HP PSC1210 printer

[kombolcha]

This is an all-in-one printer (printer, copier, and scanner)

Price: $100 USD

(Y)'s

multifunction color printer.

weighs 11 pounds

12ppm (black- 600x1200dpi) 10ppm (color- 1200x1200) COPYING speed

12ppm (black) 10ppm (color) PRINTING speed

transperancies, envelopes, plain paper, cards, labels, and iron on transfers

USB connection

1 year warrenty.

(N)'s

There is only one thing that ****es me off so much and i hate HP for this. the drivers and software are not WHQL certified drivers and no one else makes drivers for them (windows drivers are no use) you are forced to use their crap drivers that take up your windows, system32, drivers, plus other folders. and take up more resources while it runs in the backround.

i always uninstall the software after i install the drivers. and you can't simply install the drivers. i've tried it. it won't work. you have to install the bundled HP software that comes with it and then you can uninstall it. and use ps or built in windows to scan and print your papers.

Other:

other than that, it is conservative when it comes to ink. i've had it for over 6 months and i have not had to replace it yet. the printing quality is good and doesn't run off even when you print "draft" style.

this printer blows any other printer mainly because it is HP and lexmark nor epson can compete with this printer at this price. and this is excellent for a student like me.

Edited April 22, 2004 by Vice King

[SportzManiak87]

Indeed, I have the HP PSC All-in-one 1350, which is an upgrade to that one. This printer is the best printer I ever had, and trust me, I've had plenty of them. I purchased it in December for $120 and it is still running on the default ink cartridge that came with it. I've printed about 5 research papers averaging 11 sheets per research paper. One thing I've also noticed is its photo quality. I scanned a few pictures and decided to print them on picture paper and to my dismay, it came out perfect.

The downside as King said is the software you are FORCED to install. I have about 300 mb of crap installed and I cannot uninstall it or else the printer won't even work. The only thing I was successful uninstalling was Memories Disc, which I do no use.

Very good printer for an average user and student.

[Iain]

Used to have them at work. They're a nice compact printer, and look good too!

[fosuco]

I have a psc 1210 sitting by my desk gathering dust... imo its a piece of crap. I've had this thing only since last august, and now it won't even print more than 1 page without the carriage getting jammed... I have no idea why either. Also, as it prints there is a smudge all the way down the page about 1/3 width ways from the center. I've done everything i could: cleaned the print cartridges, got new print cartridges, and contacted HP support numerous times.

So not too long ago, I went out and bout an epson stylus cx5400, and now life is good again :-D

[djgramma]

Hmmm I was looking at that printer in Future Shop, pretty cheap all-in-one. The thing that attracted me was the look of it, beautiful. I hate all printers keeping that plastic look (I have a lexmark all-in-one and it was great at first but now it's a bulky piece of crap)

I don't use my printer that much now, but a cheap one would be great. I'll look at that one more now. Thanks dude!

Cheers

[demorgoron]

i have the 1300 and its a really great multifuction printer.mine has a memory card hub for every flash card out there.its very economic too,the ink cartriges are still hanging in there,even with all the things i print everyday.

and for 150.00USD in Office Max, i cant get anything better

[dougkinzinger]

Used to have them at work. They're a nice compact printer, and look good too!

My thoughts exactly. Good stuff.

[dL]

I always wonder, what big differences is there between PSC1210 and PSC750?

dL

[User009172271]

The PSC750 is a bit older that the 1210. The 750 uses the hp 15 and 78 ink cartridge, compared to the 56, 57 and 28 on the 1210 ... that's all I can think of .... oh I almost forgot, the 1210 Is a "bit" smaller :p

PSC 750 -> if you want to see how big it was ( cuz it's discontinued ) look at the hp psc 2175 model it was the same thing but a bit higher.

[dL]

I know PSC750 is older, but the functions and printing quality are basically the same, right?

dL

[User009172271]

welll

Black ppm : 11 for 750 and 12 for 1210

color : 5 for 750 and 10 for 1210

For the print quality you get with the photoret technology

2400X1200 with the 750

and 4800X1200 with the 1210

but this is with the optimized results using a 1200X1200 output quality ... you only get a real 600X600 dpi resolution

so we could say they are similar in print quality

btw: the 750 has a bigger paper tray 150 copies instead of 100

EDIT : as for the integrated scanners : they have the same resolution 600X2400dpi and a color depth of 36 bit

[kombolcha]

i forgot to add something to the review.

the chicks dig this all-in-one printer (Y)

[Iain]

My thoughts exactly. Good stuff.

Yes, certainly a good buy. If you're in the UK and have 'The Computer Shop' (Formally Tiny or Time) near you, keep an eye out for good deals. This printer quite often (or used to) come with something free.

[elfangor]

Does it have the function to print on both pages? I want to replace my OfficeJet G55 multifunction printer which is a huge monster, and the only thing that stops me from getting one is that I need to do two-sided printing.

[kombolcha]

what do mean? all printers can print of both sides.

i print the first page, then i take the paper the just got printed on, flip it over and stick it back in the slot and print the back page.

[elfangor]

Vice King - I realize that :)

My current printer can automatically print on both sides (without me having to flip the paper over). I'm just wondering if the P1210 can do the same.

[kombolcha]

nope doesn't have it.

Print technology

HP Thermal Inkjet

Duplex printing (printing on both sides of paper)

None

Print languages, std.

Lightweight Imaging Device Interface Language (LIDIL)

Memory, std.

8 MB

Memory, max.

8 MB

Connectivity, std.

USB

[Galley]

My sweetie has this model. There's this weird "installer" thingy that pops up everytime you boot up or switch users. The scan quality isn't that great, and it's a crock you can't uninstall their crappy software without uninstalling the drivers.

[Daniel F. Administrators]

congrats this made the front page Neowin Member reviews

[kombolcha]

congrats this made the front page Neowin Member reviews

:woot: :hug:

[metro]

I used to support the OfficeJet line of printers for HP, and I can honestly say that the PSC is a decent entry level multifunction printer for the average computer user, as long as you like spending extra money to keep replacing stuff that keeps breaking. I know pretty much everything there is to know about them even 2 years after no longer being employed and supporting the machines. As far as I can tell, the chassis haven't really changed much, but in my experiences a lot of the HP multifunction printers are notorious for mechanical problems and are kinda finicky when it concerns some paper media. A lot of the HP printers are engineered to perform best with HP paper and can choke on other paper pretty easily.

The drivers and software for the OfficeJet printers were crap when I supported them, and I have no doubt in my mind that they are still crap. The hardware and software engineers work independently from one another for each new printer, so there are always problems with software. Another factor, is that the same development teams are never used twice so one series of printer may perform tons better than another. One problem that was big with the PSC series, and even the G & K series is that the carriage uses a specialized blue optical laser to align the printer cartridges. It was common for the laser's lens to just pop off of the carriage and into the printer. This will render the printer useless, and into the scrap pile it goes.

When you called tech support with an issue identical to the one I stated, all HP does is send out a refurbished unit as a replacement for your faulty machine, regardless if you bought it only yesterday. If you ever get a printer that gets jacked up within the timeframe of the store's return policy, by all means try and take it back to get a replacement. If you don't, HP will be ready to send you another pile of junk that was broken at one time... They are pretty shady about that kind of stuff.

Aside from the crappy software problem and some of the scan options, the PSC printers are pretty decent but in no way in tune with my needs as an advanced computer user. I would never buy one, and that is partly because I know how they are made, how they operate, and how much you get screwed over by HP if it breaks before the warranty is up.

[elfangor]

What other models would you recommend then?

[kombolcha]

What other models would you recommend then?

ya, seriously... i don't know any other brand better than HP (entry level printers)

[Galley]

My Epson 1000ICS all-in-one has Epson's typical top-notch scan quality. Check out the Epson CX5400.

[kombolcha]

My Epson 1000ICS all-in-one has Epson's typical top-notch scan quality. Check out the Epson CX5400.

that's $150

for that price i can get the upgrade to my PSC1210 and get the 1350.. the upgrades are:

Prints: up to 17 ppm black and 12 ppm color; up to 4800x1200-dpi

Copies: up to 17 cpm black and up to 12 cpm color; up to 50 copies

Scans: up to 19,200-dpi enhanced

Select photos and print without using your PC (CompactFlash?, SmartMedia, Memory Stick?, Secure Digital/Multi Media, or xD-Picture Card?)

Create digital slide shows using HP Memories Disc Creator software

Prints borderless 4 x 6" photos

the only advantage the epson has over the Hp is the scanning resolution, but who really needs to scan at that resolution? and all those features about "Cost-saving individual ink cartridges" i know epson is better than lexmark at ink costs.

i bought my HP August 2003, and both my sister and i have printed hundreds of pages and the ink is about half full, and i don't know if epson does this, but HP's come with full ink.

don't get me wrong, i'm not argueing, i like epsons, i just prefer HP over anything else.