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Superboyac is throwing in the towel: I'm going to transition to Linux
40hz:
Compare to HP where driver packages are massive and are (at best) flaky on most models I have come across - requiring regular (and very time consuming removal and re-install .... never try their update system unless you like blue screens)
-Carol Haynes (March 04, 2012, 09:14 AM)
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+1 x10^3 !!!!
The newest HP printer models with the wifi print capabilities have gotten marginally better with Windows7. Or have if you just accept the installation defaults and don't try to get fancy. But the multi-function units are still a nightmare IMO . Especially if your initial installation borks and is left in an incomplete or damaged state. Ripping out a botched HP multi-function install is a total nightmare.
Alerts like the one above make me sometimes wish I had become an actuary instead of doing what I do for a living.
(Hint: ALWAYS create a Windows restore point before installing any HP printer. Probably not a bad idea to do one prior to any other printer installation while you're at it.)
Canon's installer, on the other hand, works flawlessly almost every time. And that includes their multi-function units - which are the only multi-functions I'll (grudgingly) recommend to my clients.
When it comes to photo printing, for me it's either Canon or Epson - purely for their color quality and superb resolution. Completely blows the doors off HP in that department. And in practice, I prefer to print high quality color and photos using a Canon for most of the reasons Carol has mentioned previously.
Almost every graphic and photo pro I know thinks the same.
Stoic Joker:
HP's new disk-less SmartInstall is actually rather nice, as they've cut down considerably on the BS (BFF) Fluff-ware. I setup a few of the new LaserJet M1212nf printers last week and the install was quite delightfully painless. The new ePrint and (WiFi) Direct print features are also really handy/cool too.
On the Digital sending side (Send to folder/Email/etc.) HP is definitely easier to work with than most (Xerox, Lexmark, Toshiba, et al.). I don't spend a lot of time with the consumer grade stuff, but the HP business class printers are quite economical to run and trouble free.
Stoic Joker:
Especially if your initial installation borks and is left in an incomplete or damaged state. Ripping out a botched HP multi-function install is a total nightmare.-40hz (March 04, 2012, 11:46 AM)
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The funny part of your error from above, is that about 70% of the time I've encountered it ... Forcibly terminating the unwind process left the printer functioning perfectly. Seriously, if the installer has made it past the point where the printer object has been created ... Just torch the unwind, and it'll probably run just fine.
40hz:
Just torch the unwind, and it'll probably run just fine.
-Stoic Joker (March 04, 2012, 12:21 PM)
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+1. I've found that to be the case about half the time. (Heard it from a guy who works for HP so I guess they're aware of it too.)
What I hate is when the install aborts, the printer throws an error when you attempt to access properties, and subsequent invocations of the installer refuse to do anything (i.e. install, repair or remove). Then it's KB lookups and manual fix-it time. Nightmare.
And yes. I just saw my GF's new HP multi (consumer grade) install without a hitch last weekend. Much to my surprise. (Even if I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop.) So maybe they've finally gotten their act together on the consumer end? I always liked the big enterprise HPs. And the pro office stuff like the 4000 series, et al. I just never thought HP did good 'cheap' technology.
Maybe I'll have to check them out again and re-evaluate. Depending. ;D
Innuendo:
That is because you are a cheapskate - the cheapo models use two cartridges and then they screw the money out of you for ink.-Carol Haynes (March 04, 2012, 09:14 AM)
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And here I was trying to use tact & subtlety with my replies. Leave it to Carol to come in with a sledgehammer to knock the point home. :D
I always buy higher spec Canon models which use 4, 5 or 6 cartridges - which have no electronics.
For me it isn't just that they are cheaper to run (still not cheap though) - they are quiet and reliable and I find the drivers a less obtrusive and just work.
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You'll spend more up-front for the printer, but if you own it for any real length of time, it's cheaper in the long run due to the money you save on ink.
Lexmark are ... well Lexmark. Junk printers, crappy, flaky drivers and ridiculously expensive consumables (and shame on Dell for rebadging them and selling them as Dell machines).
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Double-shame on Dell for rebadging them *and* changing the cartridges enough so you can't just drop a Lexmark cartridge in if you are in a pinch!
Lexmark, BTW, uses more black ink per page than any other manufacturer's inkjet printers.
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