The name Hewlett Packard has virtually become synonymous with printers. Just as Sony is known for their quality electronics, HP is known for their quality printers. In terms of features, as you will see discussed below, this printer is not lacking. However, the quality of its output is just not good enough to rival those of Epson’s and yet still too expensive to be a high-end home printer. First, I’d like to discuss the specifications and features of this printer and tell you why I feel that though it is a good printer, it is not worthwhile investment for the home or office.

Specs

Print Speed & Resolution

Dependent upon document type and print mode
Document type (EconoFast, Normal, Best)
Black text (12 ppm, 6.5 ppm, 4.8 ppm)
Color graphics (10 ppm, 5.3 ppm 3.3 ppm)
4 x 6 photo (N/A, 1 ppm, 0.6 ppm)
Full-page color (2.9 ppm, 0.6 ppm, 0.3 ppm)

600 dpi black and white, 2400 X 1200 dpi color (PhotoRet III)

The above print speeds are just average for the office network printer and pretty fast for home use. In an office setting, most documents just look better printed out from a laser printer (though this printer also touts a 600dpi resolution). The text is sharper on a laser because there is no “bleeding” (bleeding refers to fringes around text letters due to ink being absorbed into paper fibers). In terms of the addition of color, for the office, a resolution this high is not required for most presentation and report requirements. If color is required, this resolution is just not adequate for professional photos. No matter how high the resolution is on an ink jet printer, it can never rival those that use other technologies (such as laser and thermal). You can plainly see the dots made by this printer on close inspection of color photo printouts. At $300, it is too expensive for what you get. One may argue that it is nice just to have the color capability in case one needed it. One must remember though that ink jet printers get less “mileage” per printer cartridge than the toner cartridges from laser printers. Therefore, if most of your printouts are in black and white, you are better off getting a black and white laser printer and a separate higher end color printer just for those special occasions.

At $300, it is a bit expensive for home use. One can get a nice Epson printer with 1200 dpi color for $150-$200. In terms of printout quality, there is minimal difference for everyday use. I would recommend taking a look at sample printouts at your local CompUSA or BestBuy if you don’t believe me.

Two Sided Printing

This is a neat addition to the printer, but think about it, how often does one actually use this feature. It would certainly not be used for color photographs for a myriad of reasons; some of which include most photo paper is only coated on one side and regular heavy paper will bleed to the other side.

How about for black and white printing you say? Well, for most printing purposes, the average user will use regular printer paper. This paper is just too thin to handle dual side printing and one will definitely see ink spots penetrating to the other side. The solution to this of course is to use heavier bond paper, but that adds so much cost that you might as well use two sheets of regular paper printed out on ones side.

Other Features

Other features of this printer include a 150 sheet capacity paper reservoir and both parallel and USB connectivity. Advertised operating system compatibilities include Windows (3.1x, 95, 98 NT 4.0, Me); MS-DOS applications; Macintosh. All these features are pretty much standard. I’d like to note that this printer is one of the quieter ink jet printers I’ve used.

Bad Marketing Strategy

This is a very good printer. It’s flaw is that it is too good and therefore too expensive for home use, but not good enough for professional use. There is no real consumer use for what this printer offers. HP themselves offer ink jet printers with comparable resolutions that are $100 less.

Recommendations

Home

For home use, there is really no point in buying a printer with such high color resolution. To achieve those resolutions, the ink cartridges must be cleaned (which wastes ink) and special paper must be used (more than $1.00 a sheet!). You will be happier with a $200 model with identical black and white resolution (600 dpi) and 1200 dpi color resolution. If you ever need to print out photos, you’d be much happier going to a professional printer (like Kinko’s) and getting it printed out on a laser or thermal printer (which costs about $1.00, the price of a sheet of special paper). The reason I don’t just say get a black and white laser printer is that sometimes it’s nice to have color printouts, and for home and school use, 1200 dpi is plenty.

Office

It’s actually strange that HP would recommend this printer be used in an office setting (as stated on their web site). For the volume of black and white printing in a typical office, a laser printer is more economical (in terms of ink). It also produces more professional looking text. As stated before, if color printing is required, a separate thermal or laser printer is called for.

In the end, the decision is yours to make. If you have the extra $100 to spend, then this printer offers quality and the assurance that it comes from a great company. Speaking practically though, the extra features offered will so seldom be used by the everyday user that the extra cost is just not worthwhile.




Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 299
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh