Introduction
I've been using a variety of printers for a long time. The HP line of printer had always impressed me with their excellent print quality and great paper handling abilities. But, when I look at this $50 dollar printer, I got skeptical. There must be a catch. Of course, I've known for years that the printer companies really make the dough from selling replacement inkjet cartridges to the end-user. At $30 plus for a black or color cartridge, there is money to be made from just selling couple of milliliters of ink. So, initially, I was only turned on by the printer's initial cost, and I was expecting only average quality printouts
Specifications
black speed up to 3.5 ppm; up to 6.5 with optional HP 15 black print cartridge
color speed up to 3.5 ppm; up to 4.5 with optional HP 15 black print cartridge
black resolution up to 600 dpi
color resolution up to 600 x 1200 dpi (on premium photo paper)
print technology HP's Color Layering Technology from PhotoREt II (Resolution Enhancement Technology)
product highlights USB-PC & MAC; & optional black cartridge
First Impression
The HP Deskjet 825c is HP's low-end printer in the series. Although it's stripped down, it's a behemoth size, compared with slimmer Canon and Epson printers. It uses the HP default" footprint, with it's classic bottom front loading and top front printout ejecting that they've been using since forever. It's off-gray colored, not too fancy, but still elegant to look at. The setup is a breeze, but be forewarned that it uses ONLY an USB connection. It's good that it simplifies installation with Plug-and-play features, provides faster operation than with a standard parallel port connection, and it comes with an include USB (A-B) cable. The only bad feature is that you'll need a computer with a spare USB port, and it will not work with older computers with no USB interface.
I installed the printer in Windows XP Professional Edition. It works with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP, and XP gets it's own installation CD. It also comes with the standard colored and large print "Installation for dummies" poster that comes with all HP products now, along with a manual. The manual is also included in the installation CD. Windows XP recognized the printer right away, but I followed the printed instruction and instead installed the drivers and software from the CD. The installation is massive, and it takes a while. I wonder why it took so long because it mainly included the printer drivers, documentation, and a small toolbox program to configure the printer. No other software was included, other than a few useless "helper" programs that directs you to HP's website ($cha-ching!$) At the end of the installation process, it prompted me to print a test page, and this is when I got my first glimpse of its color printing features. Color printouts in high quality, albeit slow, feature very fine grains and excellent color gradient and flesh tones. Judging from just a standard inkjet paper, the colors are vibrant, and with photo-quality paper, it should be even more vibrant. The blacks, however, do not seem dark enough, and that's the initial problem with this striped-down printer.
The cartridge Game
The printer came standard with the color cartridge, but it does not include the black inkjet cartridge, although it's available as an option. With the black cartridge it offers darker and faster printouts of black documents. So, the initial cost of the printer if I want it to be well equipped is really 70-80 dollars. Not too bad, but that's when I know HP scheme of making this printer a good moneymaking machine even after it's sold to the consumer. Printer cartridges are about 30 dollars each, so replacement cartridge cost will easily overwhelm the initial cost of the printer in a short time. Bargains can still be had, however, if you purchase recycled cartridges at 20 dollars a pop. You won't get the same new HP cartridge, and you won't give HP a good profit, but you'll still get a printout. Ive tested the printer with a recycled printer cartridge from InkToday.com, and the printout came out near-laser quality.
Usage
The printouts come out surprisingly quick, due to its internal (not upgradeable) 2MB memory and faster USB interface. The paper loads and prints without a hitch like most recent HP printers, and the operation is relatively quiet. At no point do I hear the printer trying to destroy the paper, that's good! The paper tray holds up to 100 sheets at a time, and can accommodate legal sheets and envelopes. I've used other HP printers for years, and it rarely chews up your paper, even with age. A removable rear access plate is designed for removing those rare paper jams.
Conclusion
If you want a basic printer that doesn't cost a lot of money, and you mainly print Black text with the occasional need for color, this is a good buy for you. It doesnt' shine with amazing quality printouts, but for its price, it delivers a lot. I strongly recommend anyone buying this to purchase the black cartridge right away, and factor that into the initial cost. I thought it'll only cost me $50 dollars initially, but I added a cartridge that bumps up the cost to over $70 dollars w/ tax. If you're a thrifty user, search for places that sells recycled printer cartridges that cost around 20 dollars or less. If you plan on printing very high quality pictures, invest on a more expensive model.
