Showing posts with label photo printer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photo printer. Show all posts

1/10/2013

Lexmark X3430 All-In-One With Memory Card Slots Color Printer Review

Lexmark X3430 All-In-One With Memory Card Slots Color Printer
Average Reviews:

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I actually bought this item new from Walmart for about $25. I've used it daily for three months and have had no problems so far. The Ink Cartridges cost about $22 but it only uses one and mine has just run out of ink for the first time. I can't see anything to object to.
The print quality is about as good as my expensive HP printer and HP ink is more expensive and takes two.

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1/08/2013

Epson Stylus Photo RX680 Photo All-in-One Printer Review

Epson Stylus Photo RX680 Photo All-in-One Printer
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Boy after reading the last few posts, I was worried when I bought one for my wife the "PhotoNut" However, the package arrived in perfect condition, I bought direct from Epson. All the pieces were in the box properly packed, we installed the software, simple, loaded the cartridges as indicated by the instructions, plugged into the USB port, printer was found right away. We tried the copy and enhance the color option first, WOW!!! I had a 15 year old collage group shot that hung on a wall and faded, the redo brought it back to life. Its not perfect, but WOW anyway
I love this printer. My wife spent hours last night playing with it and handed me a stack of really great looking prints this morning I was impressed! We currently have a HP Photosmart 1000 and a Epson Picture Mate Both still work fine, but the 680 takes the prize!!!
For those of you that have had problems, I don't know what to say, for anybody reading this, I really like it, so does my wife.
Good Luck to all
Pat S.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Epson Stylus Photo RX680 Photo All-in-One Printer

Constructed with two adjustable paper trays and automatic dual-side printing capabilities, the Epson Stylus Photo RX680 All-in-One printer makes professional-grade photo printing easier than ever. Use the 2.5-inch tilt LCD to view, select, crop, enlarge, and rotate images before you print PC-free by using the printer's memory card slots. The Stylus Photo RX680 prints standard 4 by 6 inch photos in 11 seconds with a maximum resolution of 5760 by 1440 dpi, it prints documents at up to 40 pages per minute, and it includes double-sided print and copy capabilities. Two adjustable paper trays hold up to 270 sheets of paper, and the Auto Photo Correction feature, including advanced face detection, corrects overexposed shots and ensures that your images come out red-eye free and beautifully toned.
Each photo produced by the Stylus Photo RX680 will be smudge, scratch, fade, and water resistant. This sophisticated photo printer also restores old and faded color photos, and easily converts scanned documents to PDF files for emailing or archiving. Print images and text onto inkjet printable CDs and DVDs for a professional look with a personal touch, or create your own photo holiday greeting cards--the possibilities are limitless. This printer also comes backed by a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box RX680 photo all-in-one, CD/DVD tray and software, power cord, documentation, CD-ROM (printer drivers and software), 78 black ink cartridge (T078120), 78 cyan ink cartridge (T078220), 78 magenta ink cartridge (T078320), 78 yellow ink cartridge (T078420), 78 light cyan ink cartridge (T078520), and 78 light magenta ink cartridge (T078620).

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12/27/2012

HP Photosmart D7360 Printer Review

HP Photosmart D7360 Printer
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This printer produces drop dead gorgeous photos when using HP Premium Photo paper. They are practically dripping with glossy eye popping color! Text is also sharp and crisp. Normal copier paper is passable, but buying the special HP paper really makes a noticable improvement. (personal plug: you can buy paper and inkjet from HP's website with free overnight shipping with no minimum purchase!)
The touch screen makes printing from memory cards very easy. It also reduces the number of buttons on the printer itself -- which accounts for its sleek Mac-inspired styling. The printer can also fix exposure and red eye right in the printer! No need to connect it to your computer. In fact, I find myself copying photos from iPhoto to my memory card and then printing directly from the card (it seems easier than going through all the options in the print dialogue box). You can even print photos directly from your iPod with your USB dock cable! (Now, if I only had an iPod!)
The D7360 also uses HP's new inexpensive 6 color "02" inks -- which means you only need to replace the inks you use, and they won't cost a fortune. It's a fast printer -- but I take points off because the printer really shimmy and shakes your desk when it's printing -- like a little earthquake! Also paper handling is a mixed bag. There is a nice built-in tray for 4x6 photo paper as well as one for everyday 8.5x11 paper. Unfortunately, the paper trays do not fold up when not in use. And it's a bit of a hassle to remove paper when you just want to print one envelope or 5x7 photos. Lastly, the printer itself is rather large considering HP's all-in-ones add a scanner but are the same size.

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12/23/2012

Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer (1438B002) Review

Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer (1438B002)
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(More customer reviews)
The Good:
-Outstanding output quality for the price
-Good speed
-Automatic Duplex printing
-Lightweight drivers/software
-Inexpensive ink
The Bad:
Aside from a slightly cheap asthetic feel, I can't find a thing. And for such a low price, it's to be expected. Other manufactures might have shnazzier printers at the same price point, but keep in mind most other manufacturers don't sell printers, they sell ink, so you pay for it in the long run.
Overall I am extremely satisfied with this printer. Coming from an IP4000, I had high expectations, and this did not dissapoint. I have owned every major brand of printers (HP, Epson), and Canon is absolutely where it's at. Cartridges are much more affordable, you aren't forced to install 400mb of junk that loads 5 processes at windows startup (HP), and the attention to detail is great (i.e., you can program the printer to shutoff after X minutes of being idle). Do yourself a favor and buy a Canon.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer (1438B002)

Exceptional Photo Lab Quality Performance with Advanced Paper Handling

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12/22/2012

HP Photosmart 8250 Printer (Q3470A#ABA) Review

HP Photosmart 8250 Printer (Q3470A#ABA)
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This is an excellent printer for the serious photographer. The images are clear, sharp, and crisp, and professional in every way, at least to my amateur eye. I am a picky amateur photographer, and I bought this printer so that I could easily print 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 photos from my several digital cameras. This printer does the job. This is a beautifully engineered and solid piece of equipment.
Some technical issues. Beware, when the ink first prints, it smears easily, so let it dry for a few minutes--it dries quickly enough. I am happy to say that the photo download from the card reader slot (I measured it on the CF card reader--I haven't tried it for my SD cards yet) is lightning fast, as compared to my older HP printers, I guess that is the USB 2.0 that this device features. This is a welcome improvement--earlier HP printers lagged behind even cheap card readers in speed. No more.
So far my print feeds have been flawless and jam-free. You can effortlessly switch between 4x6 and 8x10 prints, and the feeds are fine. (Haven't tried 5x7s yet, but I expect no problems.) When you first take the printer out of the box it will prompt you to put paper in the printer and let it test the ink cartridges. Beware--you need to install them first. This only takes a second, and these are the most foolproof printer cartridges I have ever seen, but the printer does not tell you that the cartridges are not yet installed, at least not until you try to run the diagnostic. No big deal; I installed them, and the printer calibrated itself perfectly!
The printer installed perfectly and effortlessly the very first time. Simply insert the supplied CD and follow the instructions. Remember not to insert the (not supplied!) USB2 cable into the computer until the software prompts you to do so.
It appears to me that some of the other reviewers (here on Amazon) of this printer made the same initial mistake I made. Specifically, here is the deal: this printer can detect what kind of paper you are feeding it (if it is HP paper anyway)--it detects it from a code on the back of the paper and it adjusts the ink application accordingly. Further, this printer is very precise as to how it applies ink to a given paper type. So if you try to manually tell it what kind of paper you are using, and if you guess wrong, you will get lousy pictures with the ink incorrectly applied. Once I figured out the rather amazing fact that this printer KNOWS what kind of paper it is printing on, I started getting wonderful pictures. (It literally never occurred to me that it could do this--I had to, you guessed it, read the manual to find this out). This is cool--you can insert different kinds of HP photo paper in the same stack, e.g. matte, glossy, etc. and expect to get perfect pictures without having to look in the printer to see what paper is next. Just tell it on the print menu to automatically select the paper type. I love the 21st century!
Personally, I think that HP has hit a home run with this one. While I cannot compare this one to its rivals from Epson or Canon (I have not reviewed these), I can say that I am completely satisfied. Recommended.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Photosmart 8250 Printer (Q3470A#ABA)

Box Contents: HP Photosmart 8250 Printer, HP 22 Tri-color Inkjet Print Cartridge, 5 ml ink volume, HP Image Zone Express Photo and Imaging Software on CD-ROM, Setup Poster, User's Guide, Power Supply, Power Cord The HP Q3470A Photosmart 8250 Printer lets you enjoy easy photo printing, the world's fastest photo printer. Easy to set up and use, it prints beautiful photos and laser-quality black text. Print a 4 x 6 photo in as fast as 14 seconds for as little as 24¢ each, or everyday documents at blazing speeds up to 32 ppm black text, up to 31 ppm color text. Six convenient individual ink tanks help avoid the hassle of running out of specific inks in the middle of a photo or page by letting you easily replace only the inks you need, when you need them. Also accepts custom sizes Memory card compatibility - CompactFlash Type I and II, Memory Stick (including PRO, Duo, MagicGate), Microdrive, MMC, Secure Digital (SD), mini SD (optional adapter required), xD-Picture Card Max. Memory - 64 MB Also connects to HP bt300 Wireless Printer Adapter or HP bt450 Bluetooth Wireless Printer and PC Adapter System Requirements(PC) - Intel Pentium II (or equivalent) or higher; 64 MB RAM (256 MB recommended); 600 MB available hard disk space (2 GB recommended); Windows 98, 2000, Me, XP Home, XP Professional; SVGA monitor (800 x 600, 16-bit color); 4x CD-ROM drive; USB port; USB cable (not included); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 System Requirements(Mac) - G3 processor or higher, 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended), 150 MB available hard disk space, Mac OS X v 10.2 or higher, SVGA monitor (800 x 600, 16-bit color), 4x CD-ROM drive, USB port, USB cable (not included) Uses c8721w, c8771w, c8772w, c8773w, c8774w, c8775w ink cartridges Dimensions(WxDxH) - 17.59 x 19.13 x 8 Weight - 18.7 lbs.

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12/15/2012

Canon PIXMA MP600 All-in-One Photo Printer with Easy Scroll Wheel (1451B002) Review

Canon PIXMA MP600 All-in-One Photo Printer with Easy Scroll Wheel (1451B002)
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I've had this printer for about a month, and so far found it excellent at everything. I had been using an Epson printer and scanner and both turned into nightmares, I find this machine to be light years ahead, especially in speed and ease of use.
It's easy to setup, the software is easy to use, it's quiet and it prints fast!
Text is nice and crisp, it gives you 3 different settings to choose from, even the fast mode is good quality for most uses if you want to save ink.
Copies are quick and easy and very good quality.
Photos are very sharp, have good contrast, colors are rich overall. Comparing a portrait type shot to the same one I had printed at a lab, It was tough to tell any difference, except this one was a bit lighter. This was on Epson paper, have not tried Canon paper yet which is supposed to work best.
Scanner is easy to use, relatively fast, and quality seems very good.
Overall this machine is a pleasure to use with impressive quality.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon PIXMA MP600 All-in-One Photo Printer with Easy Scroll Wheel (1451B002)

Outstanding All-In-One Photo Printer with 2.5" TFT Display and Easy Scroll Wheel

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11/19/2012

Canon Pixma iP4500 Photo Inkjet Printer (2171B002) Review

Canon Pixma iP4500 Photo Inkjet Printer (2171B002)
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I had a Canon BubbleJet BJC-4200 long ago, and after that printer I was very hesitant to even consider another Canon printer. When my most recent printer died, an HP DeskJet 970cse, I needed to find a good printer that could print duplex and produce quality output. After reading many, many reviews I decided to give Canon another chance. I am very glad that I did so.
The Pixma iP4500 arrived in a huge box, and as it turns out it needed the space. This is a larger printer than I expected, and as a result I had to rearrange my desk to find room for it. That's a small oversight on my part. The printer itself is an unassuming-looking box of a machine, though it resembles more of a printer when the paper trays are populated.
Setup was easy and straightforward, though I do recommend using the "getting started" insert before setting everything up. Though setting everything up is relatively self-explanatory, it is helpful to see the illustration of what to do in order before making the leap. Overall, setup took maybe 20-30 minutes once the parts were all out of the box and everything was set up.
Once configured, installing the drivers is simple. Drop in the CD, follow the prompts, and turn on the printer at the right time. No fuss.
Once set up and powered on, the printer is ready to go to work. I print a majority of my things in duplex mode so I tweaked the driver configuration to make it the default, after which the setting is more or less invisible. Everything in the driver configuration is very easy to find, straightforward, and simple.
There are two ways to feed paper into the iP4500. There is a top-loader which is the default paper source and there is a front-loading paper tray ("cassette" according to Canon's documentation). Heavier papers such as card stock should be loaded from the top-loader.
So, how does this printer perform? I'll break it down into two parts, speed and quality.
Speed - this is a relatively fast printer! Feeding it a print job that conists of a two-sided black and white print this printer can churn out the pages, including the dry time for the front page, in about 20 seconds. Granted, this is my experience and your mileage may vary but it's a good starting point from which to base your evaluation of the speed. My previous printer would take at least a minute to print the very same documents, and it still couldn't keep up when in draft mode. For photo printing it churns out a full-page 8.5"x11" borderless photo in roughly 45 seconds.
Quality - what good is speed without quality? This printer backs it up. The text and basic image quality is acceptable, though it could be a touch better. This is not noticeable in day-to-day print jobs. On photo printing, though, this printer is an absolute showstopper. The photos it prints, on photo paper, are better than most magazine prints and could easily be used for photo studio gallery shots.
It would be nice if the printer actually had a USB cable in the box, but this is a small thing.
Overall, this is a high-quiality, high-performance printer that is sure to please even the staunchest of critics. It is fast, creates beautiful output, and is very easy to set up.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon Pixma iP4500 Photo Inkjet Printer (2171B002)

The Canon Pixma iP4500 is a stylish unit that boasts both a five-color ink system and a 4,608-nozzle print head to deliver wonderfully lifelike color, along with bold, laser-quality text. How does it work? The print head ejects precision droplets as small as one picoliter, resulting in a breathtaking 9600 x 2400 color dot-per-inch (dpi) resolution as well as a truly exceptional level of detail. Remarkably efficient, the iP4500 also will print a borderless 4-by-6-inch photo in only about 21 seconds. And you can store both photo paper and plain paper in the two paper trays at the same time, so you're always ready to print exactly what you need.The user-friendly iP4500 provides lots of options, so you can indulge your creativity. With this system, you get four dye-based inks plus a pigment-based black ink, the option of printing two-sided documents to save paper, and the ability to print right from your infrared-enabled mobile camera phone. Simply capture an image with a PictBridge-ready digital camera or DV camcorder, then connect and print--it's that simple. And to make sure your favorite shots look their best, the built-in automatic image-fixing feature via Easy PhotoPrint EX also helps ensure that each image is as clear and vibrant as possible.What's in the Box Pixma iP4500 photo printer, document kit (cross sell sheet, easy setup instructions, quick start guide), setup software and user's guide on CD-ROM, PGI-5 pigment black ink tank, CLI-8 (black/cyan/magenta/yellow) ink tank, sample media (five 8.5-by-11-inch sheets and four print alignment sheets), power cord, and print head.

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10/29/2012

Canon MultiPASS F50 Flatbed Multifunction Review

Canon MultiPASS F50 Flatbed Multifunction
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An excellent printer, lots of great features for the money, although a few minor quirks. I was considering some other flatbed all-in-one's from HP, Brother, Lexmark, etc, and am using this to replace separate older HP all-in-one and Canon scanner units. Some reasons I chose this unit include combination of ability to copy 8x14 legal (auto-doc feeder only), individual color cartridges (cheaper and environmentally more friendly), high speed color fax w/270pg memory, 2400x1200 color print resolution (useful for digital photos), 30pg auto-doc feeder, direct hi-res color copies (1200x1200), 25-400% copy enlarge/reduce, and print speed.
Setup was easy - quite a few steps to unwrap packing tapes and other setup, but fairly dummy-proof both hardware and software. Performance is excellent in many ways for basic printing, copying, scanning and fax. In the 1200dpi direct color copying mode, even does a respectable job copying direct to glossy photo paper. Doc feeder is smooth, no jams so far. Note that 8x14 legal scans work fine, but are through the doc feeder only, which runs them through a small separate 1"-wide scan area - the plate glass accepts up to letter and A4 sizes (the doc is wrong on this suggesting 8x14 glass copies, but a note on the canon web site corrects this). The unit is a good healthy size, but not overly huge. It vibrates back and forth a bit during inkjet printing sweeps, but a good solid base will help. There is also a plastic cover over the paper tray, a nice touch to keep dirt/dust off the paper supply.
On the down side, the docs are well written for basic functions, but very poor for most advanced features. Many technical terms are not defined (eg: most fax tx/rcv settings) or not documented beyond just mentioning them by name. There is no single section or roadmap for all of the on-printer menus and most menu settings are not in the index either, so you have to jump around the pages by eye. The color/quality/paper settings in the print setup, while flexible, have little documentation in terms of what they really do (eg: difference between photo/glossyphoto/photofilm paper type settings). I'm still working on trying to compensate a bit for correct skin tones from my Fuji digital camera, which tends to favor red more than I'd like - although shots from another digital camera came out fine. Another nit: the max scan resolution I've seen is 600x600, so I'm not sure where the claimed 600x1200 settings come from. Finally, 17c/12b ppm copying and printing speeds are not what I'm seeing for highest resolution settings, these numbers must be for either lowest resolution, or multiple page copy speeds.
All that aside, I'm very happy with the unit, it copies and prints great high-resolution pictures in reasonable speeds, and is nicely priced.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon MultiPASS F50 Flatbed Multifunction

Designed with the small office in mind, Canon's F50 Multipass combines several necessary functions inside one sleek box that fits snugly into an 18-by-24-inch space. Featuring a fax machine, copier, scanner and printer, this speedy and accurate machine is an economical personal assistant for the home office.
Faxes are transmitted as quickly 3 seconds per page; color sheets may take as long as 60 seconds. With programmable dialing options for 12 one-touch numbers and a 30-page automatic document feeder, it practically operates by itself. The transmission memory can contain up to 270 pages, and users have easy access to a number of utility reports.
The printer and copier are compatible with envelopes, transparencies, photo paper, stickers, and transfers as well as plain paper in letter or legal sizes. For monochrome sheets, the F50 churns out up to 17 pages per minute at 600 x 600 dpi; in color, it can process up to 12 pages per minute at an outstanding 2,400 x 1,200 dpi. The paper tray can handle up to 100 sheets of plain paper. Up to 99 copies can be created from one original, with available magnification options ranging from 25 to 400 percent.
The flatbed scanner offers 9,600 x 9,600 dpi and 36-bit color depth; hobbyists can easily process their vacation photos while professionals can quickly organize important documents.
The F50 is fully compatible with PC and Macintosh systems, and includes a scan processing software package. Canon provides a one-year limited warranty on parts and service, along with an InstantExchange program. --Jill Lightner

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10/13/2012

HP OfficeJet 7310 All-in-One Printer Review

HP OfficeJet 7310 All-in-One Printer
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My "real" rating would probably be 4.5 stars out of 5, but since I can't do that, I'll round up.
When my old printer died, I decided to look into an all-in-one since my scanner was getting up there in age and I had begun to notice how convenient having a fax machine in the house would be. I also wanted built-in two-sided printing (since I'd been spoiled with that feature on my last printer), and good print quality (especially photos). I also thought it would be nice to have each color in separate ink tanks so I wouldn't have to replace anything more than what I had used. With this printer I got everything I wanted except for the separate ink tanks.
I've been very impressed with the scan quality and copy quality. I have sent and received faxes with absolutely no problems. I've printed pages of great looking sharp text and impressive looking photos just using the default black and tri-color cartridges (i.e., without putting in the optional photo cartridge). The color LCD and the menu system it uses is great and easy to navigate.
If you're trying to decide between this printer and the 7410, I did some research and emailed HP to confirm what exactly the differences are. The only differences are:
1) The 7410 comes with the extra 250-sheet tray that attaches to the bottom of the printer and adds an extra inch or two to the total height of the printer.
2) On the machine itself, the 7410 has a 'collate' button and an option to collate within the 'copy' menu. HP also calls this 'reverse order printing' and they say it can be activated on the 7310 through the driver (although I have not done it). The same button on the 7310 is 'Lighter/Darker' and the 'collate' option is not in the copy menu.
3) While both printers have built in networking, only the 7410 has built-in wireless networking. This was not an issue for me since I already have a wireless router and I just ran an ethernet cable from my router to the printer. Now any computer that connects to the wireless router is able to print to the printer without having to go through another computer. The printer is basically its own device on the network and relies on nothing other than its network connection (i.e., no usb cables connected). If I had the 7410, the only difference is that I wouldn't have the ethernet cable coming from the router, but the functionality is the same.
I had no problems actually installing the software on any of our computers and have no problems using or accessing the printer from any computer on the network ("accessing" includes accessing any flash card in the media slots). There was a little complication with the software upsetting XP's Data Execution Prevention (DEP), but there is an update on HP's website that took care of that pretty easily.
My complaints:
- If you don't pull out the tray extender, anything you print will fall on the floor. This is kind of annoying if I'm printing from my laptop downstairs, go up to retrieve my print job, and find it all over the floor. Simple solution: If you just leave it pulled out (but not 'flipped' all the way out) it will still catch pretty much everything without having to deal with the thing jutting too far into space.
- As I mentioned before, I wish HP's ink cartridge system was different so that each ink color had its own cartridge that could be replaced as the individual color ran out. On a related note, I wish I could leave the photo cartridge in without having to swap out the black cartridge.
This is a great printer that is the first all-in-one that I have used that could perform all of its many functions really well. It is a little on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for. I have never regretted buying this printer.

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9/30/2012

HP Photosmart 2710 All-in-One Printer Review

HP Photosmart 2710 All-in-One Printer
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I was leery of buying HP because in the past they just haven't seemed to have it together as much as Canon and others. But, I was so impressed by the features of this HP 2710, and I couldn't find anything just like it by Canon, so I bought this. The good news is, the hardware part of this works like a dream and is very impressive. The bad news is, the software package that goes with this is a mess and IS bloated. I have WIN ME, and what a disaster...the HP software installation blew up the first time I tried to install it and gave me registry errors. I have installed and uninstalled the software probably 15 times. About half the time you try to install, it blows up without totally installing. Leaving you to once again uninstall and install. And the fix to everything according to HP is to uninstall and install again, which takes about an hour round trip. I never did get the software to totally work with an ethernet (no scanning or file transfer capability), so I ditched that and did USB. After several uninstalls and installs again (which finally corrupted explorer.exe and I had to reload WIN ME), I still cannot scan and HP DIRECTOR is giving me script errors (and no - not any script errors listed on HP support - and I already did what they said to do to fix script errors). DIRECTOR runs the whole show and without it I am without useful ways to use and change parameters on my printer. I'll give really, really high marks to HP support, they were easy to get ahold of and they will sit on the phone for hours with you trying to fix things, but it doesn't do much good, because they cannot fix these problems at this time. I would think long and hard before buying until they update the software, unless you want to spend HOURS working on it and be left with a partially working application. Especially around Christmas...
12/06/04 - I want to add that I did a lot of research on this software installation problem, and at this time it boils down to this: It will either install with very few hitches and run flawlessly, or you will have several problems with installation and be left with an AIO system that doesn't totally work. For example, I cannot scan or change any of my scan resolution settings (or use anything with HP DIRECTOR - not because all the icons are missing - but because of script errors), or use the one button scan or file transfer features of the hardware because it doesn't recognize my computer. And mind you, this is with an installation that at the end said it installed successfully (it went through fax set-up, registration, and everything). I have seen posts of problems very similiar to mine in Windows XP (even SP2 - one guy had one computer it would work on, and one it would not) so it doesn't appear to matter if you have ME or XP. And nobody, including TECH support, seems to have a reason for the problems or a fix for this at this time. The software version I have is 4.2.0 (Photosmart 2600/2700 series) for WIN 98, ME, 2000, and XP. Again, if you want everything to work correctly, I would check the HP web site and make sure they upgraded this software or they have a fix for the problems I described (which they do not at this time) before buying, otherwise from my experience and research, you are playing Russian Roulette as to whether the software installs correctly on your system.
12/07/04 - AND...one more follow up and then I'm done...do yourself a favor and read ALL the reviews for the HP 7410 (which should be using the same software), or the HP PSC 2410, which is a forerunner to the 2710...you'll find plenty of references to the "bloated software" and installation problems. In fact the more I read reviews about all-in-ones in general, the more I read about problems and the "bloated" HP software. My favorite line was "it infects your registry like cancer". Boy, that is the truth, you can see that when installing. I swear it makes 300-400 registry entries. The software is way too complicated and puts junk everywhere in your system. That's why it gets into trouble. I have changed my chipset driver, downloaded VBSCRIPT 5.6 (even though I think I had it already), downloaded WIN Installer 2.0 and MDACS 2.8 (even though both I think come on the software disk), done this and that, and I am completely convinced I am never going to get the software to run right unless by great fortune they update the software and do it right. I've spent a whole weekend and several nights on this, and it's crazy, just to install a printer. And I'm not an idiot, I'm in IT. If you don't need fax, and can hook up USB, I'd look at the EPSON RX600. From reviews their software is simple and excellent. I know this HP 2710 has on paper a lot of cool features, but the other guys will match those soon. HP has proven both to me and via reviews on forerunner products that they write really terrible software. If you buy, I hope you're one of the lucky ones it works for, but if not, don't say you weren't warned...

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Photosmart 2710 All-in-One Printer

Photosmart Network-Ready 2710 Color InkJet All-in-One Printer, Copier, Scanner, FaxHigh quality printing and high speed wireless networking for home and business. View, print and edit photos without a PC. Front panel editing buttons: rotate, crop, zoom and remove red eye before printing. Scan, fax and print simultaneously. Speed:30 ppm black and 20ppm color. Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi.Scanner: 2400 x 4800 dpi optical resolution. Bit Depth:48-bit. Copier Speed: 30 cpm black and 20 cpm color. Reduce/Enlarge:25% to 400%. Fax: 33.6 Kbps. Page Memory:Up to 60 pages.

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8/31/2012

Canon Pixma MP970 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer (2181B002) Review

Canon Pixma MP970 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer (2181B002)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I am an amateur photographer and a professional Software Engineer. I purchased this printer as a general purpose printer and as a low cost photo printer. My home network which consists of 5 Windows XP computers and 1 Mac OS X computer (mine). I connected the printer to my network using the built in ethernet port. All of the testing I performed was over the network and I never tried the USB port. The printer does everything it advertises and does it well. I tested printing, scanning, and card reader functionality using OS X Tiger, OS X Leopard, Windows XP, and the printer worked flawlessly regardless of the OS I was using. You just need to make sure that you download and install the latest and greatest driver for the particular OS you are using. I also tried scanning directly using Photoshop CS3 on OS X Leopard and everything worked perfect.
One of the reasons I purchased the MP970 was for low cost photo printing. I also own an Epson R2400 which is a semi-professional dedicated photo printer. The R2400 is expensive to purchase, and expensive to operate. I was curious how the MP970 photo quality would compare to the R2400 so I directly compared photos printed on the Canon MP970 to the same photos printed on the Epson R2400. The Canon MP970 prints great pictures, but it is simply does not produce the same quality pictures as the R2400. I printed pictures from Photoshop in a color managed environment using Ilford Smooth Pearl Photo Paper and compared the R2400 to the MP970. The Canon MP970 did very well but Epson R2400 was definitely the winner - which was the expected result. The Epson had better highlights, better shadows, and more neutral mid tones. Notwithstanding, the MP970 produced very respectable prints which would be acceptable in all but the most demanding applications. The bottom line is that if you are really serious about excellent photo quality, this is not the printer for you. If you want a low cost way to produce very respectable prints, this printer is definitely for you. I feel that the Canon MP970 fully meets or exceeds my quality expectations for a low cost photo printer. And, as an added bonus, the MP970 is way cheaper to operate than my R2400 because it uses a lot less ink. As an example of how I use it, it's a lot more cost effective to print 25 Christmas cards on my MP970 than it is to print the same 25 cards on the R2400.
I only gave the printer 4 stars because it powers itself off every 2 to 4 days for no reason. Canon technical support confirmed that the printer should not power itself off and sent me a new replacement printer under warranty. Unfortunately, the replacement printer also powers itself off for no reason. I tried several different electrical outlets in my office and it did not fix the problem. Also, no other devices in my office power themselves off. This review has been here for a while now and several people posted comments and said that their MP970 printers also intermittently power off.
Update on Intermittent Power off Issue:
After about 9 months of operation, I ended up moving the printer from my office to my Son's room (for unrelated reasons). For unexplained reasons, the printer stopped intermittently powering itself off after I moved it to my Son's room. The printer has been in my Son's room for roughly 3 months now and it has not powered itself off once. Weird.
I have had the printer for roughly 1 year and I have not had any problems except for the power issue mentioned above.
Here is what the printer does:
- Double sided printing
- Ethernet connectivity
- USB Connectivity
- Initiate a scan from the printer or the computer
- Scan to the disk on your computer, scan to email, scan to PDF
- Copy
- Read camera memory cards. Access the cards via network or USB
- Scanner is compatible with Photoshop CS3 on OS X
- Compatible with OS X Tiger, OS X Leopard, Windows XP, Windows Vista
- 2 paper trays: Cassette in the bottom, open paper tray in the rear
- Will make borderless photo prints
Here is what the printer does not do:
- Does not fax
- Does not have an auto document feeder for the scanner
- Canon does not supply Linux drivers, but I have heard that Linux drivers may be available from other sources (see comments made by others about this review for more information).
- Wireless Ethernet is not directly supported. This printer connects to your network with an Ethernet cable.

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The Canon PIXMA MP970 Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer lets you preview, scan, copy, and print photographs and documents with one easy machine. This all-in-one printer features a compact, streamlined design that can preview images in high resolution on its 3.5-inch TFT display, scan beautiful images with color resolutions up to 9600 by 2400 dpi, or print photos directly from memory cards, cameras, DV camcorders, or camera phones in seconds. The printer's Easy Scroll Wheel makes operation a breeze. The Auto-Image Fix feature ensures that every photo is clear and vivid--even when scanning difficult items such as thick notebooks or faded images--to result in stunning color resolutions up to 4800 by 9600 dpi. This PIXMA will even allows print or copy two-sided to save paper and space.
Just press the Power button and get to work, thanks to the printer's helpful Quick Start design. Copies come out crisper than ever with the system's Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology. Compatible with Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Mac OS X 10.2.8 to 10.4.x8 operating systems, this printer comes backed by a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box Pixma MP970 photo all-in-one printer, cross sell sheet, easy setup instructions, quick start guide, setup software and user's guide CD-ROM, user's guide, PGI-5 black ink tank, CLI-8 (cyan/magenta/yellow) ink tank, power cord, print head, and sample media (8.5-by-11.5-inch sheets).

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8/26/2012

HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer Review

HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I wanted to like this, but I just do not think that the Web feature really justifies doubling the price of the prior Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier and Fax. (Model C309a)HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One Inkjet Printer (CC335A#ABA). Since the C309a is the model I am replacing this review is really a comparison of this new model over the old one. The old one is still readily available for about half the price of this - which is a really big difference. Also, the C309a - at half the price - has one feature missing here - an automatic document feeder. Why is that important? It is important if you want to be able to easily scan multi-page PDF documents. I can put a stack of papers on the C309a and they automatically run through the feeder (never once had a jam) and a multi-page PDF appears on my desktop. This new model is missing that. The lack of the document feeder also renders the fax absolutely useless. To send a fax you have to stand there and "scan" each page of the fax on the glass. It is hardly honest to call this a fax machine.
The specs between the two printers are exactly the same, except the C309a has the automatic document feeder and this one has the web interface. Also, the old model holds 125 pages of regular paper, but this one is down to 100 - a move totally in the wrong direction. Why can't they just design a printer tray (for a non-commercial printer) that holds a ream of paper (500 pages)? Also, this one is missing the special holder for printing CDs, but I never used that anyway.
The new model is smaller (good) and black (instead of a creamy white). The new model also has better drivers - which were (and still are) a MAJOR drawback of the old model. You can finally install a basic set of drivers that don't cripple functions, and don't add a bunch of junk software. This is a MAJOR improvement.
Print quality on both is absolutely amazing. Prints look just like they came from the photomat. Yes. They are that good. (although, unless you use the little flimsy retainer arm, they will drop on the floor once complete.)
I have mine hooked up through wi-fi and that works great. It is easily seen on all computers on my network that run Win7 and XP.
One negative (on this and the old version) is that you still need a computer to be on to do scanning - even to a network drive. The scanning software runs on a computer, not locally on the printer. Copying, faxing and printing can be done without a computer.
OK. What about the web interface? Well, my personal take is that it is a huge gimmic intended to get you to print more and use more ink. Things take forever to find on the touch interface and it would really be about a thousand times faster just to use a computer. Of course, if you - for whatever reason - only have your computer in a far-off room, this might proove handy if the printer is in a more high-traffic area of the house. But is that really a problem? And would you really put your printer far away from your computer? Not likely. I found the touchscreen slow to respond and - although beautiful to look at - I just didn't get the need for the web interface. The only conclusion I can make is that HP wants you to print more stuff and use more ink.
The ink, by the way, goes VERY quickly. I printed a dozen or so 4x6 photos and a couple of 8x10 and the ink light warning started to go off. Of course, I really think the light goes off WAY too early. It does that on almost every printer I have ever used. I continue printing until I notice a problem with the output. I am guessing that the low ink warning is set to go off when you have used 40% of the ink. I was able to print another dozen photos (after the ink warning) before I noticed any ink deficiency. I could probably print another dozen before it wouldn't let me print anymore.
Overall, I really like the printer quality and the interface, but I can't get past the elephant in the room - the old model is half the price and has an automatic document feeder that this is missing.
The printer comes with a standard set of ink cartridges (not just starter inks), every cable you could need (including a massive power brick), and sample photo papers. It is all packaged in an eco-friendly cloth bag.
Overall, I can only give this three stars. If the old model never existed, I would probably give this four or five stars. The fact that they left off the automatic document feeder is a HUGE drawback for me. The "Touchsmart Web" is fun to play with, but really amounts to nothing more than a flashy gimmic. It fixes a problem that doesn't really exist - everything you would do through that interface is easier and faster on a real computer. Of course, I am also a person who would never just plug a memory stick into a printer and start printing - if you are, this might be a good printer for you.

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HP Photosmart Premium C309N Multifunction Printer CD734A#ABA 74

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8/24/2012

HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB Review

HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Having installed 2 of these printers, I STRONGLY encourage you to go to the HP support site and download the latest printer software from www.hp.com/support. The CD's that came with the printers I installed simply didn't work on OS 10.3.9 and was not the latest software for OS 10.4 or 10.5. Using the CD's is frustratingly long and in the end, pointless. Unfortunately, you'll need broadband Internet because the software is over 180MB.
Also for those connecting the printer to the USB port of their Airport, I quote from the HP Support site:
"In general, HP printers that support networking and/or optional JetDirect print servers should print when connected to the USB port of a wireless router, such as the Apple Airport Express and Extreme Base Stations.
NOTE:Connecting to the USB port of a wireless router will provide a `print-only' function, meaning additional functions of your product, such as scanning or card slots, will not be available."
I was disappointed that my scanner didn't work when using the Airport hub. I still think the printer is a good value for the under $90 I paid on Amazon but the software that comes with it is frustrating difficult if you start with the CD's. I give HP zero stars for software installation, 3 stars for some of the software applications they give you and 5 stars for hardware and value; so 3 stars overall.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB



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8/21/2012

Kodak ESP C310 All-In-One Printer (2858320) Review

Kodak ESP C310 All-In-One Printer (2858320)
Average Reviews:

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The first printer we received wouldn't even make it past step three of set-up. We sent it back for a replacement which did at least set up. However, this one has given us nothing but problems. It is so touchy about every setting that it takes forever to get anything to print. I've called customer service more times than I care to count by this point and not only do you wait forever but the representatives are extremely difficult to understand (and I usually have no issues understanding the help line from other countries) as well as completely unknowledgable about the products and services.
Never will I buy another Kodak. Don't waste your money.

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Aio printer esp c310 us.

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8/20/2012

HP Psc 1510 All-in-one Printer Review

HP Psc 1510 All-in-one Printer
Average Reviews:

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This printer installed easily and functions nicely in every way. My only complaint is that the ink cartridges, while very inexpensive, contain very little ink. If you're doing occasional printing, scanning or copying this is a great printer. If you expect to print more than 1000 pages per month, be prepared to change the cartridge as often as your undies.
Did I mention that its a fine printer?

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HP PSC 1510 All-in-One Printer, Scanner,Copier

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8/15/2012

Kodak EasyShare 5500 All-in-One Printer Print, Copy, Scan, and Fax (1600105) Review

Kodak EasyShare 5500 All-in-One Printer Print, Copy, Scan, and Fax (1600105)
Average Reviews:

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I WAS in the market for a replacement for my aging Lexmark X6100 All-In-One so I was very up beat when I found out that Kodak has come up with "cheap ink" AiO printer line.
I got the 5500 at Best Buy for what I though was a decent price of $199.
I set it up, printed a demo page, calibrated the printer and printed a diagnostic page. Printer was pretty slow and noisy but worked fine so far. Then I sent to it a 4x6 photograph and got the familiar and popular error saying that "the print head is missing or needs to be replaced". After reinstalling the print head over and over as suggested by the diagnostic message, I gave up after loosing 4 hrs of my life. Next day, I called the Customer Support at Kodak. The person with a very high level of certainty diagnosed my issue as a 'faulty print head' - seemingly a very popular cause with this printer. The print head was to arrive overnight - It arrived 3 days later. Replacing the head did not help. So, I went to the Kodak website and learned that there is a new firmware for this printer. After uploading the new firmware to the printer it went dumb. It was spitting out two sheets and then wrinkling up and spitting out more pages. No way to stop it except pulling the plug. So, I did. Next day, convinced that it must be an isolated issue, I went to Best Buy to replace the printer. I went through the exact same initial steps again and even got further this time. I was able to print 8 4x6 color photos in the "Best" mode, which looked pretty good as far as color saturation, but were a bit skewed. They also used up close to 50% of my color ink cartridge! So, I estimate that I can get probably only about 20-25 such prints out of a full color ink cartridge, which is much much less than the advertised 35. Then I tried the double sided print from a network computer and found out that the duplex option is disabled on every computer except the one to which the printer is physically connected. This is of course not advertised anywhere. So, I decided to test the double sided printing on the host. It was sloooooooooooow and not printing out a large part of the top of the page. So, I said to my self - Ok, there must surely be a good reason for the new firmware to be offered on Kodak's website. So, I uploaded it again and...the printer went dumb again...
I actually read the reviews on Amazon and still decided to give this printer a try "because it looked sooo nice and offered sooo much". I said to myself, what the heck - I am a pretty savvy techie - I can certainly do better than these "Amazon amateurs". Well, now I am joining what actually turned out to be a pretty wise Amazon crowd with my tail and ears curled all the way down in my disappointment.
Next day, I returned the second printer and am sticking to my old Lexmark for time being.
Kodak 5500 and especially its software and firmware are of poor quality. Endless errors, less than ideal prints, DON'T BUY. Consider yourself warned.
And...please read more interesting reviews of its sibling - the 5300 series.
One more thing - "friendly Kodak guy". Please spare me your comment...


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Print Copy Scan. 32ppm text print speed.28 second best quality photo speed. Best in class print speed in most common print modes for both documents and photos. 20 sheet 4x 6photo tray. 100 sheet main tray. High performance 3840 nozzle dual drop print head. High quality CCD scanner.Make up to 99 copieswithout need of a PC. 2.4 LCD display, memory card slots. Pictbridge and USB drive for singleclick stand alone photo printing. Optional Bluetooth. Fast Black and color faxing at 33.6kbps with one touch speed dials and 100 page memory buffer. Crop photos or copiesto the imagesize and brightness you want from the front panel(No Pc required). Two sided document printing.

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7/05/2012

Epson Stylus R320 Photo Inkjet Printer Review

Epson Stylus R320 Photo Inkjet Printer
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I bought this printer based on reviews and some blind faith.
My wife wanted a printer to print occasional text and some photos. I was under the assumtion that you either want to print photos period or text period and if you want to print text then you're better off with a laser printer and if you want to print photos then get a good dedicated photo printer.
My wifes camera is a small digital. She's been printing pictures from her mothers printer which are painfully pixelated. I didn't want to get something that poor, I insisted on something somewhat better. I thought I'd have to spend $500+ which you can, but she insisted she didn't want something that expensive for scrapbooking. I saw this for $200 and bit my lip. The printers I use at work cost thousands. I thought this would be painfully slow, cheap, marginal quality.
This printer prints amazingly well. It's considered on the high end for a photo printing ink jet. The 8 colors would be better but I've found the quality is as good as a 1-hour lab. That's a lot or a little depending on your expectations. But for $200 I think it's a very good deal.
If you want to print simple text, for reference and not graphics it prints pretty well and faster than I thought.
It seems substantial and well constructed. It has features I didn't realize they put into $200 printers.
This model, the 320 has a little flip up screen for viewing your images if you want to print directly from a memor card. the 300 doesn't and this was $20 more. My wife likes that option. I prefer retouching and printing from the computer.
I knew that I wanted separate ink cartridges for each color. This printer uses 6 colors and 6 separate ink cartridges. Some printer using 6 colors use only 2 cartidges with 3 colors each. The trouble with that is if you run out of 1 color and the others are half full, you'd be wasting money having to replace 3 colors when there's still ink left in the others.
You can even print wireless if your printer supports Bluetooth technology. $69 will get you the adapter for the printer.
If you're planning to print postscript files from a postscript drawing program then you need a postscript compatible laser printer or perhaps you could use this type of printer with a postscript emulation software. I haven't looked into that yet. Don't even ask anyone at Circuit City or similar retail outlets since they don't know what "postscript" means.
Overall I am very very happy with this printer.

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CL) EPSON STYLUS R320 Printer

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