HP DesignJet 130nr - printer - color - ink-jet ( C7791D#A2L )

by HP

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 47 x 21.6 x 19.5 inches ; 50.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 95 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00024VU30
• Item model number: C7791D#A2L
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 28, 2004

Product Description

PRINTER HP DESIGNJET 130NR

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Large Format Photo Printer, December 5, 2006

By 

M. Burge "Digital Photog" (Lake Stevens, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP DesignJet 130nr - printer - color - ink-jet ( C7791D#A2L ) (Office Product)

If you are just a casual photographer who wants to make a few blown up pictures of friends and family, this probably is not the printer for you. However, if you are starting to get seriously into digital photography and are contemplating making large format prints for resale, this might interest you.

PROs:
1. Roll feed with built in cutter.
2. Built in network card.
3. Print Quality - 2400 x 1200 dpi
4. HP Vivera fade-resistant dye-based inks (can last up to 80 years)
5. Replaceable ink nozzles.
6. Great color out of the box. But if you're serious, buy a color calibration system so your colors are consistent all they way through the system from monitor to printer (should be done with any photo printer).

CONs:
1. Roll paper likes to stay rolled. You'll need to either buy or make a device to uncurl the paper.
2. This printer takes up some real estate. It covers 41.3 x 40.1 inches and weighs in at 50.7 lbs. Make sure you have the space for it. Also costs more to ship.
3. When paper roll is left fed into the printer for long periods (like over night) it will make indentations in the paper that are hard to remove. But it is easily overcome by unloading the paper when left idle (simple as pushing a button).

There are many large format photo printers out there, but many also come with an equally large format price tag. The big advantage for this printer is the roll feed paper with built in cutter. For roll fed printers, this one is the most competitively priced so it better fits the user who is not a professional print shop. This allows you to feasibly make a print of any size up to 24" x 50ft, but that is really going to stretch the resources of your system (and your nerves). I originally researched this printer for a 360-degree panorama I had made that is 11 inches tall by 70 inches wide. It ended up being a piece of cake. However, remember that prints this size have drawbacks when you wish to mount or frame them ($$$).

My over all impression of this printer: I love it. I have never had any regrets after buying it. Even with as many prints as I've pumped through it, it still hasn't used very much ink. And the quality is just great.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For me, this printer has exceeded expectations., April 4, 2008

By 

Ross Mendel "Ross" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP DesignJet 130nr - printer - color - ink-jet ( C7791D#A2L ) (Office Product)

The DJ130 prints beautiful photo-quality large-format images. Premium Plus Satin paper is highly recommended.

I have had a couple of problems with the printer, but HP service has been great for the most part. I'm not sure if that's because I paid for an extended service plan. At first set-up the unit had a problem, and I was sent a replacement part after going over my issues on phone support. Then about 6 months later I had another problem, and they sent a tech to come fix the unit. It required ordering the part again, but it was up and working again within 2 days of my call. And I haven't had any problems since.

The prints from the printer have been highly accurate without the use of a color profile (in Photoshop). I've read other people have had to work to get accurate color from their set-ups, but not with mine.

Keep in mind the printer needs some assembly, and it's pretty big, so don't expect to take it out of the box and start printing right away. It took me some time to get the hang of the various paper feeds and the printing interface. But now that I'm familiar with it, it seems fairly straight forward. The more experience you have with computers and large format printers (none, in my case), the easier it will be to figure out.

I don't use this printer for anything other than large format printing, and I have come to only use it with paper rolls (not sheets). So I end up going a month or so without using it, then print a bunch of stuff for a project, then it sits. I was told it is important to keep it plugged in all the time, because it performs maintenance functions to keep the ink from drying in the print heads (or something like that).

There are hard to understand error codes when there is are certain problems. Take the time to wait on hold with tech support if you can't figure out an error code or you if don't understand something. As bad as other people's experience has been, I've been able to have my two issues taken care of within a couple of days. I have had to get through a few bozos, but it didn't take toooo long to get results.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding printer!, February 1, 2009

By 

Alex Black (Lake Worth, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP DesignJet 130nr - printer - color - ink-jet ( C7791D#A2L ) (Office Product)

I bought this printer (used) and even though it was very poorly strapped to a wood pallet for shipping and i feared that its delicate alignments and parts would suffer badly, it actually survived the cross-country trip remarkably well. A surprisingly robust printer, to be sure.

After using the Designjet 130nr for over a year, here are my observations:

PROS:
- For a printer that gives prints up to 24" wide, it's surprisingly compact. Believe me, there are 24" printers out there that are HUGE. This one I guess you could call a desktop printer, because it will take up an entire desk. But I have a rolling stand for mine and the printer doesn't seem too big at all. And although not light, I have picked it up and moved it by myself, but I wouldn't recommend that if you can help it...

- The color, just as I had read in other reviews, is outstanding. On HP paper, the blacks are deep and solid, which is really necessary to achieve clean contrasts. Colors are pure and solid as well. Some say that good color calibration is necessary to get good color, and that may be true generally, but I haven't had to do much of anything to mine. Maybe lighten or darken the print overall slightly, but that's about it. No fuss.

- The roll feed is excellent, and a necessity. As I had read, this printer is indeed a bit cranky about the feeding of single sheets, as they often get pulled in at and angle and jam. I sometimes print on standard 8 x 10" paper and it usually works fine, but not always. Roll feed has to be done properly, but you get the hang of it and works well +98% of the time. Also, rolls of paper are MUCH cheaper than an equal amount of single sheets. Use rolls.

- No real issues here insofar as setting up, getting good color, networking, or troubleshooting. This printer has given me very few problems that weren't easily taken care of. Just standard replacement of consumables (inks and printheads, both easily performed).

- Ink seems to last a VERY long time! I am still shocked at how long a cartridge of ink lasts, even though most of my prints are 20 - 24" wide and usually 30-40" long! Having used Epson printers for many years, I feared how much it would cost to keep feeding this thing ink to make big prints, but it is amazingly frugal with ink, even with high coverage. I don't know how it does it, but it does! Because of this, you will not be so afraid to print large and print often, as it won't be as expensive as you thought.

- The printer can sit unused for months, and then still make an excellent print first try without resorting to head/nozzle cleanings, unlike my Epsons. Epson printheads would clog within a week of non-use and I'd waste buckets of ink just performing lots of cleaning cycles to clear them, but this HP never seems to need cleaning cycles! It's amazing. That alone sold me.

- Here is the cool part. The software/print driver that comes with this printer will enlarge (scale up) prints and artwork to make large prints, and it does an incredible job of enlargement! I've taken pictures with a 'cheap' 4MP point-and-shoot camera, then produced a large 20x30 print from the digital file, without any other software, and made unbelievable prints! That's not supposed to be possible with only a 4MP camera to make a good print this size, but the pictures produced by the 130nr printer driver are outstanding!

CONS:
- Paper feeding, as noted, can be a bit of a pain, especially single sheets. But don't let that scare you off, it is manageable. Read the instructions, and use care. Stick with the much cheaper rolls of paper; they load more easily, and will keep your costs down.

- There are small wheels inside the printer that hold the paper as it is fed through, and they sometimes leave slight indentations along photo paper as it feeds through. This is really not acceptable for a decent printer, but it doesn't always happen (I don't know why), and when it does, the 'tracks' will sometimes disappear over time, or with a bit of work with a small hand roller. But it is annoying, and shouldn't be necessary. (My Epson printers made these marks on photo paper as well.)

- The front panel LCD display tells you, roughly, the amount of remaining inks, and the status (good/replace) of the printheads. However, the display is not always accurate, and I have run out of inks and had an occasional printhead reach the end of its useful life when the panel says everthing is good, so it's a good ideal to keep extras inks and printheads on-hand. You can have a printout of all the consumables, and it seems best to go by that than rely on the front panel display.

Overall, this is an excellent printer, does what it is supposed to do and does it very, very well, with the exception of the wheel tracks. This printer is highly recommended.

---Alex