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[I]Here it is, a HP DeskJet 1050A all-in-one ink-jet printer and scanner purchased at Tescos for �24.99[/I]
There has been some debate here in recent weeks about the viability of ink-jet printer manufacturers and the cost of inks. Quite by coincidence a retired family member needed a new printer and I ended up purchasing a HP DeskJet 1050A for just �24.99 at the local Tesco supermarket.
The 1050A uses two disposable ink cartridges, one black and one with three colours, with integrated print heads. It's not really designed for photo printing but you can use photo paper if required. The printer itself is lightweight but it would be unfair to call it flimsy. It's reasonably compact and looks more expensive than it cost.
The person who will be using this printer primarily uses it for printing documents rather than photos, and for copying. HP recommends a duty cycle of between 250-500 pages printed per month. I doubt this printer will be used by its new owner to print more than a couple of hundred sheets in a year. The scanner section can operate at up to 1200ppi.
With such a budget price you don't get an automatic paper sensor or auto print head calibration. Neither do you get a PictBridge compatible USB port for direct printing from a camera and there are no memory card slots. When setting up the printer a test sheet is automatically printed and this must be placed in the scanner for analysis so the print heads can be aligned.
As for controls, you basically have a button for mono copying and another for colour copies. The 1050A is not very fast at copying but it's not terribly slow, either. Printing results on plain paper looked very good, with no sign of banding.
A standard set of black and colour ink cartridges can be bought for under �20 while an XL cartridge set is just under double the price but contains double quantity of colour ink and 2.5x the quantity of black ink. But yes, an XL ink cartridge set at around �39 is �15 more than the original cost of the printer.
I personally can't see how HP can produce the 1050A and supply it to be sold by a retailer for �25 and avoid making a loss if the buyer doesn't buy any genuine HP ink.
But so far so good with the 1050A for my relative - it's cheap and easy to use and perfect for its purpose.
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Deskjet-1050A-All-in-One-colour-inkjet-printer-scanner-copier-USB-2-0-CQ198B-/160842071834?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_Printers_Printers_JN&hash=item2572ef3f1a[/url]
�123 for ink :eek:
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Black-1-Colour-Genuine-Original-Printer-Ink-Cartridges-for-HP-DJ-1050A-301-/221067568544?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_Printing_PrinterInkCatridges_JN&hash=item3378a765a0[/url]
I was more intrigued by manufacturers renaming "light" cartridges as "standard", and "standard" ones has "high capacity/XL".
For example, we have an older HP printer here (the K550DTN which we got on a special clearance offer). That uses "XL" cartridges which print 2,580 pages for a cartridge cost of �25. Today, HP define "XL" for your new printer as a cartridge that prints just 450 pages for around �18. (*prices for black cartridges for comparison.)
So, HP's definition of "XL" used to mean 1p/page - today it means 4p. Four times the cost, yet still described as "XL". That surely is a con, right? If you're used to using HP's XL cartridges and you "upgrade" to a modern printer, you're now buying "XL" cartridges that cost four times as much per page and you're probably unaware of it!
This is why I say that there should be some regulatory body that forces manufacturers to use the same terminology across printers and across manufacturers. XL should mean the same for all cartridges that say XL. It shouldn't be allowed to be used when the cost per page goes up by 400%.