Older model, works well
Written: Jan 17 '05 (Updated Aug 25 '05)
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Pros: Good photo quality
Cons: occasionally jams, cartridges expensive
The Bottom Line: Older model. Dependable, does good quality color photos. Ink cartridges expensive. If using Windows XP, user has to download printer software.
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| alanbweaver's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Photosmart P1100 InkJet Printer |
For many years, I’ve only used a black and white laser jet printer. The yield is high, the cost per page is inexpensive. Although the initial cost of the printer is high (although some of them are now less than $100), they are cost effective if you are producing a lot of printed copies. The other advantage is that if you don’t print for a period of time, the cartridge does not dry out as it will in a color printer.
Price Paid
I got it for $0 as a friend upgraded her printer. She is a straight shooter and said it was a good one but she just wanted something faster and higher quality. To be honest, I don’t know the dpi but it is high enough so that a color print comes out looking just like a photo.
Set up
It is fairly easy. The disk that I got with it will not work if you have Windows XP. However, if you go to their website (hp.com), and type in the model number, you’ll get the drivers to download.
Printer Cartridges
They are expensive. I paid over $50 (with a $10 discount) at Staples for the black and color cartridge package. I checked out a few websites for discounts and couldn’t find any. Interestingly, there was an article in the 1/17/05 Wall Street Journal stating how the manufacturers are coding the machines so that you can only use cartridges from the country it was purchased in. For example, if you could find cartridges for 20% less in Canada, you cannot use them in your printer. It is not just HP that is doing this, it is an industry thing. It seems they don’t like to compete with themselves.
I’ve heard too many negatives about the no-name ink cartridges as to print quality, jams, yield, etc. that I just bit the bullet as I got the printer for free. In fact the printer companies could give them away for free as they charge so much for a few ounces of ink.
Print Quality
I printed only 8.5 x 11” images so far. They are fine. I have some Epson photo stock which works very good. Compared to digital images I’ve received from labs such as CVS or Walmart, they are excellent.
If you are every planning on displaying your photos, make sure that you do not put them in sunlight as they will fade. I don’t know if this printer is of archival quality or not.
I’ve had a few problems with the paper tray not engaging and printing out. I saw that in other reviews. You need several sheets of paper in the tray for it to work. Speed seems fine, I’m not in a rush when I’m printing out only a few color photos at a time.
Printing of black and white has been fine. I printed out a business letter and envelope the other night and it came out great. The text was crisp. The bar code on the envelope was as clear as if it were on my laser jet.
When printing, make sure when you go to print, you click on the properties tab. That allows you to choose the qualities: draft, normal, best. You can also select the type of paper that the machine will be printing on. I don’t know if it really affects output quality, but I always spend a moment making the correct choice. If you are printing a business letter or a homework paper, draft is perfectly fine. You want to use the higher qualities when you are doing photos or have a special presentation to do.
It works good on 8 1/2" x 11" paper stock. I have problems getting it to print on 4" x 6" (it's also cheaper to have it done at your local drugstore or discount store but that's besides the issue). If you are printing wallet size images or smaller pictures on it, it's good. However, I'd recommend getting a paper cutter so that images have crisp edges and don't look like they were cut with scissors. Using a razor and ruler is a royal pain.
The Printer
It seems to be of decent quality overall. However, when it prints, the shelf it is on wiggles a bit. I have a tall computer stand in my home office (cost about $50) so make sure it is on something a bit sturdy.
It can connect via USB or parallel cable.
The Bottom Line
As I said, it was free. I make prints for people as gifts sometimes and frame/mat them and they are thrilled with them. It costs about $4 at Walmart for an 8” x 10” print so I will break even on about the next couple of prints with this machine. If you can find a used one for a few bucks (I wouldn’t spend more than $35), this is a great deal for a printer that can be workhorse and provide you with quality prints. Make sure that you are using decent quality stock so that images come out looking good.
If you are going to be printing a lot of photos, you may wish to go to a higher end printer wherein there are separate ink cartridges for each color. That optimizes your costs. Right now, if I were to print a few photos that are predominantly blue, the cyan section of the cartridge would be drained and I’d be forced into spending $30+ when the other colors are still more than adequate.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): na
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
alanbweaver
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Location: Northeast
Reviews written: 475
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
teach computer applications, design websites, provide training in digital photography/photoshop, cycling, photography
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