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View Full Version : REVIEW: HP Deskjet 920c Color Inkjet Printer


jadison
01-16-2002, 2:53 AM
A low-priced, respectable printer, but covered by miserly support and a stingy warranty.

WHAT'S HOT: The Deskjet 920c does a nice job on text, which looks clean and attractively weighted. Gray-scale graphics look detailed and realistic even on ordinary paper, while color graphics and glossy photos show superb detail and shading. The 920c's driver offers useful features, including a gray-scale modification setting for better faxing and copying. The paper tray folds up when empty, so you can recover some desk space when you're not using the printer.

WHAT'S NOT: HP supplies a wafer-thin warranty and a very limited support policy for the 920c. The company provides only 30 days of free tech support for this low-cost printer, and even during that first month you'll pay toll charges for the call. Thereafter support will cost you $2.50 a minute (up to a maximum of $25 per call), plus toll charges. And the 90-day warranty doesn't engender much confidence in the printer. HP's user manual is a hurried jumble that covers three different printer models; fortunately the on-screen documentation is more thorough and includes information on operating and troubleshooting the printer.

WHAT ELSE: The Deskjet 920c's print speeds are on the slow side, at 4.2 ppm for text and 0.7 ppm for graphics--however this performance is reasonable for a printer priced at $99. HP's price for ink is a little high, especially for black, which comes to 6.0 cents per page of text. The price of a color page, at 13.8 cents, compares more reasonably to the competition. The system we used for testing the Deskjet 920c struck some problems with the included driver. When we called HP, the company was unable to duplicate our problem. Fortunately HP pointed us to an alternate driver on its Web site that cleared up our difficulties. It's always a good idea to check the vendor's Web site for updated information on the drivers.

UPSHOT:
If you're looking for a bargain and you're willing to forsake a good warranty and free support to get it, the Deskjet 920c could be a good choice.

OVERVIEW:
Rated 5.2-ppm monochrome/2.2-ppm color, 2MB memory standard, 2400-by-1200-dpi maximum resolution, 100 sheets input, 50 output.

Price:
$99

Purchasing Info:
http://www.hp.com/
800/752-0900

*Courtesy of PCWorld HERE (http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,79643,tk,prx,00.asp)*

Richard Cranium
09-14-2002, 12:07 PM
Got one at the local Office Depot for $49.95 using the $20 coupon.

Turned it over to a very broke pal who's been struggling with an antique Xerox XJ8C, real junk.

He's tickled to death with it, the first comment was that the HP don't make A SOUND when you start up the computer, unlike the Xerox low end models that bang and clank just from starting the computer.

Reviews on this were amazing, I've never seen such a consistent barrage of High marks.

"the Deskjet 920C clearly outperformed other sub-$100 printers with its vivid color reproduction, good color saturation, and the finest detail that we've tested...
As for color reproduction speed, the Deskjet 920C was slow but more than made up for its underwhelming speed with overwhelming image quality."
http://www.techtv.com/products/hardware/story/0,23008,3378657,00.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/electronics/B00005V3EG/customer-reviews/ref%3Dcm%5Fcr%5Fdp%5F2%5F1/002-7704544-7724854


There is a trick were you can install the standard high capacity cart, no.45 I think by masking off one of the connections on the back. Will try to locate.

Here ya go, I hope it's legible->>

"But I became suspicious when I noticed that one of the copper contacts on the Ink Again cartridge had been covered with tape. Also, it came with instructions to ignore any dialog boxes that said that the "wrong printer cartridge was installed". Now I'm really suspicious.

So I returned the after market cartridge and bought an HP #45 ink cartridge. I taped over the same contact and installed it in my 812C. It works perfectly!! And no error messages from the print driver.

So now I suspect that Ink Again is selling a refilled #45 cartridge (with the HP label cut away) with one contact covered, for the 812C printer for $8 to $14 more than the original thing from HP! My test seems to bear this out.

So, it's all a scam. Owners of 812C and 842C printers are being conned by HP to pay a higher price for cartridges that contain roughly half the ink. So far, I can't see any difference in print quality on my printer and have had no problems. I have not tried this with the contact uncovered.

I am using USB connection, so I have no two-way communication between the printer and the print driver. Don't know what would happen on an LPT port. Would the print driver refuse to print? (I doubt it - Ed.)

Here is a diagram that shows which contact to cover. 'X' marks the spot:

000 X00
000 000
000 000
000 000
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00