HP OfficeJet Pro K850
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"Solid, versatile and cheap to feed" on by NewJerseyPete
Pros: Individual ink tanks with cheap NEW aftermarket inks available
Cons: The smooth black plastic case on this printer is a dust magnet
Summary: One thing you must know about this printer is that it has a LARGE footprint when loaded with 13 x 19 paper. You will need a 2' x 2' stand or table space to set it up. The input paper tray needs to rest on something (if you want the tray to overhang the edge of a table, you'll need to put a piece of plywood or masonite under the printer to support the tray).
Because this printer uses individual ink tanks, you will use 100% of the ink you buy. If you think the Deskjet 9800 at $100 less is a better deal, consider that you throw away between 30-50% of the ink in a tri-color cartridge. Also consider that this printer has separate ink tanks and printheads. This means that you can purchase 100% NEW compatible inks - NOT poorly remanufactured ink cartridges that seem to give out when you really need to print something.
The printheads for this printer seem to last forever! And if one should go, you can replace it for about $30. My old Canon BubbleJet had a single four color printhead unit that cost $200!
The only reason I didn't give this printer a rating of 10 is that someone will complain that it's not a great photo printer. I knew that when I purchased it - but for school reports, crafts, posters and working from home, you will not find a better printer and value. Most of the printing in my home is on plain paper, 3 x 5 cards and 9 x 12 envelopes and this printer ROCKS!
If you think this printer costs too much, read the sides of the HP #57, #95 and #97 ink cartridge packages. When they say 15 ml of ink, they mean 5 ml of each color. The K850 ink tanks hold 28 ml of each color and the black holds 69 ml and you can get aftermarket inks for less then $15 per color. $45 gets you 84 ml of ink - that's 6 to 9 each of the #97 cartridges which can cost you over $300 (remember that you throwaway 30-50% of the ink in a tri-color cartridge).
SOLID, VERSATILE and CHEAP TO FEED! -
"A solid printer; not flashy or expensive. This printer is a good value." on by Mark Mill
Pros: Fairly inexpensive. Offers a lot for the price. Does a solid printing job for most graphics.
Cons: Not great for higher end photo printing.
Summary: The Cannon i9900 is a better photo printer, but is about $100-$150 more. I bought this printer for work to print ACAD drawings and other minor color jobs. This printer does the job for printing large color graphics or drawings, but if you want high quality photo printer, go elsewhere.
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"Can not grip the paper all the time, paper jam." on by jasonolimit
Pros: It can print bigger format,,,
Cons: Always has weird OUT OF PAPER error because it cant grap the paper well for some reason,
once a while also has the GHOST paper jam, very annoying since these problem happens on often random patternSummary: If you dont need to print big format then get something else....
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"Bad Network Card and Support" on by tjj9020
Pros: Prints great when working
Cons: Rarely works
Summary: We bought this printer and it worked great for a few months. then the ethernet card went out so we received a new printer from warranty. We received a refurbished printer that did not work, so after fighting with HP over the warranty, they shipped us a 2nd printer. Now the second printer won't print yellow no matter what we try. HP of course says there is nothing they can do.
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"Stay away from this monstrosity!" on by egstudioco
Pros: large print-size capability...but that's all!
Cons: Noisy, expensive, glacier-slow, requires 8 costly cartriges
Summary: I bought this thing in an emergency situation, and I'm sorry I did...especially having just read that it doesn't work well with Macs. Guess what? It doesn't work very well with PCs either! I have both Mac & PC computers, and need a printer that works well with both platforms. This piece of garbage takes forever to do ANYTHING -- even the simplest of tasks. I sit and wait for at least 5 minutes for it to go through its repertoire of loud noises before it deigns to print a single page. And if you want multiple copies, make yourself a cup-o-coffe, 'cause you're in for a long wait! Oh yeah, don't even think of performing any other tasks on your computer while this thing is "working". And since all printers come with only low-capacity ink cartridges, I searched for the appropriate hi-capacity ones when ordering this printer online. So I ordered 4 printheads (at $34 apiece). Imagine my shock when I opened the box, and discovered that this machine requires not only printheads, but also 4 additional ink cartridges! WHAT?! And all of them (except the black ink) are dye-based! A huge disadvantage over my last HP printer (which had its own set of problems) that used archival Vivera inks (and only 4 cartriges, not 8!). And one last thing: the HP K850 is HUGE. I've never been so unhappy with a purchase in my life! If you have any inkling that this printer might be a good fit for you, do yourself a favor and research it thoroughly first!
Updated
Sorry for not correcting my typos, and for the record, my previous HP printer only required 2 ink cartridges; not 4, which makes the whole "8 cartridge/printhead" issue for the K850 even worse!
