I'm back with a vengence! Where has everybody gone while i've been away?
I'm back with a vengence! Where has everybody gone while i've been away?
Member since:29.05.2006
Reviews:75
Members who trust:88
Not so long ago I purchased my first second hand PC for what I considered a reasonable price after much hunting around and checking prices, so inevitably at some point I was going to need a printer. My main reasons for needing a printer was so I could print my CV without having to go to the library and having to pay for the print and mainly because I have loads of photo's on my phone which I have now transfered to the PC and wanted a hard copy of them just in case the pictures got lost. I wanted something cheap and reliable and the best I cold find for my budget was the HP PSC 1410.
After much hunting around again and many places being out of stock, I finally managed to track it down to Staples office supplies just down the road from me. I paid £49.99 for the printer which considering how much it retails at in most places I was not unhappy to part with the cash even though it can be found cheaper elsewhere. The price I paid was about the mid-range compared with other stores so overall I paid a fair price for an all-in-one printer.
Box Contents
HP PSC 1410 Printer HP 21 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge 5ml HP 22 Tri-colour Inkjet Print Cartridge
5ml HP Image Zone Photo & Imaging CD-ROM Setup Booklet Users Guide Power Supply Cord
I'm not sure if most printers are the same, but I was quite shocked to find that it doesn't come with a USB cable which it needs to be connected to the PC. I thinks it is rather silly to produce a product and not provide the cable that it needs to print documents. USB cables can be picked up for around £10.
Size
I have read other reviews on this all-in one printer and a few have mentioned that it is big and bulky but my view is somewhat different to theirs. OK, so it is not the smallest thing in the world but it is hardly massive either, I looked at other all-in-one printers and they all seemed to be a lot bigger than this one. Anyway, the sizes are as follows.
Width 37.5cm with the paper tray Length 41cm Height 17cm
Set Up & Installation
As this was my very first printer I was bound to find the whole setup difficult because I did not have much understanding of how it was to be done or where to start. Upon opening the box you are greeted with two manuals, one is the the main instruction manual that you would find with any electrical product and the other was a 16 step guide to getting the thing set up.
Normally I wouldn't bother reading such information but as this was the very first time of doing such a thing, I had no choice but to read the setup guide. This is very well laid out and did make the whole set up very easy with its very descriptive wording and pictures.
First thing, like I'm sure is the same with most printers is getting the power supply connected and it turned on, well I'm sure anybody can do that me included. Next comes putting the ink cartridges in, this is done by opening the door/draw on the front of the machine. The cartridges can only be loaded with the printer turned on and when the door/draw front is opened the cartridge holder will move to the centre of the printer. I couldn't believe how easy they went in, I was expecting a fiddly 30 minute job trying to work it out, but oh no, they slotted in nice and easy and it is clearly marked as to which side the colour and black ink sits so there is no mistaking it or getting it wrong. I've not had to change my ink yet so I hope getting them out is just as simple.
Next came the alignment of the ink cartridges and this was the only part of the manual that disappointed me as it did not make it clear at all. I spent nearly 15 minutes of my time searching for this piece of paper which the manual says to place in the scanner part of the printer. It doesn't state that you need to print this off first, as you could imagine I felt stupid once I realised.
Now that all that is done the next thing is to insert the installation disc into the CD-ROM on your PC and let it run. This does take a bit of time but it is very simple to and I had no problem with it. The only problem I did face was connecting the USB cable when prompted by the disc into the computer but that is my own fault and the way I have it setup.
After having read a few reviews on other printers and now doing this one myself I honestly think the whole setup is extremely easy. The manual helped me immensely and I found it very useful apart from the alignment piece of paper. It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to set it up, but I think if you had set up one before and didn't have to move USB cables around, the whole thing could be setup in 30 minutes.
The Features & Specifications
- Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi print resolution - Up to 18 Pages per minute in black - Up to 13 Pages per minute in colour - Standalone copier - 50 Copies from original - 100 Sheet paper tray capacity - Up to 2400 x 600 dpi scan resolution - USB Interface
- Format Flatbed or sheet - Pages per minute in black 18 - Pages per minute in colour 13 - Scanner Dots per Inch Vertical 1200 - Scanner Colour Resolution 4800 - Standalone Copier Yes - Digital Camera Card Readers NO - Paper tray capacity 100 - Number of Copies From Original 50 - Copier Enlargement/reduction 400 - Connectivity USB - Compatible Cartridge - Black C9351AE HP21 - Compatible Cartridge - Colour C9352AE HP22
Printing
As I have only had this printer a few days I cant comment on all its features as I have not had time to make the full usage out of it so I may add to this review at some point. However I have printed a single page document and I was quite impressed with the quality and speed in which it produced it.
I have also printed a few photos too and again, I was very impressed by the quality even though my phone does not take print quality photos. One of the photos I printed was of a church that I took at night, this took about a minute to print but that was because of the amount of black ink it had to use to produce the photo. I have printed a couple[le of others that are not so laden with black and I found the overall speed relatively fast.
My Overall Opinion
I am very impressed with my purchase on the whole even though I don't have any other experience with such a product. The guide made it really easy for a first timer like myself to understand how to set it up.
Even though I paid just over the usual recommended retail price for this all-in-one printer, I recommend it to anyone who is thinking about purchasing one. It is cheap and the quality of prints is good.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
exceptional by (12%):
very helpful by (88%):
