I think you can't go far wrong for the knock-down price of this printer. I've tried several different makes of printer over the years, and it's HP I keep coming back to. Our family's Epson and Kodak printers suffered from severe ink wastage through clogged print-heads and repeat cleaning cycles. In fact, the Epson ones were already uneconomical due to sheer ink usage during normal printing. Both die after a couple of years when the print heads just give up the ghost. In contrast, our 1997 Deskjet 890C chugs along happily in the corner, even if it does require a bit of persuasion to get it to feed paper nowadays, and my 1995 690C only died after what could only be described as a "traumatic incident" from its point of view. I've had another HP for about 5 years and it's running fine.
So when my Nan needed a new printer, I was amazed to find the cheapest and most popular printer on here (at the time) was this little HP. Although it's firmly in the "budget" price range, its brand name means it's got a lot to live up to. Fortunately, it does the job extremely well. Installation of the software on Windows XP was a doddle - I could have opted for just the driver, but I put the whole software suite on. Software versions for all versions of Windows up to and including Windows 8.1 were available at the time of writing. I haven't checked my Linux machine out, but I'd be very surprised if there wasn't already a Linux driver for it.
It seems relatively well built and has a few handy features like auto turn off (you don't have to set this). You can also set the driver software to be relatively unobtrusive so you don't get constant popup messages or an annoying icon in the system tray like previous printers I've used. Changing cartridges is very easy, although access is a little awkward if you put the printer on a traditional computer trolley (i.e. on a low-down shelf). Printing is exceptionally crisp and clear, and the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. In fact, although I can hear it, my Nan thinks it's silent. Print speed is also pretty quick - quicker than typical laser printers of 10 or 20 years ago.
A nice added feature is that you can use the printer as a photocopier without even switching your computer on.
Unfortunately the feed and output trays don't hold a lot of paper, but it should be adequate for all but a thesis or novel.
I didn't notice an SD-card slot or anything like that, for printing digital photos directly, but on a 30-quid printer-scanner, you can hardly complain. My Nan certainly wouldn't use it.
I just hope this doesn't guzzle ink or decide to commit hari-kiri too soon - hopefully it will carry on the tradition of its predecessors.
| Controller type | iOS |
|---|---|
| Printer media size maximum | A4; Legal |
| Print media | Envelopes, Paper (plain) |
| Scanner type | Flatbed |
| Max input sheet capacity | 60 |
| Max copy speed (black and white) | 4.5 ppm |
| Compatible devices | Smartphones, PC |
| Maximum colour print resolution | 4800 Dots Per Inch |
| Dual-sided printing | Yes |
| Product Dimensions | 30.58 x 42.52 x 15.66 cm; 3.6 kg |
| Item model number | A9U22B |
| Manufacturer | HP |
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Wattage | 10 watts |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Tablet, Smartphone |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 3.6 kg |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
