Dream Come True (In PhotoREt III Color)
Written: May 24 '00 (Updated Jun 25 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, great resolution, no feed/jam problems
Cons: No cable included, expensive to replace ink
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| urwiller's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Deskjet 930c InkJet Printer |
If you read my review of PointClick, then you may know about my free printer. I ordered a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 932C from eCost.com and I haven't regretted it since! Granted, I've only owned it for a few months, but I'm telling you the 932C has been a dream come true (in PhotoREt III color)!
The previous printer (Canon BJC620) I owned was a hunk of junk compared to the HP Deskjet 932C. To be honest, I wouldn't have even considered getting this printer or any printer at all if it hadn't been for a few contributing factors:
a. I got a good deal on it through PointClick.
b. I needed one to replace my Canon BJC620.
c. My wedding's nearing.
What does my wedding have to do with buying a new printer? Have you seen the price on some of those generic looking invitations? $300! You've got to be kidding me. If I do it myself, I can cut the cost in half. So, yes-- I bought the 932C mainly for a one-night stand but I'm sure the fling will last longer than the Canon's. One thing I'd like to note for superficial reasons: I didn't buy it because the brand matches my PC... but hey, it can't hurt, right?
Details
• 9ppm black/7.5ppm color (draft) 4.5ppm black/2ppm color (normal) 4ppm black/1.2ppm color (best)
• Up to 2400 dpi color on photo paper and 600 dpi black in best quality.
• Paper tray holds up to 100 sheets and can handle labels, envelopes or transparencies
• Utilizes PhotoREt III technology (color layering)
• USB or Parallel interface (Mac or PC)
• 1 Year warranty
• Power cable included with one black ink cartridge and one tri-color ink cartridge
• Software included: By Design Home, HP Internet Connection Center, Cartogra Photo Website, and Printable Expressions
Notables
Be aware that the HP Deskjet 932C does not come with a printer cable. You will need to purchase your own cable whether USB or parallel. I think it's fairly common practice for printer manufacturers to leave this needed item out, nowadays. I wasn't expecting it since my Canon came with its own parallel cable back in '97. Instead of running out and getting a cable, I'm using my old one. I keep reminding myself to pick up a USB since I heard that they're faster than parallel.
The 932C is fairly compact. It's around 17" wide, 16" deep, and 8" high. The paper tray extends in the front and folds up for when the printer isn't in use.
The only difference between the 932C and the 930C is the bundled software and around $10. The latter being cheaper with fewer software titles.
Usage
--Setup--
The 932C was very easy to setup and I had it running in a few minutes. I don't normally install all the software since I find most of it useless and have other programs that offer the same capabilities. In retrospect, I could have saved a few bucks buying the 930C.
--Warm Up--
One perk to this printer is that it doesn't take oodles of time to clean the print heads. In fact, I don't believe it has a self-cleaning mechanism. That may actually be a downfall but I, for one, can't stand waiting around to print something. Just turn the puppy on and let her rip... no warm up period to wait.
--Loads & Jams--
I had a ton of trouble towards the end of my Canon experience with paper loading and paper jams. Picture me huddled over the printer waiting for it to start its feed. If the paper didn't feed, I had to manually push it through. It wasn't the most efficient thing to do. The 932C has been feeding paper wonderfully and it's only jammed once.
I can attest to its feed capabilities due to the fact that I've not been using the standard weight papers to print. For my invitations, I used 67 lb. cardstock and 17 lb. vellum. Vellum is an ultra thin see-through paper and I didn't get a multiple feed once.
When the 932C got jammed, it was a little difficult to get the paper out of the actual printer. You have to open up the back and pull it from there. I say it was difficult mostly due to the fact that I had no idea you could take the back off so I was pulling from the front at first. Ooops! That'll teach me to read the troubleshooting tips first.
--Print Quality--
My invitation background is color, so I did get to test the quality on that a bit. I printed it in normal quality and it came out really well. I have yet to print a photo onto photo paper but from the looks of the test page the 932C printed when I first set it up, I don't think I'll be running into any problems. The resolution and clarity was absolutely astonishing. I think the PhotoREt III did me in. You can totally tell the difference between the colors and they don't run together like I've seen other printers do.
As for text, well let me just say that it looks like laser. You can't even tell it's inkjet. I printed the invitation text on the vellum paper and it was so much crisper than when I tried to print it on the Canon.
I've printed roughly 200 pages and haven't had to replace any ink yet, which brings me to another note. I'm glad I haven't used up all the ink because cartridges aren't too cheap on the 932C. The black and tri-color inks are about $40 each.
Overall
I'm about to go out on a limb and proclaim the HP Deskjet 932C as the best printer for the value. At $200 retail, it's a steal. The Canon I bought 3 years ago cost me $450 and it never printed this good. The invitations came out so nicely, everyone thought they were professionally done. I may not be able to testify to it's reliability having owned it only a few months, but the 932C is ideal for crisp black text, color photo printing, and it definitely works for invitations.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
urwiller
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 171 members
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