I purchased this printer through a local retailer and was debating between the HP and a similarly priced wireless printer from Brother. The replacement toner cartridges are a bit more for the HP, but then again, they come with the drum assembly built in. This greatly reduces maintenance and potential hardware failures.
Setup:
As for setup, under Windows it's a snap. Put the CD in and follow the directions.
Under Linux (I'm using Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)) the install was easy. I visited [...] web site and downloaded the drivers. From there, I just followed the directions on the web page and it works like a charm.
I've not used it with a Mac, but I did note that OSX is listed on the box.
Printer quality:
As for the printer itself. It has a very small footprint on the desk when the paper trays are not extended, and a small one when they are. It has excellent monochrome print quality and is very fast. As with all laser printers, the ink is waterproof once it's on the paper. I'd recommend it any day of the week.
The printer's body feels solid when you handle it. The input trays are similarly solid. The output tray feels a bit light, but as long as you aren't abusing the tray, it'll be more than sufficient.
HP Experience:
For me, HP printers are generally very reliable and always has good driver support both under Windows and Linux. HP LaserJet Pro P1102w Printer (CE657A#BGJ)
I have had this printer for three days. I purchase local at brick and mortar store due to better pricing. It was purchased to serve as a backup printer to my Canon MX870 inkjet printer. You need a backup laser printer when you have a 9 year old printing everything that comes to her mind to an inkjet!
My setup consists of two laptops computers running Windows 7 plus one Mac running OSv10.6. Before installing the printer, I did some reading online and read about how easy it was to perform a WIFI set up for this printer in Windows and how hard it was to set up in the Mac.
First, I set up the two Windows 7 laptops. Set up was very easy. You plug in the included USB cable to the laptop and the printer runs its own installation program. Windows drivers are preinstalled on the printer and are downloaded to the laptop. During installation, you are prompted to select WIFI. In my case, as I have a secured network, so I was prompted for the network password. Once entered, the printer connects to the network and you are done.
Now, installation on the Mac is another story. First, no Mac drivers are installed in the printer, so installation is performed from an included CD. However, you still need to plug the printer to the Mac using the USB cable and complete a USB installation. Then you need to delete the printer, disconnect the USB cable and then add the printer as a WIFI connection. The problem is that this is not what the included instructions say!
More detail on the Mac installation can be found in the HP Customer Care website. Look for a document titled: "Macintosh: Installing the Product Software in Mac OS X v10.6 for a Wireless Network Connection".
The only drawback is the cost of toner and the expected yield from a toner cartridge, which is rated at only 1,500 pages. Other wireless laser printer in the same price range, like the Brother HL-2170W and the Samsung ML-2525W yield an estimated 2,500 pages and also the toner cost is a little cheaper. However, Mac installations on these two seem to be more difficult from what I read!
The printer itself has performed wonderfully after completing the installations. I would recommend this printer to anybody looking for an inexpensive Laser printer for personal use.
I bought this yesterday and have already used it to print well over 100 pages of double sided text. Thus far, I'm satisfied.
Positives:
- Easy installation; very few steps and very clearly explained in brief instruction manual
- Product is well packaged and it seems to be a fairly study design
- It runs quietly and prints quickly
- I haven't had any significant problems connecting to my wireless network or printing
I wouldn't give it any negatives, but be aware of one quirk with the software...
When you do double-sided printing, it is manual. This means that you print the even numbered pages, then remove the stack and place it back into the tray. At this point, you are supposed to press a "continue" button in a dialogue box that pops up on your screen. The problem is that if you attempt to do any work in another window, then that dialogue box disappears and you cannot press the continue button. There is no way to get it to reappear that I am aware of. It just disappears and you are left with a stack of even-numbered pages. The dialogue box will also disappear whether you do anything or not if the printer is on standby when you send the print job. So, if you want to print double-sided, make sure to turn it on (not standby) first. Otherwise, you'll again have a stack of even-numbered pages.'
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