Rating: 
Summary: Comparing is Believing
Review: Originally I was set to buy a Canon S750. I read very good reviews on the Canon S750 but have always owned a HP inkjet (694C for 7 years). When the 5550 hit the market at 149.00 (20.00 less then the Canon) I actually purchased both the hp 5550 and the canon S750 to make my own side by side comparisons. I could not resist comparing the two. The ease of set up on both was comparable, extremely easy. Both offer a USB and a parallel connection. The HP offers a add-on duplexer for front and back printing (at an additional cost). Print speeds I would have to give the edge to the Canon. The Canon is also remarkably economical due to the separate ink cartridges which really impressed me. Now to the real test. Text is remarkably sharp and dark on the HP, almost laser like, while the Canon was okay, text was not as dark and appeared to be a little soft. On graphics the canon does not do a good job, especially on plain paper when compared the HP 5550 which is outstanding. On photos there is no comparison. The HP (which offers 4800 x 1200 color dpi and 1200x1200 dpi black text compared to 2400 x 1200 color and 600x600 black text on the S750) is by far the winner here. The HP photos came out considerably brighter and truer to color than the S750. Colors were smoother and pictures were sharper. The S750 does an okay job if you do not regularly print photos (especially on their 4x6 completely borderless paper, which I also liked) but pictures came out dull and cloudy compared the HP 5550 (which also does borderless prints on their 4x6 paper with a bottom tear off tab). The Canon S750 has a quiet mode which is very nice. The HP is a bit noisy in comparison. Both have an auto on and off features that initializes when you call up a print job. The Canon can be set to auto off after as little as 10 mins. of no use where the HP will shut off after 30 mins.
After all is said and done, I returned the Canon S750 and am happily keeping the HP 5550. The quality out ways by far any ink savings and all other features are very close.
I also found out through the HP Rep at a local retail store, that the new HP 7150 photo is no different in photo quality than the 5550 and the only difference is the 7150 offers a dedicated feed on the paper tray for 4x6 photo paper and on the 5550 you have to remove the out tray to slide the 4x6 paper all the way to the back of the feeder tray (no big deal though) The 7150 also offers a USB connection on the front of the printer to connect your digital camera to and print your pictures directly from your camera however it is a proprietary port (only excepts HP cameras). Print speeds are a little slower than the 5550 and the price is 30.00 higher. 7150 does not offer a parallel connection, only USB.
I would recommend the HP 5550 to anyone who wants a reasonalby priced fast, excellent text and photo quality printer that is very easy to use. The out the door cost is very reasonable and is very sleek looking. HP has done an good job with this one.
Rating:
Summary: best printer ever
Review: Before you waste your money on a lexmark printer, look at this review.Many computer dealers and home shopping networks (Gateway and QVC) are selling these Lexmark printers that have 4800 dpi x 1200. They have even used them wireless. Before you even buy one, compare this printer's quality, speed, durability, and ink cartridge life. You may pay 20-50 more dollars for a lexmark all-in-one printer with a scanner that has the same dpi that this printer has, but what are you sacrificing? Money. Power. Quality. I have bought one other HP printer prior to this one--HP deskjet 842C. I loved the quality of that printer, which used ink like crazy. Some places did not have the ink which was inconvenient. However, I got it mostly at Wal-Mart. It was fast and efficient. It went out and my bro bought a lexmark at Wal-Mart. What a fool he was. The quality was poor in the printings, ink did not last, and it would feed 10 pages to one printed sheet of paper. I told him to take it back, but it was [money] wasted. I bought my HP Deskjet 5550 just three months ago and I absolutely enjoy it. It matches my new Dell computer well, plus I liked it because of the quality that HP has on their printers. (On the contrary, their computers along with Compaq stink.) I print like crazy and guess what--I STILL have over half of my ink left in my cartridges that was included in the printer. (Lexmark did not even include a black cartridge. what a jip!) The print quality is OUTSTANDING, especially on "photo paper" . It prints FAST, however, if you use the best setting, it takes a while. I use the "FastDraft" setting, which my black ink doesn't look like the best in the world, but it is presentable and it looks about as well as if you used a laser printer. I like the "print cancel" feature, which if you change your mind and you don't want to print, it stops. No wasted ink. The only pet peeve about this printer was the ac adaptor. I corrected that by buying a surge protector that has these special spaces for adaptors that are large. I didn't want a cheap surge protector anyway. The APC SurgeArrest Professional is the perfect model by the way. I am a college student and this printer is very cost effective. The installation is very easy, especially if you have Windows XP like most new computers have. So don't waste your money getting one of those "All in One" printers that will only last you about 1 month before you have to pay for ink. Ink is reasonably cheap on this printer. If you still want a machine that will scan documents, i would consider getting an additional scanner. It will copy documents also, and you can probably find programs to fax documents.
Rating:
Summary: HP Deskjet 5500
Review: Loading the drivers and setting up the 5500 is a smooth, pain free process. I had it printing within minutes of being out of the box. The HP "Printer Assistant" program is user friendly. Use it to check ink levels, users manual and make adjustments in print quality, paper type and size. The printer also can run on the default settings, which are fine. Print speed and quality in black and white is exceptional. A twenty dollar b/w cartrige lasts long enough that I consider it a bargain. Printing photo quality pages takes some time but the results are nice enough for me to frame and hang on my walls. The optional photo print cartridge, which replaces the black ink cartridge, is recommended for photo quality prints. This printer does a better job on color photos than my HP P-1000, which I purchased just after the price dropped from $399.99 to $299.99 a few years back. The 5500 sends a pop up screen when the cartridge is about to run out of ink. A nice touch. Changing ink cartridges is a snap. In 5 months I havn't had a paper jam or improper paper alignment. My only complaint about this machine is the loud paper feed. For $129.00, the HP Deskjet 5500 is a fine printer and, I believe, a good value. I'd buy another one and I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing HP Printer
Review: I have owned and used HP printers for about 10 years and have always been satisfied with their quality and speed. Having moved my office to my home I knew it was time to upgrade my printer from a HP 712C to something that would print graphics and photos a little quicker. My wife purchased the 5550 for me for Xmas which made me quite happy. While installing it, the first thing I noticed is that the quality of the plastic housing is not what it used to be. It feels flimsey and I had the feeling that it would crack easy. Setting up wasn't a problem, but when I inserted the paper for a test print I was in for a surprise. It was LOUD!!! Also when it was printing, it shaked so much I thought It was the washing machine. The print quality for text & photos was average, and the ink came out wet.(big drawback if your printing multible pages & don't want to sit in front of the printer). If you buy this printer for photos, watch out, it is rated to take up to 15 minutes to print a single 8x10 print. All in all I was very disappointed by HP. Needless to say the 5550 was returned, and I am now looking at the Canon S530D which Consumer Records rated much higher then the HP.
Rating:
Summary: sharp text, reasonable speed, fair price
Review: This printer actually produces very nice, crisp text even in the "normal" mode, especially on inkjet paper. "Best" mode reaches laser quality, though the printer slows down considerably. Speed in normal is about 8 ppm. In draft the pages fly out. Lines are also sharp and do not bleed. I mostly do text printing so I'm happy so see an inkjet that produces crisp text. Not everyone uses their printers to produce photos and color brochures! I almost bought the Canon S750, due to it's strong reviews and the lower-priced Canon ink. When i tested them side by side at various sellers, the quality was similar on most papers. But on very basic, uncoated paper the Canon bled all over the place while the HP 5550 stayed crisp. However, if you will always be using inkjet paper the Canon 750 will do fine, and you'll save on ink costs. I'm using the HP 5550 with Mac OSX without any problems (it's built for OSX). HP says they do not offer all of the features yet for OSX as they do for OS9, but it hasn't been an issue for me. So far it's handled everything smoothly. Now, to find cheaper inks...
Finally, a printer that's prints quality text. It probably does a nice job on photos, but I wouldn't know. My recommendations for those in need of quality text at a reasonable price are the HP 5550, the Canon S750, or the Samsung Laser 1210. I tried the Samsung 1210 first but took it back as i didn't want the deal with the "office" odor of laser printers. If you don't want to buy a laser for that or other reasons, try this strange looking beast, or the unimaginatively-designed Canon 750. Text on the better Lexmarks is fine, but ink costs are much higher. I'm not satisfied with the print quality on the Epsons I tested.
HP is claiming laser-quality text on the HP 5550, and unlike most other inkjet contestants, they are pretty darn close.
Rating:
Summary: sharp text, reasonable speed, fair price
Review: This printer actually produces very nice, crisp text even in the "normal" mode, especially on inkjet paper. "Best" mode reaches laser quality, though the printer slows down considerably. Speed in normal is about 8 ppm. In draft the pages fly out. Lines are also sharp and do not bleed. I mostly do text printing so I'm happy so see an inkjet that produces crisp text. Not everyone uses their printers to produce photos and color brochures! I almost bought the Canon S750, due to it's strong reviews and the lower-priced Canon ink. When i tested them side by side at various sellers, the quality was similar on most papers. But on very basic, uncoated paper the Canon bled all over the place while the HP 5550 stayed crisp. However, if you will always be using inkjet paper the Canon 750 will do fine, and you'll save on ink costs. I'm using the HP 5550 with Mac OSX without any problems (it's built for OSX). HP says they do not offer all of the features yet for OSX as they do for OS9, but it hasn't been an issue for me. So far it's handled everything smoothly. Now, to find cheaper inks...
Finally, a printer that's prints quality text. It probably does a nice job on photos, but I wouldn't know. My recommendations for those in need of quality text at a reasonable price are the HP 5550, the Canon S750, or the Samsung Laser 1210. I tried the Samsung 1210 first but took it back as i didn't want the deal with the "office" odor of laser printers. If you don't want to buy a laser for that or other reasons, try this strange looking beast, or the unimaginatively-designed Canon 750. Text on the better Lexmarks is fine, but ink costs are much higher. I'm not satisfied with the print quality on the Epsons I tested.
HP is claiming laser-quality text on the HP 5550, and unlike most other inkjet contestants, they are pretty darn close.
Rating:
Summary: Very Pleased
Review: This printer works just fine for anyone using in their home. It is fast and I have had very few problems with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Purchase at your own risk
Review: Until purchasing the 5550 I was always a fan of HP printers. I purchased the 5550 in November of 2002. By March of 2003 I had sent the original to HP and had been sent two replacement machines. When I set up the first printer I was horrified by the sound that came out of it. It jammed and no matter what I did, it would not pull paper through. I thought I had received a faulty printer and once it was replaced everything would be fine. After going through customer support I received a replacement (refurbished) printer. I set up that printer and the same sound came out of it. It also jammed and would not work. I went through customer support again and they assured me if I had the problem again they would send me an upgraded printer. So then came the third printer. The sound was no better, but it did not jam until this weekend - unfortunately one year and one month later. I called customer support and was told that it's not under warranty and they would not work with me unless I was willing to pay to have it fixed. This is a flimsy printer and not worth $20. It is the loudest printer I have ever used and it jams more than anything I've ever used. The print quality is good. I do not have any complaints about that...if only I could get it to print. I understand that every once in awhile you are going to get a bad machine. But I think three bad machines in a row is a bad sign.
Rating:
Summary: Clean, Crisp Photos
Review: I use my hp for everything from printing term papers to photos and I have been thrilled with how well the photos turn out. It is a little slow, but its worth the wait! Since using mine, three friends have gone out and bought the exact same printer!
Rating:
Summary: Stands up to my abuse
Review: Not only plays well with our Mac but also works well with our laptop and all of our PCs. Doesn't mind being plugged and unplugged and moved around from home to office when needed. A little loud but not the worst I've ever used.
|
