I'd like it even if it hadn't been free.
Written: Feb 09 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: quiet, quick printing of good quality prints
Cons: doesn't include printer cables.
The Bottom Line: This is a great entry-level inkjet printer - good prints quickly, with easy set-up. Just make sure you pick up a cable, too if you don't have one.
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| martytdx's Full Review: |
This Christmas, I received an unexpected gift from Epinions. I got an email just after Xmas announcing that it was en route and I waited eagerly for it to show up, unsure what I would be receiving. Finally, two weeks later, it came - my new HP 5650 Color Printer. My wife and I were happy to receive this, as my Epson 640 was on its last legs and her Epson 777 was great for documents but iffy for photos. Thus, this gave us a photo-quality printer to take care of our re-found passion for photography. This printer offers "photo-quality printing", which was important to us - and made for a great gift.
I'd been avoiding HP printers for a while after the numerous problems I had with my HP Deskjet 500. My Epsons had given me good service, but I can't exactly turn down 'free', so I figured that I would see what this one could do.
[ • setting it UP • ]
Setup was fairly straight-forward, as it is for most printers. HP includes a quick start sheet that a child could use with easy step-by-step instructions. I plugged it into the power strip, turned it on, took off the packaging and installed the included print cartridges. So far, so good. Then came hooking it up to the PC. To my amazement, this printer does not include the cable to connect the printer to the PC.. They'll tell you the two methods of doing so - either a parallel cable or USB cable, but they don't include either. So, if you are not upgrading an old printer (like I was) you would be S.O.L. until you went and bought a cable. I find that pretty unacceptable. For the record, a USB cable costs about $10 - if the way they made their price point was to not include it, I'm not sure what to expect of the printer itself.
[ • cartridges and PAPER • ]
My printer included a paper sampler pack - HP suggests only using HP paper, of course, but I'm sure any quality paper will work. The samples included were nice, though. The printer can accept any of three HP cartridges (unique to this printer, of course): #56 Black and White (C6656 - about $20), #57 Tri-color (C6657 - $35) and #58 Photo (C6658 - $25). The #56 and #57 were included, although I want to give the photo cartridge a try soon.
[ • make me a PICTURE • ]
This printer is simple to use. Loading the paper requires loading it face-down, but that's minor. On the face of the printer are several buttons: power, print cancel, resume print, the print quality selector button and the print cartridge status light. The Print Quality button allows you to choose the preset print quality on the fly from the printer itself - a nice touch. As I mentioned, once the printer was set up, it was a breeze to use.
The printer menu is the typical Windows version, although setting allow you to customize how nice a print you want, particularly regarding photos. You can adjust the brightness, color balances, sharpness, resolution and several other settings from the print menu. It also has several presets to help you automatically configure your print to match what you are trying to do - pretty nice, actually.
When printing, a cartridge status window displays showing you the ink levels so you won't get caught short. I'm not sure how accurate it is yet, because my inks seem to be lasting a while given my limited printing. As you print, one note: make sure that you pull out the tray extension - the paper ejects somewhat forcibly, and I ended up with more than 1 sheet on the floor before I figured it out.
[ • tech SPECS • ]
Maximum Resolution » 4800pixels by 1200 dpi
Print Speed » Black - up to 21 pages per minute (ppm) on fast draft, 7.7 in normal mode; color - up to 5 ppm on normal; photo - 5x7 high-resolution photo 1-2 ppm
Memory » 8MB
Dimensions » 448mm wide x 145 mm high x 370.5mm deep
Weight » 11.7 lbs (5.3kg) without cartridges
Power Consumption » 2 watts max (off), 4 watts max (sleeping), 22 watts max when printing.
Warranty » Software, accessories, cartridges - 90 days; peripheral hardware - 1 year
[ • how good IS IT? • ]
So, the big question - how does it print? I've done some limited printing and I have to say that I'm very happy with the results. Printing black and white was quick, giving me 8 pages of crisp, clean text in less than a minute. Sans-serif fonts definitely seem a little clearer than serif fonts, but both were very good - not quite laser quality but close. A color document printed very clearly and quickly. The colors were true and seemed strong on the paper (Inkjet photo quality white bond). The printer was very quick not only to start - something my old Epson struggled with - but to actually print the pages.
Photo prints were also very impressive, even without the photo cartridge. I printed a series of photos on different paper, including the sample of HP High-Gloss Photo Paper and Epson photo papers. Printing at the 4800x1200 optimized resolution, the photos were nearly as sharp as the originals. In fact, a high-resolution .jpg downloaded directly from our Nikon D70 camera and printed via PhotoShop CS was nearly photo-quality. The individual seeds and dirt grains are clearly visible in the print. The color is very true, perhaps a little darker than the photo but within monitor-printer variances.
Better yet, in addition to being fast and clear, this printer is remarkably quiet. You hear it come on and there is obviously some print noise, but it is FAR quieter than either of the Epson's we had in the office.
[ • final THOUGHTS • ]
Even if I had paid for this printer, I would be very happy with the results. Fast, high-quality prints with great resolution printed with a minimum of noise. My one complaint is the lack of cables, which I just can't understand, try as I may. But other than that, this was a great gift to get, and I foresee a lot of use in the near future.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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