#HP DeskJet +
15 messages in this thread
I have an opportunity to buy an HP DeskJet Plus for $485 + shipping. Is
this a good deal? I currently have an Epson LQ800. Is the DJ+ better?
Any comments appreciated. Thanx!
—Mike
Mike
The DeskJet Plus is $575 at educational discount, which is about as
cheap as you can buy one direct. They normally sell for $670-750 through
most mail orders. Hope this is a helpful guide. The DJ+ is an inkjet
printer and will provide better quality (300 x 300 dpi) resolution than
most dot matrix printers. However, ink cartridges are expensive ($19 each)
and are usually good for fewer than 1000 copies from what others have
experienced. I understand, however, that you can refill these cartridges
with special inks and a syringe at much lower cost.
Steve
Mike,
The $485 price is excellent. The cheapest I've seen yet is $550 and that
price already includes HP's rebate.
I used an Epson LQ1000 for several years (and was always impressed), but
the DJ+ outperforms it in every area I'm concerned about (i.e. legibility,
"crispness", speed). The only drawback is the ink the DJ+ uses: it's
water-soluble and smears easily if it gets wet (even after time).
– Dave
– If you'd like to see some sample output for the DJ+, email me your
address and I'll send you a few TeX'ed pages.
Dave,
I may take you up on that offer if I can't get a demo in person. The
water solubility concerns me a little; some of my customers cry when they
see my invoices. 8) Do sweaty fingers smear it easily?
BTW, I assume the $485 does not include shipping. —Mike
Mike,
I have never had a water solubility problem with my DeskJet+ printouts, but
then I always distribute xerox's, not originals. The text output,
particularly with PixelScript is beautiful.
Lee
Thanx for the info! What is "PixelScript"? —Mike
Mike,
PixelScript allows you to print PostScript files on non-PostScript
printers. There is now a wide selection of fonts available. You can print
them on the DeskJet+ at 300x300dpi without any additional memory. You get
crisp, smooth characters. No jaggies.
Lee
Sounds good. Who publishes it, and how much is it? What Amiga programs
output in postscript? —Mike
Depends how much you sweat. 8) The only time I've had a problem was when I
accidently splashed some water on a printout. It smeared badly, but was
still legible. I've heard of people using hairspray (or some similar stuff
found at art stores) to "seal" the ink with very good results, so there are
workarounds to the problem.
$485 + shipping still sounds like a great deal.
– Dave
Thanx! I'll probably go for it. —Mike
Mike,
I recently (Christmas time) bought a Desk Jet Plus and couldn't be
happier! It's really a great printer. What you need to look at is if its
weakness will fall into any of the catagories you specifically need. The
weakness? Water-soluable (sp?) ink. The ink will run (and I mean get real
messy and unreadable) if it gets wet. I would hesitate doing mailing labels
with the DJ+ and anything else that might be suspect in this way. Other
than that, I see no reason not to get it. 300 DPI resolution and QUIET! 🙂
I paid $625 for mine so I'd say you were getting a deal. You might want to
pick up a copy of the LA Times this Saturday and check out the sports
section. Lots of computer ads and I've seen the DJ+'s on sale for that (HP
is offering some kind of rebate program right now).
Regards,
Allen
Allen,
I'll check the Times. The $485 is after rebate (as I read the fine
print). —Mike
Allen –
I have a friend who has an HP DeskJet+ and claims he has not been able to
get it to print 300 dots per inch. Can you give me any hints that I can
pass on to my friend? I recently Dl'd a printer driver and gave it to my
friend. He says it helps but is not all there.
– Nelson Ingersoll
Nelson,
Make sure your friend has the density setting in preferences set for
density 4. That is the 300 dpi setting. There is also a program out there
called "quickPrefs" that allows you to change many settings on the fly
rather than going to preferences, saving, rebooting etc… Seems to work
very nicely with the DJ and allows you to quickly get several different
printouts to compare. Some pics work best with 300 dpi, some should be
less. Not to mention all the size and dithering options available.
Jim
Nelson,
You might have him check his preference settings. Here's what I have set:
64 lines
6 lpi
Threshold 8
Aspect Horizontal
Image Positive
Smoothing On
Density 4 (This should give 300 x 300 DPI)
Scaling Fraction
Center Off
Hope that helps,
Allen