HP Office Paper - plain paper - 500 sheet(s)

Author's product rating:   

Reliability	Excellent
Ease of Use	Very Easy
Quality	Excellent
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Cheap, good enough quality
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

--Introduction--

This is now my second review on HP printer paper, I know it isn't the most glamorous of things to be writing about. However, I do feel that it is important to choose the correct paper for your computer print outs. The previous review of mine about HP paper, was concerntrating on the Hewlett Packerd Premium Choice paper. That is at the most expensive end of the paper market and is really for use when printing very formal and important documents. The HP office paper on the other hand, is at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum. It is for rough or draft copies which are likely to be for short term use or just to be thrown away. I will compare the attributes of this 'economy' paper with that of the more upmarket paper that I have reviewed before. That way a clear comparison can be drawn between them.

--Reason for Purchase--

I have known that Hewlett Packard produce top quality printer products and paper. I decided that I didn't want to use top quality paper for printing draft copies of my school work, as it seemed a real waste. I therefore decided to purchase a ream of this paper for my rough work. HP Office Paper is cheap, but is more than up to the job. My instincts told me to purchase HP paper and is it stands they were right.

--Who are HP?--

Hewlett Packard, or HP, is among the world leaders in producing computers, peripherals and printer consumables. They are hugely respected and widely known. I first came across the brand at the age of about 10, when they started to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur. The company was formed in 1939, by a pair of classmates at Stanford University. They were called Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard and their first product was an oscillator. Today, Hewlett Packard employs close to 100,000 people globally and their annual revenue is around $50 billion. They are huge firm and have gone from strength to strength, increasing their product portfolio year on year.

--Print Quality--

The actual quality of a print on this paper, is very good. It is by no means exceptional, but the text and diagrams are perfectly legible. You can clearly make out the words and any pictures that you have printed off. Compared with the Premium Choice Paper, i would say that it is half as good. This is fair enough, because after all it is only a rough copy that you can print up nicely at a later point. As far as economy printer papers go, I would certainly rate this over any other. It is very efficient and you can certainly rely upon it.

--Suitability--

You can use this printer paper in pretty much any printer. It works fantastically on both inkjet and LaserJet printers, the results are reflected in the quality of the printer. The paper is very good for printing text, in black and white and colour, as well as detailed pictures or diagrams. It is not designed for printing photos, the results are pretty shocking, regardless of whatever printer you use. The images appear very splodgy and the colours tend to mix up when the hit the paper. You can also use this paper for writing and drawing on, as it doesn't really matter how good the paper is when you use pens or pencils on it.

--Quantity and Price--

The Hewlett Packard Office printer paper comes in individual reams of 500 sheets. If you buy the paper in bulk quantities, in boxes, you get four reams in each. The paper comes in only one variety, 75 gsm. The paper is therefore quite thin, but for economy paper it is actually very thick. The list price per ream is around £3.49, although if you buy four or more, the price comes down to around £3.00. This is a bargain, because most economy paper costs the same amount but you don't get the same gsm, this paper is much higher.

--Conclusion--

If you work in an office or from home, or you do a lot of printing in your household then I would certainly reccomend this. It works out at just over half a penny per sheet if you buy a single ream, so a little bit of wastage won't dent you pocket. On the same theme, if you print out your work and there are some spelling mistakes, presentation errors or the wording is incorrect then you won't have wasted your quality paper. You can always rely on Hewlett Packard products to be good and this paper just further backs that up.