No more waiting in the photo line at CVS!
Written: Dec 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great speed, quality, PRICE, and durability. HP has thought of every aspect of photo printing and put it into this printer that can even stand alone w/o a PC attachment!
Cons: The price of cartridges and paper, however, it is still cheaper than having photos developed.
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| CEOlson's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Photosmart P1100 InkJet Printer |
I remember the day I first saw and tested the P1100 like it was yesterday. My coworkers at Staples and I were setting a new store display
for this new HP photo printer that was supposedly amazing. Being the computer experts we were we did expect nothing less from HP, however, we thought that it may be hyped up more than it deserved. We came to this conclusion because many of the other photo printers we tested did not perform as well as the manufacturers claimed.
When we opened the box we knew already that this was going to be something special just by the sleek look and black color. Of course we grabbed a digital camera with memory card off the DEMO rack and took a picture of the nearest unwitting sales associate and immediately printed it out. It was amazing we didn't even need to import the picture into a computer to print it out! This is because the P1100 has a slot that fits most camera memory cards and menu that can be navigated from the printer itself that allows you to pull pictures off the card and have the printer print them. Also, as an added bonus if you forget in what order the pictured were taken it will allow you to print a sheet with all the pictures in thumbnail size so you can see which ones you want to print! Hows that for convenience.
As I said in the title of my opinion you will no longer have to wait in line and fill out those film envelopes ever again. When we printed out the picture of the sales associate we were amazed at the quality. The P1100 had definitly gone beyond our expectations. The picture we printed was only on standard ink jet paper and it still looked breathtaking! Of course the next logical step was to try and print the photo on glossy photo paper and I have to say and my associates will concur, the picture quality was better than pictures I have had developed and pretty darn close to the quality of my senior portraits! It was amazing.
This printer does not just print photos, however. It acts just as a normal printer in every other respect except that it prints exceptional photo quality pictures. The Photosmart P1100 prints 4.7 black pages per minute and 3.1 color on the BEST settings. If you leave the settings on normal you can get about 11 pages per minute black and 6 color.
The HP P1100 also has HP's revolutionary PhotoRET III technology which is what allows it to print so well. Instead of dropping ink on the paper like many ink jet printers do (including Lexmark who claims to have the best resolution but doesn't) the HP P1100 sprays the ink down and the dots that the P1100 uses are 70% bigger than other ink jets. This means that HP P1100's 600 by 600 dpi resolution will beat out lexmarks's 1200 by 1200 because Hp's dots are bigger therefore they need less per inch.
A couple handy things the printer has to facilitate picture printing are its paper tray and the option of standard 1284 IEEE cable or USB cable hook ups. What is unique about the paper tray is that it has a special slot that will hold about 20 sheets of 4 by 6 photo paper so as to not waste photo paper along with all the other standard papers you would normally see on a printer. I have tried both hook ups and I recommend using the USB hook up if your computer has the capability because the USB hook up is a lot faster, however, there is no need to worry if you don't have a USB port because as I mentioned the standard printer cable will work as well.
If your camera has jet send capabilities the P1100 will also support that. What Jet Send is is the capability to send pictures to the printer through a wireless infrared beam. If your camera has this technology it will make the printing of photos even easier. Check your box or call your cameras manufacturer to see if your camera has the Jet Send capability.
Here are some Minimum System Requirements you should check!
These are the minimum system requirements taken from the package. The minimum system requirements are: Windows (95, 98, NT 4.0, or higher): Pentium 133; 16 MB RAM (32 MB RAM for Windows NT), 150 MB free disk space, 640 x 480 256 color display, 4X CD-ROM. If you can meet these requirements, then you should have no problem in owning this printer.
I know many of you fellow Epinioners reading this are thinking "What about the Ink costs?" Well, I am not going to lie to you, it can be a little pricey. However, I am still running the same black cartridge I received with the printer and that was about 3 months ago. Black cartridges go for about 35 dollars at your local Staples. The color cartridges will be spent more quickly as is the nature of the machine. You can get a normal cartridge for about 38 dollars and a large capacity cartridge (double the normal size) for about 63 dollars at your local Staples. I have gone through one regular and almost one large capacity color cartridge since I have had the machine (the LCD screen on the printer will tell you when you are running low on ink). Also, another pricey think is the photo quality paper. To get the professionally developed look the paper is a must but in total buying the color ink and the paper will still cost less than having pictures developed.
The driver software is very easy to install as well and within about 20 minutes of opening the box you'll be printing photos!
I have recommended this printer and sold this printer to many of my best customers that ask for me by name when they enter the store including my parents! All have had no complaints and can't thank me enough for recommending it to them. This is a great printer to own especially if you want to start developing your own pictures instead of always making those trips to drop them off at the local CVS. This printer is also network capable and prints almost as fast (1 page less per minute) than most Laser Jets so it is the perfect printer for home, home office, and office settings. The HP P1100 is the best printer for all situations and you won't regret spending the $499 to own one.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
CEOlson
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 1 member
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