HP Deskjet 840c

Well, my computer is now 6 months old and boy has it been used.....It came complete with a scanner, speakers, several programmes and a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 840c printer which is what I intend to write about today.

At £84.25 this has been a fantastic buy. The printer is compact, neat and extremely quiet when running(making more of a gentle hum than the roaring sound usually associated with a lot of printers). It certainly compares well with the larger and more expensive printer I use in work which is noisy and unpredictable (also a Hewlett Packard but a more expensive and older version). It comes complete with both colour and ink cartridges and has a one year guarantee.

The machine uses two separate cartridges, one for black print and a separate colour cartridge. I find this far better than my work model which takes one cartridge to do all jobs. I therefore only have to refill the black cartridge whilst the colour one lasts far longer. At £24.99 per cartridge this can work out rather expensive, although I have to say I haven't shopped around to see if I can find replacement cartridges cheaper elsewhere. The same colour ink cartridge can be used for both graphics and photos to save the user from the bother of having to change them constantly. Changing the cartridges is a doddle. The old one is merely clicked out and the new one clicked in as replacement

I have to say the results are extremely good. Photographs are reproduced clearly and with true colour even on inferior quality paper. On top quality paper of course the results are admirable. It is possible to tune the colours manually, although I have to say I haven't tried to do this yet, but apparently the colour can be changed from muted to vivid whichever is preferable or from dark to bright. The blurb with the machine says it uses Photo Ret 11 colour layering technology. I'm sure a lot of people will know what that is......all I know is I'm happy with the results.

On testing the output I would say it does about 8 pages per minute in black print and around 4/5 in colour. The ink is fast drying and smudge resistant. Again this compares favourably with my work printer where letters are often spoiled because one letter lands on top of another that is still wet several minutes after being printed.

Paper is loaded from the front and the tray takes roughly l00 A4 sheets at a time, although personally I don't load it up to this extent. The paper tray itself is quite solid, again unlike my work model which is thin and delicate.

The printer is easy to set up, merely being plugged in and is compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000 and MS DOS applications. It has a 2MB memory and all in all is a very competent piece of equipment at a more than reasonable price.

There are the usual facilities for printing in either draft or normal. I find the draft printing admirable and again it compares well with my work model. In normal (best) mode it prints out at about 25 seconds and takes roughly half that time in draft.

Measuring 185 x 446 x 355mm (H x W x D) the machine is average sized and does take up quite some room on the workdesk, but is no larger than most other models. The design is rounded which gives it a quite pleasing look and the colour of the printer is the usual standard pale grey.

I'm hoping to set up work from home so my print outs have to be good. Certainly to date I have absolutely no regrets about purchasing my Hewlett Packard Deskjet 840c.