Much like a Ford Fiesta... (HP Laserjet 8150)

Member Name: unnameable

Product:	HP Laserjet 8150
Date:	26/01/04 (741 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, VERY fast, can cope with a high workload

Disadvantages: bulky, a lot to shell out

Sitting here pondering my next review, with a constant whirr/whistle in the background, and then it struck me?well not literally, as that would be a tad painful considering that it weighs more than Kylie after a Sunday roast?..anyway. Looking over to my left I see the large cube-like object, which I spend most of my working day running to and from (and having arguments about me printing 300 sheets at a time!).

AHA! I?ll write a little about the network printer that nearly 40 people are forced to use since our IT department lovingly removed our other two (admittedly crappy) printers.

So here it is (no not merry Christmas), my review on the somewhat sexy Hewlett Packard Laserjet 8150. Bet you can?t wait to read further eh?

Introduction:

The 8150 was introduced by HP just over 3 years ago, and, back then, was the best on the market. I?m not saying that it isn?t these days, but technology (as ever) has advanced so there are bound to be better models out there.

It is a high-volume laser printer designed exclusively for network/workgroup use, and as such, would look slightly out of place in the home due to its sheer size (not much smaller than a tumble dryer!). As HP say themselves, this thing can print 100,000+ sheets of paper monthly without rolling over and sticking it?s little printer feet in the air and expiring cartoon-style.

Looks:

Well, as you can see from the photo in the top corner, this is a beautifully crafted, ergonomically pleasing bit of kit??well, erm not quite! It?s basically a big cube with a paper tray sticking out of each side (one of which folds away..grrreat!).

It certainly isn?t designed to look good, as most home printers are. This is a 100% function orientated machine, with everything aimed towards making this one quick printer (still doesn?t stop the nagging when I print 300 sheets though!)

Looking at it front on, there are two paper feed drawers at the base, and jus
t above and on the right hand side is a handy manual feed tray (I use this most, so I can put my nasty cash demanding letters onto nice pretty headed paper). On the left hand side is a secondary output tray. Highly useful if you are printing on card or transparency as this means the paper doesn?t go through the sets of rollers.

Finally, at the top is the main output tray, where almost everything printed ends up (almost always in the right order too). Along side this is an LCD display which tells you any info you would possibly need, barring the ?this machine is b*******? message.

Connecting:

How easy can it be? Well, for something so dauntingly useful, it is surprisingly easy. The printer is fully Plug ?n? Play compliant, meaning you simply have to plug it into the mains, connect it to the network, and wahey Bob?s your uncle!

The particular model we have in the office came supplied with a network card, so it was an absolute doddle to get it working.

If you are running anything from Windows 98 upwards, you will not even have to install the driver software as it is one of the printers that Microsoft have already added to their driver list. Good eh? I suppose you may prefer to install the latest drivers, but I always like to stick to the ?If it ain?t broke, why fix it?? rule?But that may be down to sheer laziness.

Use:

There are so many great features and options when printing via this machine, that I don?t think I?ll ever be able to mention all of them. For instance, you can zoom in (printing onto larger paper) using the printer settings if your program doesn?t support it itself, you can print onto card, transparency, sugar paper, normal paper (heaven forbid!), and even individual labels. One thing I?ve never used, but sounds quite posh, is the watermark feature.

On to actual use of the printer??

There are 80 pre-loaded true-type fonts loaded, meaning almost everything you?d want to prin
t will come out exactly as you see it on your screen. Yes, that means there?ll be no more bizarre paragraph ends, or blank lines!

When sending a file to be printed, the printer server can forward almost everything sent its way direct to the printer?s internal memory (anything from 32MB up to 600MB). This is very handy for people like me who have the job of printing huge batches of invoices etc as it means you?ve one less thing to feel guilty about!

It is an incredibly fast printer, and flies through everything that is thrown it?s way at a very respectable 32 pages per minute. This is not inflated at all from what I have experienced (I even just sat here and times the thing?sad eh?)

The quality of the printing is outstanding. Every line and curve is very crisp, with no noticeable blurring at all. And that isn?t even with it at it?s highest quality setting!

Technical info:

Black & White (monochrome) laser workgroup printer

Size ? 56.6cm x 54 cm x 52 cm (see, almost a perfect cube!)

Weight ? a hefty 51 kilograms

Max Resolution ? a Genuine 1200 dpi x 1200 dpi

Speed ? 32 pages per minute (average)

Internal Memory ? 32MB expandable to 600MB (ours is 64MB)

Paper capacity ? This beast will hold 1000 sheets of A4, and 100 of A3

Software supplied ? Only the basic drivers & utilities, but you hardly need them with it being a plug ?n? play device.

Warranty ? There?s a very comprehensive service & support warranty for 1 year (with an option to buy extra years if needed)

Compatibility ? This printer is designed to run on any version of Windows from 3.x upwards. Also it is entirely IBM OS compatible as well as with MacOS 7.5 and upwards. There are no minimum PC specs, as this printer doesn?t rely on the PC itself to store/send the information once the printing is underway.

Cost:

Now this is the rather worrying part. This printer still co
sts a massive £1524 brand new these days. But if you put that into perspective with the amount of work it can handle, you are getting a real bargain (if your business has plenty of work to do that is!)

Ours tends to go through a toner cartridge every 6 weeks or so, and a replacement can cost upwards of £70. Not cheap, but it is great value for money considering the amount of crap I print on the thing.

Contact info:

Amen Corner
Cain Road
Bracknell
Berkshire, RG12 1HN

Phone: 01344 360000
Fax: 01344 363344

www.hp.co.uk

There are the usual feedback forms on their website, should you wish to email any questions to them.

To sum up:

This is a fantastic printer for any network, be it business or school etc. It can easily cope with high demand, and is very quick, efficient, and accurate.

It may not be the cheapest on the market, but it definitely makes up for this through its ease of use, and ability to keep up with anything that may be passed its way. Still doesn?t stop me causing offence with my 300 sheet prints though!

Through its high resolution, and the fact that it is a laser printer, this machine can produce extremely detailed printouts. This is invaluable to a company like ours that seems to run solely on spreadsheets for everything!

What else can I say? I fully recommend this as a highly competent network printer that?ll meet the needs of any network or business.

Boxy but good.

Thanks for reading,

Marc

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