Customer Reviews

HP DeskJet 6840 Color Printer (C9030A#B1H)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My deskjet 960 crapped out after about 4 years, so I needed a new printer. Also, my current living situation is dual-platform -- one Mac laptop (me; & I do graphic design), one PC laptop and one PC desktop -- as well as wireless. We needed something that all three computers could work with/print to, and we were hoping to find a wireless printer as well.

We were very pleased to find an HP that would fulfill all of those requirements. Set up was fairly easy - as long as you follow the directions! You have to make sure you set up your wireless network to accept the printer, but again, fairly simple if you follow the directions. (Don't jump ahead like I did!) It is very convenient to set the printer anywhere and just plug it into the wall without worrying about a router or plugging it into a computer.

The print quality is very good for color images, even on plain white copy paper. (I haven't tried printing on better stock, or photo paper, but I assume it would look even better.)

After about a week, I was ready to take the printer back. Some documents just wouldn't print at all and/or would get "stuck", with all lights blinking on the printer (typically when trying to print from my design software). Also, documents that were over two pages long would just print one page.

I was convinced to call HP's help desk before taking the printer back. David, the tech, was very helpful & knowledgeable about Macs, as well as about the printer (and ink cartridges).

To solve the "sticking" issue, go to the HP web site and download the latest driver (as of today, version 2.7 - the CD that came with the printer had version 2.6). The driver solved the wireless and connectivity issues, and I could print documents regardless of the program. It also seemed to speed up the output.

To solve the issue of printing only one page of a multi-page document, go to Page Setup, and change Format for: Any Printer to DeskJet 6800; change Paper Size to Letter.

In Microsoft Word, you have to change the document template to automatically change the Page Setup, otherwise you will have to manually change it before each document you print. To do that, go to Format > Document. Click the Page Setup Button, and change Format for: Any Printer to DeskJet 6800; change Paper Size to Letter. Once you have done that, hit the Default Button. When it asks if you want to change the default settings for the NORMAL template, click YES.

(I haven't figured out how to change this in my design programs, but luckily most of those documents are one page.)

For the money, this is a good printer. I hope it lasts as long as my old printer did! Note: the reason I only gave this printer four stars is because I haven't had it long enough to know if it will remain consistent over a long period.

This printer has delivered exactly what we expected and more.

Picture quality is superb. Speed and quality in text printing is great. (In fact, if you don't put the paper guide up, the paper will shoot out onto the floor at the end of a print job!) For pictures, we use the "normal" ink setting. For text jobs, the "Fast Normal" ink setting is more than sufficient.

This printer can be used as a network printer without the network! We have it hooked, by cable, to our desktop PC, and with a wireless Internet card in our notebook PC, we can print from either computer.

One reviewer using an iMac reported that this printer won't print .pdf files. That is incorrect. We've printed lots of .pdf files on this printer without a single problem. (Perhaps the problem is the iMac or the tech support at HP or both.)

The only thing I'd change, if given the choice, would be to have the output tray to be more like it was on the 932 model. However, that's just a personal preference. I recommend this printer.

I have had this printer for about 6 months now and really like it, fast printing only the occasional glitch in the wireless that is resolved with a reset. I have run thru 4 sets of ink and have been fairly impressed with everything, we use totally wireless for 4 computers and have had no problems. I can also print PDF files.

The HP 6840 worked fine for my iMac G5 (OS 10.3.7) and set-up was relatively easy once I ignored the directions but it turns out this printer is not a post-script printer and so won't print numerous files, including pdfs. You won't find this information anywhere in the specs. I spent an hour on the phone with customer support before we realized that this was the problem. To HP's credit, customer support was great. But caveat emptor. If you like to print pdfs, a format most of the world uses abundantly, don't get this printer.

Great printer with great print quality fast and quiet. I have it networked in my home and it makes it easy to use for all the computers we have going. I did have some trouble hooking it up into the wireless so it would be totally wireless, but I think that is me and not the printer or software. I would recommend this printer with the highest regard and it does work well on PC running XP and Mac OS X. I use both in my home and for work.