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Saturday, February 20, 2010

HP Photosmart C7280 All-in-One Printer Review


Been an HP lover for years, but never again will I buy one. I've had two Photosmarts that have quit shortly after warrantee is up with the same problem - Ink system failure. A lot of these can be reset but they eventually get you.

Also the software has gone to he**. The installation and support is so complicated and riddled with holes I've spent much more debugging it than any other component. Installs fail easily. There is no restore function. Temporary files are created that can easily be deleted which damage the installation. (HP do you understand the concept of software restore and that needed files should not be temporary?) One time things go so bolixed up I had to restore my computer just to get the install functions to work. Then there's the infamous duplex printer failure. You go to print using the duplexer and get the message duplexer not installed (but wait - it's part of the machine!) So hit print single sided and it prints double sided just fine.

Support? Better off with someone off the street. Takes forever to get someone on chat, the phone, or email. Then they quote a stock answer. Finally you might get someone who knows what they're doing. That's if they haven't totally forgotten you. What - you use the printer for critical functions? Forget that - your going to spend days getting anything fixed.

Like I said, I've loved HP since the early 80's. But I would never buy another product from them again in my life. What's worse than hardware that starts out beautifully then always take a swan dive - software that's got to be the worst in the industry - support that ought to pay you for wasting your time.

Spend your money elsewhere.Get more detail about HP Photosmart C7280 All-in-One Printer.

Canon Pixma iP2600 Photo Inkjet Printer (2435B002)


Great little printer for the money, but the cartridges do not last very long. They offer larger cartridges, but they're pretty expensive too.

When I went back to the store to get more ink cartridges, I realized that buying a new printer (which comes with cartridges and a small pack of photo paper) was about $4 less than buying the replacement cartridges. I felt a little guilty since it's such a waste of resources (environmentally speaking), but that's Canon's stupid fault for pricing things the way they have. Do they really think we're not going to notice that the replacement ink cartridges cost more than we paid for the printer? Corporate America doing what it does best...wasting money. Had the two cartridges cost $25, I would have saved myself five bucks and gone on with my life.

So I reluctantly bought another printer for $30 instead of paying $34 for the two little replacement cartridges. How could I not? That said, I'm not the type to keep buying printers and putting them in closet or throwing them in the dumpster, so I'll be looking for an alternative soon, preferably from another company...but for the meanwhile, this one does the job just fine. It's just the principle that puts me off. Everything about the printer is great...looks awesome sitting next to my iMac too.Get more detail about Canon Pixma iP2600 Photo Inkjet Printer (2435B002).

Shop For HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni Printer (CC378A#ABA)


This is our second color laser printer in the past two weeks, and after a week of use we feel this is a keeper. The previous printer we tried, the Brother HL-4040cdn Color Laser Printer with Duplex and Networking, was a step better than this printer in nearly every respect, except color accuracy. But my wife had to have a printer that was highly accurate for her project and this little printer was able to meet her high expectations. The Brother just could not cut it with the color accuracy, despite all the advanced calibration steps we tried.

Let me admit that I was a bit apprehensive about getting this printer given the many negative early reviews. Thankfully, it seems HP has addressed the quality problems with the later releases of this printer since it has been receiving excellent reviews lately.

The print quality of this printer is astonishingly nice. HP is confident enough to let the printer print out a photo quality test page that has brilliant, vibrant colors, and amazing depth for a laser printer.

The build quality of this printer is good but perhaps a step below the substantially heavier Brother HL-4040cdn, which seems definitely capable of a higher duty cycle. This printer has a smaller footprint and feels more at home in a home-office as opposed to a business office. That said, in our first week of use we have had no technical issues with this printer whatsoever and, despite being slower and less robust than the Brother, it suits our needs just fine.

After networking it with our Linksys router and assigning it a fixed IP number, we found to our delight that most of the settings of the printer can be manipulated using a web browser after pointing the browser to the printer's IP number. The printer's built in webserver page displays information such as toner levels and estimated remaining prints and has a full menu system to allow you to change the settings.

Our only grouse with this printer is that the default color output for photos is a bit too dark, causing dull pictures. I browsed through HP's Support pages and found that the dark color issue was quite common, but I could not find a solution for the correct Print Density settings for this printer. So, after much testing, and lots of wasted paper, I came to the same conclusion as another reviewer that there was too much magenta, which tended to smear the subtle details.

My Color Adjustments:
Using the "HP ToolboxFX" program that is provided, or through the web interface, it is necessary to modify the "Print Density" settings under "Device Settings". I arrived at the following settings: cyan: 0, magenta: -2, yellow: -1 and black: 0. To keep things simple, I kept the values consistent accross all the print density attributes, i.e., contrasts, highlights, midtones and shadows, although each individual attribute should probably be further tweaked. To my eyes colors were true, with slight heaviness in magenta remaining.

It was also necessary to brighten the pictures themselves slightly, using a software tool such as Adobe Photoshop or Arcsoft Photoimpression. I simply used Photoimpression to bump up the brightness by 10% (or "auto brighten" by two levels).

Finally, when printing, I found it is also necessary to set the the color theme to Photo. I did try sRGB, Vivid and Photo (Adobe RGB 1998) color themes, but they all tended to push too much magenta. Only with the color theme set to Photo was I able to get true reds and vibrant, almost photo quality prints on 8.5 x 11 glossy photo paper.

Conclusion:
Since there is a relatively easy way to get around the dark color issue, I have no problem edorsing the HP CP1518ni as an excellent color laser printer for home use.Get more detail about HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni Printer (CC378A#ABA).

Friday, February 19, 2010

Where To Buy Epson WorkForce 40 Wireless Color Printer (Black) (C11CA27201)


I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with Epson technical support to finally come to a resolution that my type of wireless network (WPA2) is NOT one of the networks this printer works with because WPA2 is private. Their recommendation was to change my network to allow for the printer to be supported. How about they change their settings or offer a software update to accommodate the customer, not the other way around. I'm not about to fuss with my established private secured network for a printer.

Not only was this product a complete waste, but I just wasted 84 minutes of my time on the phone with a not friendly nor helpful technical support agent!

Advice: Check your network before committing to this printer. No where was I advised prior to my purchase that I needed a specific type of wireless network already set-up.

Note: This product does NOT support WPA2 networksGet more detail about Epson WorkForce 40 Wireless Color Printer (Black) (C11CA27201).

Purchase Canon Faxphone L90 Laser Fax and Printer (2234B007AA)


Great fax and copier. Quiet and energy efficient. Automatically ignores non-fax calls. So far, very reliable, with no problems. Toner cartridge cost is reasonable.Get more detail about Canon Faxphone L90 Laser Fax and Printer (2234B007AA).

Order Canon ImageCLASS MF4350d Laser All-in-One Printer


Both Canon's and Microsoft's websites state this printer is compatible with Windows 7. It is not. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Canon's tech support this week, with no success. Now, I'm stuck with a 2 month old printer that doesn't work, with no hope of it working, and unable to print.Get more detail about Canon ImageCLASS MF4350d Laser All-in-One Printer.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Buy Brother HL-4040cdn Color Laser Printer with Duplex and Networking


I needed a laser printer to create DVD album covers, which often includes graphics and high quality photos. Overall this was a great printer but it didn't have the print quality I needed. It was easy to set up on my Mac and relatively quick to print something. My main problem with this printer was the print quality for pictures. I ended up taking the Brother 4040cdn back and getting a HP CP2025. The HP CP2025 isn't as fast as the Brother 404cdn but the print quality blows it away.

Also, the Brother 4040cdn created pressed lines into my presentation paper from the rollers used to pull the paper through the printer, also something that I couldn't accept. Regular printer paper seemed to be come through with no lines.Get more detail about Brother HL-4040cdn Color Laser Printer with Duplex and Networking.

Buying HP P1505 Laserjet Printer


I read some of the negative reviews and was a little worried about the speed. It's great! First page is pretty quick and just keeps pumping them out every 2-3 seconds.Get more detail about HP P1505 Laserjet Printer.

Cheap Epson Workforce 610 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer


Did a lot of research prior to buying a replacement for my Brother MFC5200C... Was initially hesitant to go with the Epson Workforce 610 due to others' comments about slow print speed, however I am extremely pleased after setting it up and using it. This printer is faster than my Brother was, and I can't imagine needing a printer to work any faster.

Have had the printer for a few days so far, so can't comment on ink usage yet.

Pros:
--Easy setup, to include setting up as a network printer (I went with an ethernet cable connection to my wireless router since it's in the same room). Great to be able to print via the wireless network (was a pain to use the "sneakernet" with USB stick). I followed others advice to download the "combination driver pack" off Epson's website instead of using the installation CD--just follow the printed directions up to the point where it tells you to insert the CD, then run the zip file you got from Epson site. Works great.
--Scanner is fast, and very good for an all-in-one.
--Controls seem easy to use so far.

Cons:
--Nothing significant, although there are some plastic parts that seem like they could break if you are too rough with the equipment (ex. Flip-up stopper on the paper tray). Nothing to be overly concerned about, however.

Bottom line: Very happy with the choice. Highly recommended.Get more detail about Epson Workforce 610 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Cheapest HP Deskjet 6940 Printer. 36 Ppm Black and 27 Ppm, Up To 4800 Optimized Dpi Color


This is one quality "Photo" printer! It will handel heavy duty paper. Whats weird is it will also grab 2 or 3 sheets of regular paper. I have been amazed and people who I have givem them too think they are real photographs.
Also has special "ink" for doing just photo's.Get more detail about HP Deskjet 6940 Printer. 36 Ppm Black and 27 Ppm, Up To 4800 Optimized Dpi Color.

Discount HP 6988 Deskjet Printer (CB055A#B1H)


I have a relatively new Intel Mac (OSX 10.5.8) and the print quality from this thing is abysmal. It's light and very blurry, making any medium-sized text practically unreadable. Nothing is crisp. Everything looks fuzzy. All the good reviews here seem to be from people with PCs, so I thought I'd speak up for the benefit of Mac users.

Debating whether to return this thing... but it took forever to get it to work in the first place, and I don't wanna go through the insanity again.
Get more detail about HP 6988 Deskjet Printer (CB055A#B1H).

Low Price HP P1505N Laserjet Printer


Okay, so I bought this printer today, August 3 rd., 2009, from STAPLES @ $ 175.00, after researching absolutely every single available BnW printer available, from the cheapest to those @ $ 300.00. There isn't a single one that doesn't come with its list of complaints and I WISH that HP, CANON, EPSON, BROTHER and XEROX would be honourable and make a printer that will last and just DO what it's supposed to.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING other than remove your printer from the box, look at the CD because it will tell you exactly what has to be removed first,{ you'll have to remove the cover and the cartridge, which I found to be frightful at first, but fear not as it seems to be well designed for those of us who can be clumsey or nervous about some such mechanical things. DO grab the cartridge gently on each side using two hands and NOT in the center as you may damage it !}
...and DO NOT PLUG YOUR USB CABLE IN UNTIL THE CD TELLS YOU TO !!!

I did study WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL ADVANCED and scored 98%. Still, it did take me TWO hours to set up this printer because I learned it is CRUCIAL to download the latest driver/software from HP. This took awhile and I suggest one READS the directions PRIOR to simply clicking "DOWNLOAD ONLY" on their website. I'm still unclear as to deleting the "EXE" file...and have been looking for it, as per directions. AAARGH. At this point I'm guessing..and I don't like that.

Anyhow, this printer has now printed it's first page "WINDOWS XP PRINTER TEST PAGE". It was incredibly SPEEDY. I must say, that impressed me. The colour is very very black and I also love that. The print is ALMOST perfectly aligned, but the slant very well may be my OWN paper loading ineptitude at this point.

The tray that fits over the paper is ridiculous as it sits flimsy and doesn't snap in anywhere, nor does it have a solid footing. I don't get it ? If I accidentally knock it off, it'll definitely snap somewhere if it hits the floor. I'll be careful about the stupid thing.

In this day and age, I would also expect the machine to NOT sound so stunningly loud. But, okay...it isn't like a jet plane or anything. It's within standards I can live with. I just think HP could probably easily create a quiet machine, for crying out loud !

Finally, if this thing is SO GREAT, then WHY is it listed at $ 320.00 and purchasable at STAPLES for almost HALF that ? It's all some silly financial game. The thing is probably worth even less than what I paid, but I am content so far.

I promise to update my review after I've used this sucker for awhile. I think it's important to be honest about these products so that consumers can STOP getting screwed. THANK GOD for AMAZON for allowing us to do this !

I had an EPSON RX600 ALL IN ONE and the ON button simply wouldn't work anymore, when everything else was FINE with the darnedable thing. I swore I would NEVER get an ALL IN ONE again and lose everything in one fell swoop again. I also rarely used the colours and, like others felt SCREWED by EPSON ink prices. It used ALL the inks even when I only printed BnW. I'm hoping this proves to be more reasonable and I'll do my colour printing through [...]. They do a beautiful job, quickly and cheaply. I will buy an EPSON scanner separately as they are quite good.


Get more detail about HP P1505N Laserjet Printer.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Save Okidata Microline 320 Turbo 9-Pin Impact Printer


This printer is the idea printer for our business. Virtually does everything we need. Get more detail about Okidata Microline 320 Turbo 9-Pin Impact Printer.

HP D5460 Photosmart Printer Right now


As others have said, this is an ink-hog!
I bought this printer primarily to print CDs and DVDs. I'd been using an Epson but it was starting to give me some trouble so I thought I'd go back and try HP again. Big mistake!
1. The software to create DVD labels is extremely poor with no flexibility. I ended up buying Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker but even that pales compared to the abilities of the Epson CD label creation software.
2. I cannot print more than 3 DVDs without the printer coming up with an error condition. The CD/DVD tray then needs to be closed and the printer will wurble away for a couple of minutes "preparing" (no doubt expelling copious quantities of ink) before you can resume DVD printing. When you want to print a few dozen it can be very frustrating and time consuming.
3. When printing black text, it is indeed black. When printing a black and white photo as a DVD label, it comes out sepia. I've tried all sorts of things to fix this but I cannot get black to print as black on a DVD label.

When this current batch of ink runs out I think I'll be back with Epson. I used to like HP so much (sigh).
Get more detail about HP D5460 Photosmart Printer.

Lowest Price Canon Selphy ES30 Compact Photo Printer (White) (2676B001)


I bought this for christmas last year and have easily produced over 300 photos so far. The pics looks WONDERFUL! Sooo easy to use, set-up, move around. I LOVE this printer. The best thing is that it's a dye-sub printer, meaning the photos WILL NOT fade, or bleed, or look flat. I'm a graphic designer and have worked within the print industry for over 12 years. I've tested all types of printers, for every application, and this is one of the BEST. Do not consider buying anything else for photo printing. For the price, you could easily afford this printer and something else to print documents.... this will only be good for photos, in a 4x6 size. The one and only downside is that you can not run out and pick up extra cartridges anywhere... Best Buy is the only local store carrying them, and they are often sold out. Buy extra cartridges on line and plan ahead!Get more detail about Canon Selphy ES30 Compact Photo Printer (White) (2676B001).

Monday, February 15, 2010

Kodak ESP-5 EasyShare All-in-One Printer (8509408) Decide Now


This printer seemed like such a great idea.
I do a lot of printing and with my past printers the ink started getting quite expensive. Everyone in my family would have to prove what they wanted to print was print worthy!
This printer boasted that the ink would save you so much money. To buy the color and the black ink together would come up to $22. The first few dozen prints were great! I thought that I hit the jackpot with printers. Then it started the "Cannot Sense Paper Size" warning over and over again saying that I had the wrong paper inside for what I was printing when I didn't. Then lines started showing up in the prints. I changed the cartridges but it wouldn't do much for performance. Then I couldn't get it to print at all. I was talking about it with my father and I found out that he had the same issue with his. He called Kodak and they told him that the print head tends to go out quickly on these machines. So they overnighted one to him. He is once again happy with his printer. My printer was just past the one year mark so I was out of luck with that and I can't find where I can buy just the print head. I got on here to purchase a new one. I was actually thinking about purchasing another Kodak and hope that it would be better. It's hard to deny that the ink and the paper for it is so much cheaper. I was hoping to see that they worked the kinks out by now. Unfortunately, I don't see a Kodak printer with more than two stars. I have read a hundered or so reviews and most had the same problems that I did. So yesterday I bought a Cannon Pixma. I am quite disappointed with the Kodak printer and with Kodak. It's one thing to have a dud once in a while, but fix it already. It looks like they came out with a new model and it already has bad reviews. What is going on?Get more detail about Kodak ESP-5 EasyShare All-in-One Printer (8509408).

HP Deskjet D2660 Printer (CH366A#ABA) Order Now


When it runs it is a great printer. It printed very nice but every few days it would have an error. All the lights would start blinking and it was difficult to get it fixed so I could print again. We use it in a business so that was not acceptable.

HP was very good to me. I did the online chat and called in twice. They finally gave me an online giftcard for a new printer. After reading the reviews I selected a different model. We will see how that goes:)Get more detail about HP Deskjet D2660 Printer (CH366A#ABA).

HP H470b Office Jet Mobile Printer Buy Now


Odd that HP would make portable printers and ultra portable computers that are mutually incompatible.
The HP Mini has one resolution - 1024X576. The HP H470b won't install without 800X600.
Two online support requests advised changing resolution - which is impossible with a Mini.
Third attempt accomplished escalation of the support request - 4 days ago - no additional support forthcoming.Get more detail about HP H470b Office Jet Mobile Printer.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

HP Deskjet 6940 Color Printer (C8970A#B1H) Best Quality


Just like another reviewer mentioned this printer worked great until I had to change the cartridge! At first I thought my cartridges were expired so I actually returned them to the store. After trying two different cartridges I confirmed it was the printer! I kept getting error codes and could not figure out what is wrong with it. It looks brand new but unfortunately will not print now. :( Get more detail about HP Deskjet 6940 Color Printer (C8970A#B1H).

HP Laserjet M1319F Mfp Printer Get it now!


used for more than a year. no problem at all. print quickly and clearly. highly recommended.Get more detail about HP Laserjet M1319F Mfp Printer.

Epson R1900 Large Format Photo Printer Immediately


I am a professional photographer, and after having heard so many good things from friends about Epson I decided to go at the 13" level first, I am very pleased with the overall results. I've read that some people say they get "dark" prints, it is probably true, but you can easily compensate for that in Photoshop using Curves and the Screen Mode and vary opacity so that it's just right for you. This happened to me too but I'm not sure if it is because I need to upgrade my calibrating system for my monitor. So I just made some printing tests..and I adjusted the photograph prior to printing and that's it, I'm very pleased with the results.

So far this is the first ink cartridge I change and it was the gloss optimizer, it lasted for 12 5x7's, 8 8x10's, 2 8.5x11's and 1 13x19" and I will soon be needing to replace the Cyan and Photo Black cartridge.

I've tried different papers with their corresponding ICC profiles and I like: Kodak Professional paper Lustre E for Inkjet (255 g) it's affordable and gives me better skin tones than Ilford. However I'm very pleased with Ilford's Galerie Smooth Pearl Paper (red package) I use it for printing 5x7's and 13x19's, Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk is 310 gsm and excellent better than the Smooth Pearl. I'm impressed with Ilford Galerie Smooth High Gloss Media, it looks a lot like Kodak's Metallic paper which I can only get from a pro lab.

I don't like Epson's luster paper it's too shiny, won't purchase again, it's not 5 stars as they claim.

I tried using Moab canvas 350 gsm and the printer did not accept it, apparently it's too thick and it caused a paper jam, so be cautious about the thickness. I still haven't tried the Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper samplers I've purchased I'll keep you posted.

For Matte prints turn the gloss optimizer off, always print with the Best Photo Quality possible and turn off the fast speed.

The results vary widely depending on the paper you use, so make a wise decision and purchase sampler packs to see what works for you.

The printer does indeed take a lot of desk space so plan accordingly.

I can certainly understand why purchasing RIP software is advisable (although more expensive than the printer itself), Epson's included software is primitive, so try controlling the printer from within Photoshop to get better results.

I truly enjoy printing in-house instead of going to the lab, that is priceless! I used to get frustrated with labs all the time because their colors are hideous and not consistent, this isn't a problem anymore I get the colors I want anytime.
Get more detail about Epson R1900 Large Format Photo Printer.
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