Gambit624's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Photosmart Premium C309A (CC335A#A...
I was wanting to get a new All in One Printer (AIO), and was looking at printers such as the HP J6480, HP 8000, and the 6500. I had purchased these printers at work for a variety of people, and then got their feedback on them. I decided to purchase the 6500, and went to Sams Club, as they had it in stock at a reasonable price.
When I got there, I saw the HP Photosmart Premium, glistening in the glow of the light above, like a beacon in the night.I decided not to purchase this printer until I went home and did some research, as it was an additional $100 more than I wanted to spend.
In the research on this item, I found it to be a fairly reliable machine, with some features that surprised some users. I decided to purchase it at Sam's Club for $189 (I found it at other retailers for $299 or slightly higher, however, most places now have it at around $199 right now). One of the other factors that helped me decide to purchase this printer was the cost of the ink cartridges. Standard capacity cartridges ran about ten dollars, and the XL cartridges ran about $17. There are five cartridges total, with the standard black, cyan, magenta and yellow, and then a second black, which is a photo black.
Installation of this printer is standard fare for an HP AIO. I'm not a big fan of the blue tape they use all over the printer, but it's not a huge annoyance. Installing the cartridges was fairly straightfoward. The guide they give you for setting up the printer is well written, in that it's simple to understand.
No matter how you connect it (Wireless, USB, Ethernet or Bluetooth) it is fairly straightforward. I installed it on my wireless network, and even my non-wireless devices, (such as my wired desktop) connect to it with ease. Bluetooth phones, such as my blackberry, connected with little effort. If you can setup your Bluetooth ear piece, then you can connect it with this printer.
Text prints on this printer are pretty crisp, and pretty quick. Photo prints are really good, and are on par with other Photosmart printers I have seen in the past. There is also a duplexer on this device, allowing you to print two-sided copies without having to re-insert the paper. A nice extra to have, especially when printing business documents.
One really nice feature of this printer is it's ability to print on inkjet printable DVD's and CD's. There is a traythat you insert the DVD/CD in, pull down the special part of the printer, slide the tray into the print guide, use the HP Solution Center (so far my preference, but looking for another way) to create the image, and print. It takes about 2-3 minutes on average to print.
You can also print directly from your Storage Media (CF, SD and other cards) without a computer. While this is a nice feature, I found it to be a bit cumbersome. Trying to advance pictures on the small screen on the printer was difficult, and I just found it faster to insert the card in my computer, and print from that.
The photo paper is stored in the top tray where the printouts are dropped when done. This was a nice touch, so I don't have to swap out paper if I want to switch to photo printing or vice versa.
I've only faxed on this machine once. Nothing really special stands out on that feature.
It's a pretty standard scanner for an HP AIO. Pretty good resolution for this scanner. No complaints here.
HP includes the standard half filled start cartridges with this printer. You'll go through them pretty quick if you print alot at first. It's nice that the replacement cartridges are fairly inexpensive.
This is a pretty good printer for the money I paid. With the cool features such as the Optical Media printer, and bluetooth capability, it adds up to a good value for the price point. You may have to shop around to get the best price, but for under $200, you would be hard pressed to find another mfg with this feature set at this price.
Prints: Up To 33ppm Black, 32 Ppm Color (Mfr Specs) Copies: Up To 33ppm Black, 32 Ppm Color Scans: Up To 4800 X 4800-dpi Resolution Faxes: Up To 33.6k...More at Staples
Prints at speeds up to 33 pages/min black, 32 color## 50-page automatic feeder faxes, scans, copies multiple pages Built-in wireless and Ethernet conn...More at HP Direct
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