HP, reconsidered

ziggy on 2001-12-27T22:42:32

HP is offering a $250 laser printer, and that started me thinking about buying a new printer. I remember when laser printers were 300x300 dpi and cost $10,000 (you can share it across the workgroup! Then there was the 400x400 NeXT printer with twice the resolution, but needed a Cube or a Slab to do the imaging.). At that price (and at 1200x1200 resolution), perhaps a laser printer is now an impulse purchase....

Of course, it's the old bait and switch. The $250 model isn't what you really want, because it doesn't have any expandibility options and won't print duplex. But the $400 model is almost the one you want; the $800 workgroup model is basically the same thing, with a faster engine, real PostScript support and built-in duplex printing.

The shipping cost on a laser printer was likely to be more than I wanted to think about, so we stopped off at Best Buy. The $400 HP Laser printer looked sweet, but didn't do PostScript natively (like it's more expensive duplex model), which likely means that there's a ghostscript license in there somewhere (Go Aladdin!). Across the aisle was the color inkjet with the duplex option built in.

The deciding factor was that with the cheaper inkjet, I would get duplex printing and the Prisoner DVD Mega-Set for under $400. :-)

Except that duplex printing doesn't work. The online manual states that not every type of paper works with the duplex printing module, so I go out and buy a ream of something that should be compatible (compatible paper? please!). After another dozen or so test prints, it's clear that something is defective.

HP Customer service was quite helpful on the phone, and they're sending a new duplex doohickey that should arrive tomorrow. I'm kinda peeved at the moment (especially since it looks like duplex printing only works with their print driver; it'll be quite a challenge getting duplex printing working from CUPS.) Let's see if the new module works tomorrow.

At this point, this particular printer is probably costing HP money; their profit margin is probably gone between the 31 minute call to tech support and shipping the replacement part.

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HP's Support

chaoticset on 2001-12-28T03:29:57

Well, they certainly have the support going for them. My warranty work was done through HP, and it was very easy; when I realized there was another problem and phoned them up to have it looked at during the same repair trip, it got fixed and they were ultra-courteous.

a little politeness + getting the job done = happy customer

Sorry you chose inkjet...

Matts on 2001-12-28T10:43:55

Laser is definitely the way to go. I've had about 6 inkjet printers, and every single last one of them eventually gets dirty inside (usually after about 5 or 6 cartridge replacements) and starts printing streaks or lines - even if you get the manufacturers cartridges. Really how good can something be when the print head is basically disposable and moving at that speed?

Eventually I went for a laser, and I haven't looked back. I found a Lexmark E310 at the local "PC World" ("Frys" on a smaller and more expensive scale) for £75. Amazing. Built in postscript (no duplex though - I can't say I'd use it), and just worked on Linux out of the box (and CUPS allows you to access any extra features). It's been running without fault since I got it home.

Also, I note in my latest distributor's mag that colour laser printers are starting to come down in price (I've been waiting for that to happen). Both Epson and QMS now have what they're calling "personal" colour laser printers for about £800, which is about £300 cheaper than their next model up. My next major purchase is going to be either a faster machine or a colour laser, I think.

Some things work as advertised

delegatrix on 2001-12-28T18:55:55

But the Prisoner DVDs worked right out of the box!