LaserJet 1012- The best choice in personal laser printers
Written: Nov 22 '03 (Updated Nov 22 '03)
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Pros: Great price, 15ppm!, Quiet, Long toner life, Sturdy, Fresh look, Double input trays
Cons: $70 toner pack, Printer cable not included, Umm... monochrome only
The Bottom Line: The LaserJet 1012 is the best personal laser printer I have ever used. It's fast, reliable and the price is right! So what are you waiting for?
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| mykel8's Full Review: Hewlett Packard LaserJet 1012 Laser Printer |
Why a Laser Printer?
I had been a staunch supporter of Inkjet printers for years. Inkjets were cheap, printed in color, and got the job done, albeit at their own relatively stodgy pace. Besides, I always considered laser printers to be prohibitively expensive. Spending $600 for black and white pages didn't seem economical to me. Poor college students like myself couldn't handle the price. Recently though, the prices have been falling quite aggressively on lower-volume laser printers such as HP's LaserJet 1012. In fact, they have fallen to low enough levels to let the average Home/Home-Office user to have one. I just became the proud owner of this printer, and I'll be happy to let you in on the low-down of this fine peripheral.
Considerations and Observations
After reading up on the 1012's specs, it sounds impressive. The 1012 prints 15 pages per minute and has a first page out time of 10 seconds, very nice. Text is crisp and looks amazingly sharp, pictures actually come out decent, considering it's a monochrome printer. It is important to realize that if any color printing is needed at all, a laser printer will not be the best option. Color laser printers are still high in the stratosphere in terms of pricing. Anyway, more positive remarks about the printer. The printer itself has a great sound to it, it's not amazingly quiet, but it won't wake up your sleeping neighbors. Furthermore, this laser printer has no "thermal smell" to it. Unlike some laser printers when after printing 30 pages the room is filled with fumes, the 1012 has no intoxicating smell to it (in general, HP is very good about muffling that awful thermal smell associated with laser printers). The printer features separate trays for plain(8.5x11)/legal(8.5x14) paper AND a separate input tray for heavier media such as envelopes, card stock and label paper... a very nice touch. Another great feature is the convenient power switch at the rear of the printer. Many of HP's earlier printers had no such switch, so as long as the printer was plugged in, it was permanently turned on- not a great power saving measure. Still, when the 1012 is sitting at idle and switched on, it consumes a paltry 2 watts of electricity. The 1012 is sturdy, it feels durable and at the same time it won't take over a desk like LaserJets of the past would. As the paper is taken through the printer, it takes a nice free path through the innards of the device- no paper curling to speak of. In general, it's a well-rounded package and HP gives you lots of bang for the buck.
Getting up and running
Installing the printer is a breeze. The included CD has its drivers and extra throw-in programs HP thought we might appreciate (I don't need extra glut on my system, thank you). The printer connects to computers through the standard A-B USB cable (which is unfortunately not included with the printer, for under $200 though, I didn't really expect it to be there). From the opening of the box to first page out took me all of 10 minutes. Install the software on your system, unpack the printer, connect the printer cable, turn on the printer- viola, you're set! HP writes great printer drivers, not at all buggy like some Epsons and Lexmarks I've had to deal with. I'm even sharing this printer on my LAN, Windows 98SE, XP Pro and 2000 Pro print to it with no problems at all- fantastic output from all 3 OSs.
In Conclusion
I am very pleased with my LaserJet 1012. It's a great deal, and now 15 page reports won't take 10 minutes to print. Be advised, I would keep an InkJet around the Home/Home-Office for color jobs, but the 1012 is more than happy to take ANY Black/White job thrown at it. You will save a lot of money in the long run if all of your printing is black and white. The toner in the 1012 lasts a reported 2,000 pages... whereas an ink tank is wasted in a few hundred prints. This printer is as happy in the Home office as it is in the dorm room, office cubicle or bedroom... it may be HP's entry-level laser, but it really does pack a "departmental punch" to it. I am telling everybody I know how great this printer is... HP really has gotten it right.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
mykel8
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Location: Miami, FL, USA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 3 members
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