Not Upgradeable to XP
Written: Jul 06 '03 (Updated Jul 07 '03)
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Pros: High quality prints
Cons: Costly print cartridges
The Bottom Line: Great if you want to live in the computer past.
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| caddymania's Full Review: Hewlett Packard HP PhotoSmart Ink-jet Printer |
I've had this printer for some time and was generally pleased with the quality of the prints, which I usually made from scanned slides. However, as I tended not to use it frequently, the cartridges often would dry out (usually only one of the colors), before I would use them up. Cartridges are about $35 each, and there are two different ones, each with three colors. They are difficult to find now. CompUSA is the only place I have found that stocks them. You can also purchase them from HP on-line.
It would take about 5 minutes to print an 8.5" x 11" photo in the highest quality mode. Print quality is excellent with HP PhotoSmart photographic paper, either glossy or matte. Printing on plain paper is possible, but the ink tends to saturate the paper and the image quality just doesn't compare to the photo papers. I have not tried to use other manufacturers photo papers. The HP paper made specifically for this printer is also difficult to find, but other HP paper may work, or papers from other manufacturers.
Mechanically I never had problems. It doesn't jam. The paper path is 100% flat. It will print 4" x 6" and anything up to 8.5 x 11. It is somewhat noisy.
The current issue I have with this printer is that I purchased a new Windows XP computer, and there are no drivers available for it in XP. HP's website states this and I wrote them and talked with technical assistance which confirmed this is the case. There is no solution to this problem. So now I have to replace a perfectly functional printer, or continue to use my old pentium I computer.
Since this has been out of production for some time now, and you would only be able to find a used one.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 500
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
caddymania
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Reviews written: 1
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