Hewlett Packard 6p: A Utilitarian Printer for Home or Office

Many manufacturers make printers and some companies are known exclusively for their expertise in this area. I have used printers from many different companies over the years, with Lexmark, IBM, Canon, and Epson listed among the brand names I am familiar with.

But of all the companies that make printers, the one I have used more than any other is Hewlett/Packard. And one of the printers I use right now in my office is the Hewlett/Packard 6p Laser Printer, a small to medium sized printer designed for personal use.

Basic Features of This Printer:

HP 6p is a small desktop printer measuring about 16 inches (40 cm) in width and 8 inches (20cm) in height. The laser technology delivers maximum resolution of 600 by 600 dots per inch.

Regular, 8.5 by 11 inch paper is inserted into the lower paper tray, which holds about two- hundred or so sheets. If you have larger paper, you will need to pull down the upper tray and feed the paper through. This printer isn’t terribly fast, delivering only about eight pages per minute. It doesn’t have color printing capabilities either. It’s black ink or nothing with this HP model.

Since there is no color printing ability with this printer, you don’t need to worry about purchasing two cartridges when you buy ink. You need only black ink, and you can expect to pay about $70 for each cartridge.

Pricing:

This printer carries a sales tag around $170, but the price varies widely depending on where you purchase it. Some stores have it selling as high as $200 or more, while discount stores have it selling for about $30 to $50 less.

Customer Service:

Questions about this printer can be answered either by checking the web site or by calling the toll free help line. The web site, hpshopping.com, has troubleshooting advice and product support. If you would rather speak with someone at HP regarding a technical question, the phone number is 800-474-6836.

Final Thoughts:

Hewlett Packard’s 6p printer is a good device for basic printing. I have been using this printer in my office where I have it cabled directly to my desktop pc and it has suited my needs and caused me only a small amount of grief.

This printer isn’t very large and because of this, it fits easily on most desktops. It doesn’t require a lot of room, but you need to make sure there is enough open space in the front to pull the paper tray out if necessary and/or to open the upper paper tray for those times when you need to use legal paper, print checks, etc.

In the time I have used this printer (about 16 months), I have had mostly positive experiences. First of all, the paper rarely becomes jammed. The paper feed from the lower tray performs its job with flying colors with almost no mishaps. And even when it does become jammed, because it is a small printer, I have found that I can usually grab the edge of the jammed sheet and with a careful tug, I can remove it from the printer without tearing and without having to take anything apart. The other positive quality of this printer worth noting is the ink cartridges. The price per cartridge is high (around $70), but they last a very long time. I was surprised at how many sheets I printed using the ink from the same cartridge. It lasted so long, in fact, that I started to wonder if someone had secretly replaced my cartridge when I wasn’t around. According to some sources I have checked, one cartridge in this printer is good for about 7,000 sheets! That’s a lot of paper!

Even though I like this printer and its capabilities, it is important to point out its shortfalls so that potential buyers know. One problem I have noticed is with the upper paper feed tray. This tray folds down to open and it is used for legal paper, envelopes, and other things. The problem with it is that it is common for the printer to accidentally pull through multiple sheets from this tray. This has never happened to me using the 8.5 by 11 inch paper from the bottom tray. It only happens when using legal paper. And it doesn’t happen sporadically- it happens consistently. To get around it, as a rule, I always feed the larger sheets through by hand, one sheet at a time. Also, you need to make sure when you start to print using this upper tray that you have at least one piece of paper in the tray. There is a sensor on the upper tray and if there is no paper in place, the printer will automatically default to the lower tray. It won’t warn you with a friendly “check the upper tray” message. It will just go ahead and draw from the lower tray.

The other thing about this printer that isn’t the best is the tight fit of the lower tray. I read some other Epinions about this same printer and this was a common complaint. The lower tray performs its function nicely, but it fits into place very snugly. So snug, in fact, that it is sometimes hard to pull out and hard to push back into place. It’s nice that HP wants the tray to stay in place, but they could have made it a little looser than they did. I find that I have to place one hand on the printer and then give the tray a good, solid push to get it in place. Without holding the printer first with one hand, due to the tightness of the tray, it will cause the entire unit (which isn’t very heavy anyway) to slide a little bit on the table top.

One other thing to note about this printer is its appearance. This isn’t as important as the other points I made, but it is something to think about. If you look at the picture of this printer up above, I think you will agree that this is not the most visually appealing printer on the market. It is about as plain and simple in appearance as a printer can be- shaped like a box with almost no printed words, no digital display, no liquid crystal display, and only a couple of lights. It is a very utilitarian printer, so it may not appeal to those who want electronic devices that look a little more visually appealing. I know this is a minor point with most people, but the plainness of this printer is glaringly obvious. It prints nicely, but it’s not going to win any beauty contests.

Overall, this is still a pretty good printer from Hewlett/Packard. HP really needs to improve the problem with the upper tray and the tightness of the lower tray. Otherwise, this is a good, basic, tabletop printer that almost never jams and is more efficient with ink than most any other printer I have ever used.