Customer Reviews

HP LaserJet 1018 Printer (CB419A#ABA)

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is a quick, quiet machine, and so far it works for me. A relatively new model, I was told it was the replacement for the 1020, but I'm not sure that's the case. In any event, it is extremely simple to set up and operate, and it doesn't take up much space. It's a big improvement over my inkjet, an HP deskjet 960c. I figure my cost is about 5 cents a page. So far, highly recommended.

UPDATE: 10/25/07 Over a year later, this little no-frills printer is cranking away as problem-free as when I just set it up. I'm a teacher and give it a pretty regular workout each week--easily 100-150 copies. I can't be sure, but I think I paid more than what it's selling for now. If and when it wears out, I'd buy the same model in a flash. Great value for the money.

Excellent printer, very inexpensive, set up in 3 minutes, runs like a champ, very quiet, almost jam-proof, quiet small. The only wrinkle is in the small print: you need a USB printer cable (does not come in the box) and if you don't own one, be prepared to trot out to your local Staples to buy one if you want to use this puppy.

Other than that minor annoyance, I remain very impressed that a printer I would have expected to pay $1,000 for just a few years ago can be had for so little, and in such a small package today.

Pros: price, speed, quality, simplicity, size
Cons: no cable included, holds only ~150 sheets in tray

Price/Performance - about as good as it gets.

I am impressed by the performance of this machine, for the following reasons:
- easy to set up;
- very quiet;
- prints smoothly;
- manual duplex printing is a breeze;
- compared to my previous HP laser purchased some years ago that often got paper jam, this one is a real improvement.
My Kudo to HP for a job well done !!!!

While I am sure this is a great printer for the price, it will not work with Macs, despite what an employee at a large computer chain told me. There are no Mac drivers for the 1018 and none of the work arounds listed on the net seem to work. I had to return this printer to Amazon and ordered the HP 1022 that is Mac compatible.

I recently purchased the HP 1018 after much agonizing whether to go for a B&W laser printer or a multi function for the home. I came to the conclusion that 98% of my needs would be met with a fast and cheap printer - for the odd requirements of scanning old photos or copying important documents, I could use the services at my office or a local Kinko's.

The HP 1018 met several requirements. First, its compact. Second, it's per page cost (thanks to being a laser and not an inkjet printer) is low. Finally, it prints pages fast (much much faster than any inkjet on the market). I generally need to print out itineraries, airline e-tickets, articles to read offline and therefore had no need of a color printer. Besides, the ability to add envelopes into the feeder is a nice touch, especially when sending out holiday greeting cards in bulk.

Small observations - The paper feeder/drawer will stay open and hence take up a few additional inches of space. There is no USB cable (shame on them trying to save a few pennies. The included disk tried hard to install all sorts of "freebie" software before succumbing to my stubbornness of refusing to do so (after this installing the drivers was a breeze.) The printer comes with a "introductory" toner cartridge good for 1000 pages (regular cartridges sold in retail are good for twice as many pages.)

Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase. I was waiting for the price of laser printers to drop to around the hundred dollar level as well as get compact enough for use in the home and it was worth the wait. At a cost of under 5 cents a page (including paper and ink) its a steal.

[EDIT Sep/2008]:
Some sellers on Amazon have started charging $230 or more for this HP LaserJet 1018 printer (with shipping), and that's an outrageous price! Make sure you buy it from a seller who keeps the total price $150 or under, or else you are paying too much. If you are willing to spend $200+, then you can find a better printer than the 1018 in the same pricerange. To find the cheapest deal, just click on the "used & new available" link next to the price to see what the other sellers are charging.
[END OF EDIT]

I've spent hours researching cheap printers on computer forums, and I've found that most people rate the HP Laserjet 1018 as the best of the cheapo laser printers (Nov-Dec 2006).

In my personal experience it turned out to be much faster, quieter, cheaper, and higher quality than any other cheap (under $150) printer I've ever used, and I've tried about a dozen in that price range (mostly inkjets, but also some lasers). The cost per page is much lower than with inkjets, even if you refill your inktanks yourself. And you only have to replace the ink every few thousand pages on the laser, instead of every few hundred pages on inkjets. And HP's reliability is better than the other brands of laser printers.

Unless you need to print in color, this is the way to go for a cheapo printer.

This is my first laser printer and I'm really impressed with it. The printer is quiet, fast and was very easy to set up. The price was also a big plus.
If you buy this printer also order the USB cable for $6.99 so you can connect it to your computer.

very easy to review: reliable, fast start up, fairly fast printing, no paperjams, accepts all kind op paper thickness, good print quality. And not expensive at all

This seems like a nice printer. I even ordered the separate USB cable and was all ready to go. I pulled off the plastic tape, shook the ink cassette and waited for my new laser printer to produce the crisp, lovely images I had spent the money upgrading from an HP inkjet to get.

No dice. This baby is for Windows only. There are patches and work arounds out there on the internet, but they are not simple and require your familiarity with your Macbook's command line and the installation of at least three additional programs in the correct order, which I was never able to accomplish.

First of all, I'm incensed that HP doesn't bother to make this printer Mac compatible. Second, with Apple gaining more market share every day, I think it would be nice if it were made more obvious that the printer isn't compatible. I'd just assumed that it was.

Live and learn.

We have the 1022 at work in a few places -- that has a couple of buttons, this one is even more stripped down, but for $64, it's a great home printer. I was so fed up with inkjet printers, since we don't print that much, and they are always getting clogged, etc, not to mention eating up ink (which dries out and you have to waste more of it cleaning the heads). Two different "photo printers" left us feeling like it was cheaper and easier to print photos with online services, and most of what's left is printing regular text -- web pages, homework for the kids, etc. If you need a printer that does clear B&W, for standard household stuff, this is the one to get. Simple USB connection, it works, and no fuss.