IP address into any
standard web browser and download and install
print drivers using the Phaser 5550 CentreWare
IS page. Lastly, for large, distributed environ-
ments, Xerox print drivers can be automatically
installed by IT staff using remote desktop-man-
agement software.
How the Phaser 5550 laser
printer exceeds the management
requirement
Xerox management software
Xerox CentreWare Web is a powerful device
management solution for IT departments.
This free software eases the chore of installing,
configuring, managing, monitoring and pull-
ing reports from SNMP-compliant networked
printers and multifunction printers throughout
your enterprise — regardless of vendor. Xerox
also addresses enterprise asset management
through compatibility with network manage-
ment tools for Sun, Novell, Microsoft and other
environments.
The Phaser 5550 laser printer also includes
CentreWare IS, an embedded web server that
allows users and IT personnel to perform
detailed status checks on the system and
consumables, administer system settings, and
manage access and accounting controls via any
standard web browser.
Network management
The Phaser 5550 laser printer integrates into
virtually any network environment. Network
configuration is simple with CentreWare Web
configuration wizards, which enable remote
configuration of one or many devices, regard-
less of manufacturer. The Phaser 5550 laser
printer supports many common network
protocols (including TCP/IP [IPv4, IPv6, DNS/
CentreWare Web helps administrators quickly
install, configure and troubleshoot all networked
printers and MFPs — regardless of manufacturer.
Deploying printers can be challenging, whether in a large organization or
small office.
The process includes integrating the printers into your existing network
infrastructure and deploying print drivers to users’ computers. Evaluate whether the
driver deployment process can be automated. Also, evaluate the management tools
delivered with the printer, and whether they will ease the task of managing the device.
Lastly, think about ease of use. Is the device simple to operate, and will users quickly
feel comfortable using it? Are the user interfaces, both the front panel and print driver,
well designed and easy to navigate?
