ATTN: Bob Headrick - HP printer models

[Bill]

Bob, since you're the resident HP guru, I need some advice.

A friend of mine is an HP fan and wants to buy a new inkjet printer to
replace her ancient Deskjet 600. However, we find the HP website is
somewhat confusing about which models are newer than others, and which
have the lowest running costs. Her needs are modest...she wants a model
that will produce good text and graphics output but not suck up the ink
too fast. And she wants to be able to print the occasional photo and
doesn't mind swapping cartridges if needed, and she doesn't need direct
printing from her digital camera (she prefers to edit photos beforehand
anyway).

When viewing the various models, there doesn't seem to be any numbers
that indicate levels of performance and whether they're new or simply
current models. Is there a scheme that explains the model numbers?

We're in Canada, but models seem to be the same as in the US.

And how do we find pages per cartridge numbers so we can figure out
costs per page?

Her price range is flexible, but leans toward the low end. She doesn't
mind paying a bit more up front, if the running costs will be lower.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[Bob Headrick]

A friend of mine is an HP fan and wants to buy a new inkjet printer to
replace her ancient Deskjet 600. However, we find the HP website is
somewhat confusing about which models are newer than others, and which
have the lowest running costs. Her needs are modest...she wants a model
that will produce good text and graphics output but not suck up the ink
too fast. And she wants to be able to print the occasional photo and
doesn't mind swapping cartridges if needed, and she doesn't need direct
printing from her digital camera (she prefers to edit photos beforehand
anyway).

When viewing the various models, there doesn't seem to be any numbers
that indicate levels of performance and whether they're new or simply
current models. Is there a scheme that explains the model numbers?

We're in Canada, but models seem to be the same as in the US.

And how do we find pages per cartridge numbers so we can figure out
costs per page?

Her price range is flexible, but leans toward the low end. She doesn't
mind paying a bit more up front, if the running costs will be lower.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Compared to the DeskJet 600 series any of HP's current offerings will be much
faster and provide much better print quality in both black and white as well as
color graphics or photo's. You might take a look at the following (with all
prices as US list):

The DeskJet 6122 is an older but still current model. It uses the #45 black
cartridge, rated at 833 pages and the #78 cartridge rated at 450 color pages.
See
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-88749.html
It lists for $179 and includes the two-sided duplexer.

The DeskJet 5650 is a more recent model, introduced about a year ago. It uses
the #56 black cartridge rated at 450 black pages and the #57 color cartridge
rated at 400 color pages. It also accommodates the optional #58 photo
cartridge, but prints pretty good photo's with the standard color cartridge.
See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-304441.html
$89 list, the two-sided duplexer is optional for this model.

The above printers have a parallel port as well as a USB port. The following
have a USB port only:

The DeskJet 5740 was introduced about a month ago. It comes with the 450 page
rated #94 black cartridge ($19) but also supports the larger 800 page rated #96
cartridge ($29). The #95 color cartridge at 260 pages comes standard, the
printer also supports the larger #97 cartridge rated at 450 pages. See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-357201.html,
it lists for $99. The 5740 is not expandable.

The DeskJet 6540 was introduced about a month ago. It comes with the 800 page
#96 black cartridge and the 450 page #97 color cartridge. The 6450 supports an
optional two-sided duplexer, as well as an optional high capacity second paper
tray. See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-357210.html.
The 6540 lists for $149.

You might also take a look at some of the multi-function units. The PSC 2175
is a scanner, copier and printer that is similar to the DeskJet 5650 in print
quality. I personally like the all-in-one units. It is easy to become spoiled
with a personal color copier. The PSC 2175 uses the #56 and 57 cartridges like
the DeskJet 5650. See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-238444-410635-12085-f57-90805.html

Based on what you have said, and assuming your friend wants to buy a new
printer every five or ten years I would probably recommend the DeskJet 6540,
the DeskJet 5650 or the PSC 2170 as the best fit. If initial cost is more
important then the DeskJet 5650 would be the top of my recommended list.

You can find the page ratings for various cartridges under the "supplies" tab.
Note that the black ratings are for a 5% coverage 8.5" x 11" A size page, the
color spec is for a 15% coverage A size page (5% each of C, M and Y) and the
photo cartridges are listed for 4"x6" photo's.

I did notice that for the DJ 6122 the #78 cartridge is listed in two models,
the standard #78D and the large capacity #78A. The pages listed are for the
#78D although that is not clear from the web page - I will send in a bug report
on that one.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Bill]

Compared to the DeskJet 600 series any of HP's current offerings will be much
faster and provide much better print quality in both black and white as well as
color graphics or photo's.

No kidding, crayons and paper would almost be better. It's about time
she upgraded.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-88749.html

You know I never thought the US site would be so much better, as I
figured it was similar from the brief surfing I did there. But it has a
heck of a lot more information on the same pages with the printers. The
CDN site sucks by comparison and you have to click through dozens of
pages and search a lot to find anything useful.

Based on what you have said, and assuming your friend wants to buy a new
printer every five or ten years I would probably recommend the DeskJet 6540,

We were looking at the 6540 and 5740 models but found it confusing that
reviews report that the 6540 prints better even though it uses the same
cartridges with the same printheads built-in. Any idea why the 6540
would print better?

And why does it weigh twice as much as the 5740, better build quality or
just the extendibility?

If initial cost is more
important then the DeskJet 5650 would be the top of my recommended list.

Actually initial cost isn't that important, if long term costs are
lower. For that reason, we've been looking at the midrange models hoping
they provide lower cost per page with larger cartridges. Personally, I
like the idea of separate colour ink cartridges, but I don't think she
wants to pay the price of the business inkjets at well over $300.

Thanks a lot for the info though...it'll be put to good use.

 

[Bill]

We were looking at the 6540 and 5740 models

Oh I forgot to ask something else...any idea which retail store stocks
decent photo paper that is compatible with HP? I use Office Depot photo
paper with my Canon i850 and get good results, but I don't know if it
would be good in the HP printers - I'm guessing not since the two
companies don't use the same kind of stock for their own papers.

 

[Bob Headrick]

We were looking at the 6540 and 5740 models but found it confusing that
reviews report that the 6540 prints better even though it uses the same
cartridges with the same printheads built-in. Any idea why the 6540
would print better?

And why does it weigh twice as much as the 5740, better build quality or
just the extendibility?

The DeskJet 5740 and 6540 had different design objectives. The 6540 was
focused on print quality, speed and expandability to address consumer as well
as small office/home office and business applications. The 5740 was aimed more
at lower cost, but designed to be a step up from the performance of the
earlier DeskJet 3650 or 3350 series.

As for paper selections, I do not have much experience in the alternative photo
paper suppliers. It would probably be best to post a question asking about
photo paper in the title as this thread has drifted a bit.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Bill]

The DeskJet 5740 and 6540 had different design objectives. The 6540 was
focused on print quality, speed and expandability to address consumer as well
as small office/home office and business applications. The 5740 was aimed more
at lower cost, but designed to be a step up from the performance of the
earlier DeskJet 3650 or 3350 series.

Good enough...thanks.

As for paper selections, I do not have much experience in the alternative photo
paper suppliers.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot you work for HP, so you would be a bad boy for
straying off "the path".

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Bill]

The DeskJet 5740 and 6540 had different design objectives. The 6540 was
focused on print quality, speed and expandability to address consumer as well
as small office/home office and business applications. The 5740 was aimed more
at lower cost, but designed to be a step up from the performance of the
earlier DeskJet 3650 or 3350 series.

Bob, just so you know, I went with my friend to the store today to have
a look at the various models. Once there, it was plain to see that the
6540 is a much better designed printer. I had no problem convincing her
to get the 6540 over the cheaper 5740.

We hooked it up and had it running in no time, and initial impressions
are fairly good. It feels about as fast as my Canon and it prints almost
as good with just the two cartridges. We'll have to see how it prints
with the added photo cartridge later.

My only complaint is the photo printing software is not very intuitive
compared to Canon's. My friend didn't seem to mind, but I found it very
clumsy...it felt more like a basic program rather than one designed
specifically for photos. With Canon's photo printing software, it only
takes a few quick clicks and the printer is making the photo. With HP's
software, there are far too many adjustments needed prior to getting the
photo printed. It also didn't look very polished, which is a surprise
from HP and with it being v3.x it should be smooth and refined. If you
want more input, let me know.

Anyway, I'm sure she'll be happy with it. Thanks.

 

[Bob Headrick]

Bob Headrick wrote:

Oh yeah, I almost forgot you work for HP, so you would be a bad boy for
straying off "the path".

It is not a matter of having a company line to toe - it's just that I have not
had much experience with the alternatives. I have on a few occasions tried
alternative papers but unfortunately have not kept good notes on what worked
and what did not. I do remember buying a pack of Canon Photo Paper Pro because
someone showed me a print (from an HP printer) that they could dunk in coffee
without running the ink. I tried it and it is very water resistant but the
print did not have as much detail as some other papers. I have also tried a
lower end photo paper from one of the office supply superstores with rather
poor results, but I have seen postings in this group from others who have found
alternative papers they are happy with. You just need to find them . I
did notice a recent post from Ron Cohen mentioning Red River paper. They have
quite a wide selection, and offer a sample packs with a few sheets of a large
number of different paper types.

I saw in your next post that your friend bought the DeskJet 6540. I think this
is a good choice and it should give many years of good service. I normally
only get the drivers only rather than the full retail disks so I am not very
familiar with the included photo software. I use Photo Paper Saver for
printing photo's; a demo version limited to printing two pages at a time is
available from http://www.fpdoctor.com/pps/main/main-j-0-0.html. It allows
automatically placing multiple photo's optimally on the page. As for the
settings, the default from the driver should give pretty good results - the
default driver settings will automatically select photo paper and adjust the
print modes appropriately.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Bill]

It is not a matter of having a company line to toe - it's just that I have not
had much experience with the alternatives.

Ah...so you HAVE strayed, and now I'm going to have to report you to the
HP police!

poor results, but I have seen postings in this group from others who have found
alternative papers they are happy with. You just need to find them .

And so the quest begins...

did notice a recent post from Ron Cohen mentioning Red River paper. They have
quite a wide selection, and offer a sample packs with a few sheets of a large
number of different paper types.

Yes, I've heard of Red River and they sound good, but shipping to Canada
is pricey, plus the exchange rate on top makes it prohibitively
expensive.

I saw in your next post that your friend bought the DeskJet 6540. I think this
is a good choice and it should give many years of good service.

It does seem like a sturdy unit. I like the way it holds the paper in a
covered tray. That's one of the few things I dislike about my Canon
printer...it holds the paper in an upright tray at the back and doesn't
keep the dust off it.

As for the
settings, the default from the driver should give pretty good results - the
default driver settings will automatically select photo paper and adjust the
print modes appropriately.

It does make fairly decent prints with the defaults, but it just felt a
bit clunky getting there. I was over to see her again today and it
doesn't seem as bad once you get used to it.

Anywho...thanks again for the info.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Oh I forgot to ask something else...any idea which retail store stocks
decent photo paper that is compatible with HP? I use Office Depot photo
paper with my Canon i850 and get good results, but I don't know if it
would be good in the HP printers - I'm guessing not since the two
companies don't use the same kind of stock for their own papers.

HP printers are dye ink printers, which means you have the usual choice between
swellable papers and nanoporous papers. Swellable papers have a long lifetime
(80+ years with the latest printers and inks if kept in a photo album), but any
drop of water will ruin the print and it takes somewhat longer to dry.
Nanoporous papers are usually listed as instant dry, are more water resistant,
but have a lifetime around 10 years or so.

My current favorite swellable paper is Ilford Classic Pearl (which tends to
only be available from photo stores and online). I find Kodak Ultima with
Satin finish to be a nice paper, and that is widely available. The two HP
premium papers (Premium, Premium Plus) after HP reformulated the papers (blue
and white cover) are ok, but I much prefer the Ilford or Kodak. Evidently Sams
club and CompUSA sell Ilford Printasia which is similar to their more expensive
lines, but I don't recall if it is a varient of the Classic (swellable) papers
or Smooth (nanoporous).

I tend not to print nanoporous papers that much, but for my 375B Photomate, I
prefer Pictoria (picked up at Microcenter) and Burlington Printworks Satin
(picked up at Target).

 

[Bill]

My current favorite swellable paper is Ilford Classic Pearl (which tends to
only be available from photo stores and online).

I found a store with Ilford stock, but it was priced way too high. The
Canon and HP brands are substantially cheaper (I'm in Canada).

I tried my photo paper in the HP, and it's not that good. I gave it to a
friend who's using the new Canon iP4000. Has anyone tried the Staples
brand in an HP?

I find Kodak Ultima with
Satin finish to be a nice paper, and that is widely available.

I'll have to give that a try if I can find it at a reasonable price.

The two HP
premium papers (Premium, Premium Plus) after HP reformulated the papers (blue
and white cover) are ok

What do you mean "blue and white cover"? Do you mean the colour of the
box the paper comes in?