"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Member since:18.11.2004
Reviews:11
I needed a new printer to replace my aging LPT Officejet 635, and this was on special offer (£111 inc VAT) at a local Cash & Carry. I needed a network printer, which could produce high quality photographs, and a flat bed scanner.
As far as high quality photos are concerned, the 4800x1200 dpi of this printer matches the best.
The flat bed scanner, with built in 35 sheet Automatic Documnent Feeder, is great for photocopying books, or scanning in documents, although manual scanning is quicker for single sheets. Optical Character Recognition is a little difficult to find, but Read Iris 9 is supplied with the device. It is selected by the type of output you request from the scanner, which can be confusing. The program itself is very good and accurate. Accuracy increases with use, especially when using the same typeface. I found that the best results were given by saving the scanned file as an HTML file. Scans can be sent to any computer on the network.
Printing is quick, but I'm not sure that it matches the 30ppm quoted. The printer cartridges are not overly expensive compared to other HP consumables. It will print on a wide range of papers and cards, up to A4 size.
The fax is as good as it needs to be, and can be selected to answer different ring patterns. I have mine set on my BT "call-sgn" number, which operates on single rings. The fax machine will only answer the single rings, and I don't! It can store up to 120 pages.
Copies can be made from 25% to 400% of the original size, and up to 100 copies at a time.
There are four slots in the front of the device for memory cards, so that you can print photos without using a computer. My only gripe is that my Smart Media card is not supported.
Although it is easy to set up, some DIY is needed, as every country has a different control panel cover, but this is not a real problem. The device may be set up as a USB printer, or a network printer using ethernet cable. Wireless networks require an optional extra bluetooth wireless connector. As my network is a hybrid, wireless and ethernet, this is not a problem. The software needs to be installed on every computer which will use the network. The minimum OS requirement is Windows 98SE, but to use all the features you will need XP. Also Mac OS Xv 10.2.8, 10.3, 10.4. It will need up to 750Mb of sapce on your hard drive.
The software operates as a centralised control panel on the computer, from where all operations may be executed. It can even tell you the total page count of the printer.
All operations, except scanning and printing files, can be executed without any compter being turned on. Some items can only be controlled through the device control panel (including distinctive ring set-up and time/date), but the excellent 160 page manual will lead you through this.
Dec 20th, 2006
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