I gave the printer five stars, because of price point (at 89.00, the ability to print wirelessly and with such a good quality printer is amazing) and because the printer has worked seamlessly once it was set up. Also, because HP clearly cares enough to add (not so) little touches such as:
1. Including the USB cable with the printer (Canon does not do this, from what I remember).
2. Including (this is amazing) the actual cartridges with the printer instead of "starter" cartridges that print maybe fifty sheets before conking out. Truthfully, you have to factor that into the price of these "cheaper" printers and realize that you have to tack on another thirty or more dollars to the price to pay for decent cartridges. With the ones supplied, I should be able to print at least 400 pages of black and white letters, email, etc. befor replacing the black cartridge.
3. If, like most of us looking for a small business (or home business) printer, there is the option to use an extended black cartridge which will give you even more pages between changes. This wouldn't be so important for a photo printer, but for what it is (it's called an "Officejet," remember) this is a wonderful feature.
4. The printer goes into standby mode and "wakes up" when needed. Perhaps all new printers do this (my last printer was from a few years ago) but I find this a great feature.
Some may be put off by the form factor - this is not a small printer and takes up a fair amount of desk space. Also, the majority of the plastic sides are in white, (or putty, I suppose) which I have a feeling will show dirt and smudges worse than a silver or black model.
Finally, let's get to the frustrating elements. As I've said, none of these were bad enough for me to lower the five star rating, but they were a little annoying:
1. (this is trivial but if it saves someone else the headache, it's worth mentioning) - the set up instructions included in the box clearly show a plastic back panel that looks to be inserted when one is not using the black duplex printing back that comes with this unit. Duplex printing means the ability to print on both sides of the page, and the black plastic back is called "optional" in the instructions. Well, upon unpacking the printer I couldn't find the other panel anywhere in the box or on the printer -although it was clearly seen in the picture. I called HP and, as I surmised, the printer does NOT come with this flat back panel. You LEAVE the black duplex printing back (which sticks out in a bump from the back) in the printer all the time. The pictures in the instructions were for the NON-WIRELESS version of the printer. It would have been nice if someone had mentioned that the wireless printer ONLY comes with the black back.
2. It takes the printer up to ten minutes to set itself up when you turn it on for the first time. This is clearly marked in the instructions, but if you don't notice it, you might think something is wrong as you wait...and wait...and wait...for it to print that magical first test page. NOTHING IS WRONG. Have patience.
3. As others have noted, the software is ridiculously slow to install. I will say that when I installed it in our XP (the second computer) it took a fraction of the time, so perhaps this is a Vista issue. But it took (I'm not kidding) forty-five minutes to load. I kept thinking it was hanging, but then it would inch foward another 1% and chug along. I have NEVER had software take this long to load since the DOS days! Oh, and make sure you disable your anit-virus software before you load it. I didn't and it seemed to make it crash the first time I tried to install it. (obviously turn back your anti-virus software after installation).
The GOOD NEWS: Once installed, it found the router immediately and both computers found the printer with no problems whatsoever. To have a wireless printer that my wife can print her recipes without having to bother me or I can print without taking up a valuable USB slot on my laptop is fantastic. And the quality is great for basic office chores.
I have NO idea if it will last, but as of now, I'm am really delighted to have a wireless printer with so many features at thie price point. HP Officejet 6000 Wireless Color Inkjet Printer (C9295A#B1H)
After fairly extensive research on line and thru Consumer Reports and CNET for a replacement for an old Canon inkjet printer I selected the HP Officejet 6000 for use both as a text printer and for color prints both as part of text documents and for color photographic prints. Out of the box this HP has proven to be a disappointment as to the quality of the product and the print results.
The printer has a fairly large footprint requiring more space than similar Canon and Epson printers I've used. It is extremely noisy and grinds loudly through the print cycles particularly when a change is made in the type of document being created. As with most inkjet printers the ink tanks are quite costly and for this printer availability appears limited at some of the more common resources.
Comparing the quality of the photos run on both this printer and an older Epson Stylus Photo R200 I have the Epson creates a much superior finished photo on photo paper. The same is true when printing photos on plain paper - as one might do in a newsletter. The HP produced pictures that were less sharp and the colors were muddy.
Text printing is reasonably acceptable. The documentation except for a "how to" sheet for set up is very minimal and you have to go to the accompanying CD to get more info or visit HP's web site. While the printer has convenient buttons and lights to provide ink status and basic operations and a nice design the output falls short of expectations.
While the initial price is attractive, with the manufacture's ink so pricy it quickly becomes an expensive printer. The printer does not come with any connecting cords other than the AC power cord and box that coverts it to a lower voltage, so expect to have to purchase a USB cable unless you are fortunate enough to already have the style required.
This one goes back. For photos on any type paper seems Epson is a better choice in inkjet printers. - Hp Printer - Hp - Inkjet Printer - Color Printer'
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