We bought this printer (in its initial iteration as a 6980) almost two years ago and it worked fine for a while - wireless was nice and overall quality seemed good.
As noted in another review, it plays well with Linux and MacOS; we use Mac, Linux in a couple of flavors, as well as Windows at home and had no problems using the printer with any of them. It was not necessary to install the bloated client software in Windows to make the printer work properly.
Recently we began to get an error on the black ink cartridge; I also noticed that it seemed to feel different going in. Changing the cartridge for a new one did not make the error go away. In spite of the error it appeared to print black just fine, so I continued to use it while researching the problem.
I now believe that although it printed black, it was using the color cartridge to mix black and using ink at a great rate. Very expensive!
HP tells me that the black cartridge cradle is defective (a tiny plastic tab that holds the spring has broken and will not allow proper seating of the cartridge) and further says that this is not a repairable item! The only recourse offered was a replacement printer at a $79.95 price. This amounts to selling us a new printer at about Amazon retail price - not an ideal solution.
This printer did not experience heavy use, and cartridges were always changed carefully. It has not been abused. I have examined the plastic tab in question and it looks very fragile to me - a design flaw? Perhaps it should have been made of stronger material or designed to be more substantial.
I would not have purchased the printer had I known of this weakness in the design and the impossibility of repair. Have replaced this printer with another type.
I don't recommend this printer, in spite of an otherwise apparently good design and good print performance. Look elsewhere! HP 6988 Deskjet Printer (CB055A#B1H)
I'm just not sure what is up with the bad reviews. I don't seem to be seeing these issues. I bought this after much research. You see I primarily use Ubuntu Linux and I needed a wireless network printer that I could setup without the need of Windows or Mac. All you need is a web browser (so you could use wii or iphone if you really wanted). I'm coming from a terrible experience over the years of fighting with a linksys wps54g printer server hooked up to my old Deskjet 932c (it has not been fun).
Way to go HP! You don't need any specific OS with this printer! You just plug it in via ethernet and if you press the "report" button it will print out it's ip (though I just cheated and went to the router DHCP tables). You can then access the web interface of the printer and setup everything. A dream come true, don't have use any wizards or anything. Everything is nicely laid out. Works great on my 802.11g network with WPA2 encryption.
As for printing. Drivers are already in Linux for it (HP 6980). The printing is better then my previous Deskjet 932c. I'm not looking for anything super professional, for me I mainly print out road maps and recipes. But running it through some color test prints it has done pretty awsome.
As for the sticker that leave the residue. I used a damp rag and added some Comet. Make sure to rub the Comet into the cloth so it's not griddy. The wipe off the residue. Clean and beautiful.
Overall it's an awesome buy for the low price. The integrated wireless print server is easy to setup. Also the printer has UPNP so my Ubuntu Linux box just saw it and I just set it up. Same goes for Windows Vista, and Mac should also see it in the same way. It's nice having a printer that is not dependent on a PC and can be place anywhere in the house. I give this printer a thumbs up.
We purchased this printer as a replacement for our 722c, which had two problems: (a) the USB to parallel cable just didn't seem to work; (b) sharing a printer through a computer on the network just never seems to work well. The 6988 would presumably be as reliable as the old 722 and solve both problems -- network ready and accessible directly over the (wireless) network.
I'm content so far. Both of our home computers are accessing the printer over the network just fine. The 6988 seems to be built in the usual Deskjet style -- noisy, clunky and probably last to eternity. I typically print maps, documents, etc, on "draft" quality. Works fine.
The network setup takes some effort. I hate inserting manufacturer's CD's to install a printer, and not to disappoint, the HP setup disks contain the usual bloatware. The best bet for installing this thing is to do the following:
1) Plug the printer into the router and let it get an IP
2) Log into your router's web interface and figure out what the printer's IP is (or print the setup page).
3) For each computer, select start->printers and faxes->Add printer. The trick here is to choose "Local printer attached to this computer" even though it's networked. Click "Next" and then choose "Create new port". Click "Next" and use the wizard to set up the printer. Enter the IP of the printer from step (2). When prompted for driver, you can use the windows driver, but I had to insert the manufacturer's CD and get the driver there.
Good luck. Hope this helps someone. Anyone need a 722C? It's probably got 10 more years of life left...
--Brett - Hp Printer - Hp - Hewlett Packard - Networking'
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