For under $400, you have a really amazing laser printer. What was once reserved for offices and schools is now available to everybody. The bulk of my printing was black and white, and documents, so I decided that an intro level laser would be perfect. I still have a color inkjet in case I need to print in color (I'm finding that I need color less and less).

One note: the image for this printer is wrong. Go to any online store that sells it for the real picture. Amazon.com has great closeup images btw.


The main differences between an inkjet and a laser are speed and print quality. Almost all laser printers are faster than an inkjet, and almost all lasers print at a better resolution. Face it, some inkjet manufacturers claim their printer has "laser quality black text," but in reality, none of them come close. With a laser document, you can instantly see the difference.

And don't forget durability. I had an Epson SC800 inkjet for a few years, but the jets clogged up and now printing is useless -- it looks worse than an old dot matrix printer. With lasers, you get a workhorse, built to last many years and maintain its impressive quality.

Now, about the LJ1200. I hate to say it, but what really got my attention about this printer was its design. From the front, it actually looks like an HP deskjet. It uses the same paper loading technology, which is fairly simple to use. There are no drawers to open like most lasers, you just stuff the paper in the little bin. One thing I really like about it is the priority slot. So you just loaded 200 sheets of paper in the regular paper tray and you realize you need to print out an envelope (very easy to do btw). Well, with an inkjet, you would probably have to remove all the paper first, and try to put the envelope in the correct position for it to print, and then pray it doesn't get stuck or jam. With the LJ 1200, printing envelopes is easy. Stick one in the priority slot (right above the normal paper tray), pop open the door in the back (so you have a straight thru path), and press print. The envelope is fed thru the priority slot automatically, and the paper in the tray is left untouched.

Now, what you really expect from a laser printer is quality output. And this printer certainly can perform. With true 1200 X 1200 dpi, you will not be disappointed. Print of all type looks perfect at any size, even if you hold is up to a magnifying glass (you will try this at the first printout you make, believe me). You don't need special paper to get the high resolutions like with inkjets, most normal paper does just fine. But be careful, because I've found that some paper tends to curl after its been printed, because the paper gets hot as it goes through. So if you stock up on paper, buy some that says laser or multifunction.

Now onto speed. Because of its price, I believe this in considered an entry level laser. However, its speed and quality alone might classify it in another level. Because the LJ1200 gives you 15 pages per minute. It is so fast that it has to pause for my computer to keep sending it data. I'm not sure how the pc drivers work, but if I'm printing a website several pages long, it will be sent to the printer as individual pages, which saves time in the long run. But really, the paper just comes flying out of this machine -- a definite plus.

My one flaw might not apply to you, because I use a Macintosh with a usb cable. I have never owned an HP printer until this one, and I always thought HP provided excellent Macintosh support. However, it is lacking considerably. The installation poster is missing some basic components for a Macintosh install, and the included drivers just don't work. What I found would happen was that documents on queu would be deleted if there were at least 2 waiting to print. Or it would just take a really long time to get the data sent to the printer. Here is the best way to get around this problem (copied from a mac help forum):

To print all the desired pages, in background mode, without hangs, freezes, blocks, and other problems:
1. Disable the HP LaserJet 1200 USB driver in the Extensions Manager control panel.
2. Trash your old desktop printer.
3. Open the Desktop Printer Utility and create a new USB Printer (but not an HP USB printer).
4. Select Laserwriter 8 as the PPD and restart.

If you still need help, go to macfixit.com and search for lj1200. That method was for mac os 9.x. The problems are mostly eliminated in mac os x it seems. Some users reported that with os 10.0.3 or below the printer was not being recognized by print center. I use 10.0.4 and it shows up fine (one note: I had to unplug my usb-parallel converter I used for my old inkjet -- this wouldn't even let me open print center).

The bottom line for you should probably be related to cost. One estimation put the LJ1200's cost at about 3¢ per page. That is really great when you compare it to inkjets, who can be up to 5 times that cost. The toner is long lasting, so you only have to buy a new one every 2500 pages. It costs about $50 or so. I believe black inkjet cartriges are supposed to last about 500 pages, and they now cost around $25. You can just see the savings right there. And with the LJ1200 you get a toner included, so thats like getting an inkjet with 5 free cartriges. The value for a laser is very good.

Now lets talk about who this printer is for. The basic model ($400) is not network ready. For $200 extra it is. If you want, you can add a print server later for $200, so if you're not sure what to get, buy the basic model first. You can also get a copy/scan attachment that sits ontop of the printer. I've heard some bad problems about this thing, from poor software to scanned sheets being fed back into the printer. Don't get it. If you want a multifunction laser, get the LJ 3200 that prints, copies, scans, and faxes for $600 retail. The LJ1200 is for either home offices that print a lot of documents, or simply home users that print a lot of documents. As I said before, I relied on an inkjet before I purchased this, and I like the fact that color was readily available. But now that I have used the laser for about a month, I have to say I have not once needed a color print. But my suggestion is to get a cheap, slow color inkjet (if you don't already have it) to accompany this for any color needs.

Ok, I've been writing for long enough. This is a great printer. Mac users be warned tho, you might have to do a little bit on tinkering for installation. Oh yeah, if you use os 9.1 and have multiple macs, you can attach it to your main computer and use usb printer sharing. That way, any computer that has 9.1 on your network can print to this printer as long as the server computer is turned on.

One more thing I forgot to mention. There is no on/off switch on the basic model. This might discourage some users, but I like the feature. The printer is always ready to print. It warms up by itself when a document is sent to it. It essentially is off when not in use, the only indication it is on is the little green light. In my opinion this is a plus for convenience. In addition, the warmup time is very short, so there really isn't a disadvantage for not having a power switch.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 380
Operating System: Macintosh