Rating: 
Summary: HP Photosmart Very Smart
Review: Just got it for Christmas. What a breeze to set up! Even before connecting it to my PC and Mac, I was able to start testing it out immediately, and had a ball playing with all of the built-in features. I liked that the printer itself lets you zoom, reduce red eye, adjust the brightness, rotate, and more. Plus, I was able to start printing borderless 4 x 6 prints immediately -- no fancy footwork needed. I just loaded the paper and started printing.This would be the perfect printer for somebody who doesn't even want to mess with their pictures on a computer. The fact that I can hook it up to my Mac and PC for additional tinkering with in PhotoShop is just the icing on the cake. The printer itself does seem very light -- in other words, it doesn't feel very substantial when you pull it out of the box. And, the ink cartridges are a bit expensive. But I've been taking hundreds of pictures over the past two years and printing very very few of them...so I am just glad that now I can finally print quickly and easily.
Rating: 
Summary: I do not recommend this
Review: Not impressed. I am the opposite of impressed. Even with the $20 for 20 pages of photo paper that HP practically forces you to buy to insure getting the best possible pictures. In fact, I've tried both glossy and matte finish and while the matte is just a little better, it's just not doing it for me. Now, if you're trying to hide blemishes or wrinkles in a photo, then this is the printer for you, because all details are washed out and all of the photos are an odd non-color. Further more, and most disturbing of all, are the black streaks that just appear randomly all over the prints. And when you go to the HP website for a solution, it actually says "The issue will not be resolved by servicing the printer" and their solution is to buy a better quality of their paper!! Oh, and how can I forget the documents I printed with the tops of every letter across every line cut off? This printer is being returned.
Rating: 
Summary: Two lemons in a row
Review: Now this is what I call an HP printer!
Easy to set up right out of the box and the printing results, whether black & white documents or photography are incredible!
My only beef is the lack of a cable, but this is a normal thing throughout the industry.
WOW!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Printer
Review: One thing a lot of people do not realize is that the reason why the ink cartridges are so expensive is b/c the manufacturers sell the printers usually at lower than cost and then they recoup their sales through the accessories such as paper and ink cartridges. Yes, it may seem to be unscrupulous, but HP and all the others are in the business of making money. As for the person who had problems printing envelopes, remove all the paper and use the paper guides and resize them to the envelope. I've had no trouble printing envelopes with my 7960.
One feature that people have also failed to mention is even though the memory card slots are there so you don't need the computer to print your photos, they also save you the trouble of attaching your camera to the computer since you can move your pictures from your memory card to your hard drive since the printer also acts as a removable drive.
everyone has been blown away when I tell them that I printed these pictures at home, and i find that the pictures that it prints are better than when I took my memory card to wal mart. Plus, it was quicker. It was no problem using my Sony digital camera with my HP printer.
One more thing, buy the printer at Sam's or Wal-Mart as it is only $187.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Printer
Review: Shortly after coming home from a vacation in Rome, I realized that I had some very, very nice pictures, and wanted to see those pictures on something more than just a CRT or my camera's LCD. I didn't really believe my HP Deskjet 840c was going to cut it (it did a passable, albeit crooked, job on printing out a previous picture). Enter the PhotoSmart 7960...
Packaging/Construction... The printer arrived well packaged. It had taken a beating during transit, and some of the styrofoam had disintegrated, but the important part was undamaged. The printer itself is not built like a tank. If you are excessively rough with it, you will probably be able to damage it. I frequently open mine in order to switch ink cartridges, since I do a fair amount of text printing, even though I have my deskjet still hooked up (I like reports and music to look crisp and black). One of the biggest complaints I see is durability, with most people saying this printer is too flimsy. If you are going to run off into the jungle, I would definitely suggest a hard case when taking this with you. Otherwise, the 99.9% of us that leave our printers at home, and just take our camera, this printer should be fine. If I notice any unwarranted wear, I will update this posting.
Print Quality... Excellent. Colours look awesome and vibrant. Level of detail is very good. Pictures from 3 and 5 megapixel cameras are indistinguishable from film, printed at 8 x 10 size. Printing music onto some thicker stock, I got razor sharp quality using the maximum-dpi (4800 x 1200). This is from memory (mine is usually pretty good): the 56 ink cartridge contains a pigment based ink, rather than dye based, which is better for printing text, giving smaller equivalent drop size (I'm not certain how they figure that, but 4-5 picoliters of pigment based ink is equivalent to 2 picoliters of dye based ink. Perhaps it doesn't spread as much). When printing text, switching to the 56 is a good idea. The text I get from this printer looks blacker and sharper than what I get from the deskjet.
Print Speed... At high quality, this is not going to raise any eyebrows. No time trials done here, but it is fast only by geological standards. However, I figure that the few minutes invested in printing (and much longer for drying) is well worth it. Tip for those who will be using this printer for everyday text: Unless quality is a big issue, set the printer on fast draft, black and white. If you want to be a little economical, you can even lower the ink volume. There is a little reduction in quality, but print speeds are along the lines of some slower laser printers, at about 4 seconds per page.
Paper Choices... Statements about print longevity are based on using HP's Premium Plus Photo Paper. I have used that paper, and plain copier paper in this printer. Copier paper works well, although I will be getting some better quality inkjet paper for reports. The photo paper is great, although there have been some issues that people have brought up that I will attempt to address.
Dry Time... In a nutshell, 8 x 10 matte paper takes one day to dry, 4 x 6 glossy takes one day to dry, and 8 x 10 glossy takes 7 days to dry. During this time, I set the prints on a flat surface, and just leave them be. I have not tried to see how long they really take.
Little White Lines... Inside the printer are little plastic wheels that hold the paper against the rubber rollers. I believe these are actually plastic, not metal like somebody else stated. If they are plastic, they will not break in over time. You have to look closely to find these lines. When printing with matte paper, I was unable to find them. Raising drying time in the printer software may also help. When under a frame, these lines should not be visible.
Raised Surface on Paper... This problem also seems to be unique to glossy. With time to dry, the raised portions of the paper seem to go down. I think in general, the paper is somewhat raised to begin with. Given a couple weeks, it will return to this state after printing. If it really bothers you, get matte paper.
Matte or Glossy... This is a question that I have had for a long time, and will try now to answer for others. When you go to Kmart and have your film developed, you receive prints on 4 x 6 glossy paper. When you have your picture taken professionally, you get back 4 x 5 matte prints. I have yet to see professional glossy prints, especially on 4 x 6. Photoshop does not have that option, either, I believe. Glossy gives slightly sharper prints, and a lot of people feel that you need the glossy for the "picture look." Glossy has a bright, shiny finish, but it does not handle fingerprints very well. Matte paper looks a little duller, still sharp picture quality, though maybe not as much as glossy, and handles fingerprints much better. I do have glossy paper, and I have used it, but matte looks more professional. My suggestion is to definitely use matte for black and white prints, and let personal preference dictate for colour. Be warned, matte is harder to find, and more expensive. Tip to glossy users (and matte): Glossy paper really shows off finger prints, though whether you can see them or not, they can affect print quality. When getting the paper out of the bag and into the printer, first put a sheet of copier paper (or any cheap, plain paper) over the printable side. Then load your printer (for HP users, this means printable side down), and remove the copier paper. Any fingerprints will not wind up on the printed side of your expensive photo paper.
Printing without a computer... This is possible with the printer, though I have never tried it. In order to hook the camera itself up to the printer, you need to have an HP PhotoSmart camera. However, everybody else, just about, can pop their memory module out, and stick it in the printer. It looks like you can crop, rotate, and enlarge the pictures, and view them on the LCD. You can also print out a proof sheet, or a contact sheet, which allows you to fill in some bubbles, scan it, and the printer will then print out your selected photos. You can only choose one size for all the pictures using this method, and it seems to me to be only a way to show off, unless you have somebody who can't view the pictures from your camera, or at the printer. This printer will recognize DPOF, if your camera supports it, allowing you to mark pictures in your camera for printing.
Ink... This printer actually has ten inks, but will only print with up to eight at a time. This is because three of the inks are black. One is the pigment black for documents, one is the black contained in the 58 cartridge, and the third is in the 59. When the 56 (pigment black) is installed, the 57 (tricolor: cyan, magenta, yellow) and 58 (photo: light cyan, light magenta, black) are used, giving you six inks. When you install the 59 (which replaces the 56, there are only three ink cartridge carriages. The 59 has a light grey, dark grey, and photo black), you get eight ink printing (the black in the 58 is not used). When printing colour prints, eight inks give you a little better results in the dark areas. When printing in black and white, you definitely want the 59 installed. Compared to the cartridges in the deskjet, these cartridges are tiny, though not quite as expensive. I figure when I bought the printer, I paid $60 for the printer, and $90 for ink (I got it on sale).
The Bottom Line... I've gone on long enough for these specific categories. I've outlined a few potential problems, though I still gave this printer 5 stars. I was aware of the problems before I bought it, and still went ahead, and have been completely satisfied. It does everything I want. If you don't care about or don't like black and white, get the 7760, which only uses six inks. If you print black and white on it, it will mix the inks to get grays, though it won't be as high quality.
I really enjoy this printer, and get nothing but compliments on its print quality. I have even had people compare my Rome pictures (taken on a point and shoot camera, full auto settings) with photos taken by SLR cameras and developed in a real darkroom (as opposed to my digital one).
Hope this has helped you,
Erik
Rating:
Summary: Best for the Money
Review: This printer is the best value I have seen in printing in my 63 years. It offers clear, sharp B&W pictures and beautiful color at a reasonable price. You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful prints - at a price and a hassle
Review: This printer replaced my Epson 750 Photo Stylus. The print quality is breathtaking. Skin tones, transitions, etc. are all flawless. The dedicated grey cartridge performs wonders. The printer is relatively quiet, fast, paper handling decent (beware multiple sheets of glossy paper in the tray) and the design and quality sturdy enough. Bounces around a bit when printing, and it's a big gizmo to plonk on a desk. Problem 1) installing this thing can be a bit of a nightmare. My old W2K server with a 5 port USB2 card absolutely refused to play nice with the printer. Hours and hours with tech support was a total waste of my time (and theirs). Their final suggestion - to take it back to the store "because there might be an issue with the ports" - was blatantly ridiculous. Finally moved to another computer (also W2K, and tested on an XP machine with no problems), and all was well. Problem 2) $70 for a set of replacement color cartridges?!? Do the math - someone on a site did just that, and found that they price this stuff higher than Chanel No. 5. Come on, HP, you've got us buying your "solid state" plastic, your paper, *and* your cartridges, could you at least price it all fairly? I'm getting the refill kits a.s.a.p. to see how they perform. I was really disappointed to realize that 8 color printing *does not* mean 8 individual cartridges - should have read the fine print, but this does mean you're wasting pricey color when you ditch a half-empty cartridge. Final issue I have is paying for all the crap I don't need. I'm never connecting a camera or a media card directly to this thing, so the plethora of ports is wasted on me. Likewise the little 2" screen - cute for info on progress etc. but total overkill. I'd much rather have saved that money on a no-frills version - or spent it on more ink. All the same, I'm satisfied with the printer - the drivers work great on XP and 2000, transfer is fast, even via USB1, and again, the print quality is excellent.
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