HP Photosmart 8250

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Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 70 reviews Back to product review
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2 out of 7 people found this review helpful

1.5 stars

"HP Does it Again (not a good thing)!"

by TurboFool on September 1, 2005

Pros: Extremely fast and innovative

Cons: Possibly worse print quality than before
Summary: Well, once again HP has come out with innovative (yet strikingly familiar if you're familiar with the competition) new features that provide a gamut of benefits. The speed of this machine on the Advanced Photo Paper is absurd, and it's got a very strong featureset. But the print quality is, at best, the same as the previous generation and, IMO, worse. The prints on the Advanced Photo Paper (the only paper it'll print anywhere near the claimed 14 seconds on) are dreadful in quality, barely something you could call draft. The moment you switch to a good paper, such as their Premium Plus or Epson Premium Glossy, the print time jumps to nearly two minutes, and although the print quality improves, it's still within HP's typical range with dot-filled gradations, raised black, grab-wheel lines, and a several-minute dry time. The menu system is as convoluted and confusing as ever. Build quality seems strong, but the display model I worked with was broken within the first day. Price of cartridges is good, but HP's charging not of volume of ink, but expected number of prints, with some colors containing nearly double the ink as others (6ml vs. 3.5ml in some), helping ensure you run out evenly and defeating the point behind going with individual cartridges. I expected great things from this new generation of HP, and thought they might have finally gotten into the game with Epson and Canon, but I thought wrong.

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2 replies to this review

reply by: Kharnellius on September 1, 2005

The color cartridges have 4ml each and 10ml in the black cartridge. I'm not sure where you got 3.5ml and 6ml.

I also haven't seen the "dots" so far. The quality IS less than the Canon and Epson when using the high grade paper. But I don't see the "grainyness" you talk about. Consider the quality of the picture, the quality of the camera, and experience of the user. These all play very large into overall quality and clarity.

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reply by: bapsplat on September 1, 2005

These reviews are really meant for people who own and use the printer everday. Not people who happen to stumble upon a display model. I've never seen a display model that worked that great anyway. Especially with all the people who mistreat these things as they attempt to "test" it. You are correct that this printer is still not in the same league as Epson or Canon (I also own Epson R800, Epson 1270, HP 895, HP 990 and Dell 962), guess which ones I use when I need quality prints. The 8250 is not for the avid photographer who wants museum pieces, it is simply going to be a cost savings printer with acceptable prints.

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