LaserJet 1300 Opinions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jean-Paul Bleau
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Jean-Paul Bleau

I'd like to hear from owners of the HP LaserJet 1300. Any likes or
dislikes, problems or issues, etc. I'm looking for a true 1200x1200 laser
for home/SOHO use and I can't seem to find any other model that fits the
ticket. But I've read some reviews that say the print quality isn't as good
as the old 1200, or that it prints too dense. What's the verdict? Thanks
for your help.
 
I am also looking at this model. From what I can gather the bad review is
done one time by the same person and recycled over the web. Noted is that
despite that he gives it 7/10. There is two other reviews I have found that
are more positive. Support also talks about curing the issue with curling of
paper that resided with lj1200. They claim that problem has been solved with
lj1300. But who knows as it is so new.

I am trying to find an answer to the question if print density can be
adjusted in the internal webserver of lj1300 when networked with jetdirect
as that function seems lost in the driver when you read hp support forum.
The toolbox software to control the printer seems beta at best according to
posts there.
 
I just bought a 1300 and the text quality was below average. Letters were
light and shaky, not crisp and sharp as one would expect. I exchanged it
for a new one and it seems much better, although it may have been the toner
cartridge. The standard 2500-page cartridge (made in Japan) prints rather
light. The 4000-page cartridge (made in China) prints darker and looks more
like higher-end LaserJets, but it smears a few letters here and there, along
with thin horizontal lines; the 2500 one doesn't. Your results may very. I
think getting just the right toner cartridge will make all the difference in
the world.

The other issue I had with the 1300 was page skew. It was very noticeable
on the one I returned (mfg. in late May), but much less so with the newer
one (mfg. late June). It's not perfect by any means, but tolerable.

I can't find any density adjustment at all on the 1300 driver. The
self-test page says density=3, but again, actual output varies dramatically
depending on your particular toner cartridge.
 
I just talked to hp salesinfo and according to them density adjustment is
done in the toolbox and the person I talked to could only promise that this
worked from the server computer and not through network. He could not give
information if this could be done in the webinterface of the lj1300n or with
a jetconnect through network. He did not think so. He said it was not really
a network printer but made to function like one. Don't ask me what that
means as I am still pondering about that claim. Perhaps it just means it's
not up to par with the bigger lj4200 etc series.That would be ok as you get
what you pay for usually. Regarding the difference between cartridges he
meant that could be individual bad batch. Ok, could be but why is it
consistent with the bad review in that case.
 
Well, any printer is a network printer when attached to a network with a
print server device, but the 1300 is clearly designed for personal and not
workgroup use. The Toolbox only provides informational services like toner
usage and error status. The configuration tabs are the same as what you see
in the driver-only installation. There's nothing for density. As for toner
cartridges, I believe there's a wide variance in quality depending on where
and which factory you get. All I can say is buy from vendors that allow
unconditional returns.
 
I have the old 1200 and I wasn't impressed by the greyscale quality.
I've seen the new 1300 in the store and it looks exactly the same. I
believe the only difference is the print speed: the 1300 is a bit
faster due to a faster processor in the printer. Supposedly, the 1300
shares the same print quality, design, and flaws as the 1200.

Keep in mind that just because it says 1200 dpi doesn't mean it's the
best 1200 dpi printer or that all 1200 dpi printers have the
same/similar quality. The HP 4000 and 5000 (albeit much larger
printers) print far better greyscale--like inkjet photoquality where
the halftoning is not noticeable. The HP 1200/1300 greyscale looks
speckly/dirty and show visible laser printer halftoning patterns.

If you're just needing the laser printer for text, the HP 1200/1300
text quality is fine. Then again, any 600 dpi printer would yield fine
text quality. Of course, the HP 4000 and 5000 still print noticeably
better looking text (more even and sharper text--like from a
professional printing press) compared to the HP 1200/1300.

Basically, I wasn't too impressed with the HP 1200/1300. But, that's
because I've previously used the HP 4000/5000 which were professional
grade lasers that impressed me. But, for a small office, the HP
1200/1300 should provide decent printouts (especially for text). Just
don't spend too much.
 
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