HP Business Inkjet 2800dt

Pros: Wide format and duplex printing capabilties

Cons: A retread of the CP1700 series of printers

Summary: My HP CP1700D printer that was born during Carly Fiorina's reign of terror croaked after about 2 to 3 years of use in a home environment with 2 adults using it.

After hunting online for a printer that had 11x17 paper handling and duplex printing capabilties, I came across the 2800dt. I found plenty of $300 junk and plenty of $3,000 and up printers; but nothing I would consider middle of the road price wise. The other thing that caught my eye is that this printer uses the same consumables as my old CP1700D, which is a plus considering I have enough of the expensive print heads and cartridges lying around unopened.

Besides the style of the 2800dt being similar to the CP1700D, the 2800dt's size and weight is similar to the CP1700D's. This was the first clue that this is a retread, so I emailed HP's pre-sales support asking them if it's a retread. Other than the automated replies, I never got an answer from HP. I called their pre-sales phone line and asked the guy on the other end if it's a retread. All I got from him was a condescending "You're very observant concerning the consumables, dimensions and weight."

Although I was hesitant to buy the 2800dt because the CP1700D was a pile of junk, I needed a printer that didn't cost $3,000.

After it arrived and I unpacked it, my feelings about this unit being a retread are correct. The 2800dt's footprint is a tiny bit smaller; but I recognized the same mechanical parts in the trays, duplexer, and under the hood that were used on the CP1700D.

Pros: Wide format (to 13"x19") paper, duplex printing, decent printing speeds and qualities, big easy to read buttons, an on/off switch that actually is an on/off switch, backlit LCD panel during printing, menu settings button, gas gauge for paper in each tray, easy to read graphics for paper loading, individual ink cartridges, slick looking black & silver package, a little quieter than the CP1700D, print driver seems less buggy than CP1700D.

Cons: It's a retread of the CP1700D in spite of what HP says. The unit feels flimsy in comparison to when HP made high quality printers (my dear departed LaserJet 4 comes to mind), still noisy due to the cheap construction.

Summary: It's too early to tell if HP got the bugs out of the CP1700D and called it the 2800dt, as I'm just starting to put it to use. However, if this thing turns out to be a mutt with fleas, then Mark Hurd (current HP CEO) will get the same kind of snottygrams from me that Carly did. I would have a warmer fuzzy about this printer if it were a truly new printer and HP's engineering department was tasked with making this a true $1,000 to $1,500 printer, which I was willing to spend for a high quality unit. If you need a wide format printer with duplexing for under a grand, then this is about your only option; but beware that this is a retread of a buggy model. I just wish all the printer manufacturers would go back to making a few good printers instead of the numerous junky models they each do.