Customer Reviews

HP LaserJet 1160 Monochrome Printer

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

 

 

Pros:
- Dramatically improved design
- Improved print quality
- Speedy output
- Small footprint
- Solid paper handling

Cons:
- More expensive than competitors
- Cryptic LED status lights
- Does not accept higher capacity toner
- Flimsy single-sheet multipurpose input tray
- Poorly written printer driver and installer
- No printed manual (only PDF file on the CD)

HP LaserJet 1160 is a feature-stripped version of LaserJet 1320, replacing LaserJet 1150 and LaserJet 1300, respectively. 1160 and 1320 share the same engine and chassis (1320 features white-with-black-accents whereas 1160 is all-white). Perhaps the most dramatic change from 1150 and 1300 is a redesigned chassis. They no longer resemble DeskJet's L-shape box with protruding input paper tray, infamous for causing paper to curl up if many sheets are stacked on its output bin. Both 1160 and 1320 now look more professional and spiffier, all the while occupying even less desk space.

More subtle but just as dramatic is improved print quality. 1150 and 1300 were criticized for worse print quality than their predecessor (LaserJet 1200). 1160 restores the former glory with improved print quality. Graphics and photo outputs look noticeably smoother than LaserJet 1150 and 1300 with less noticeable dithering. Text looks sharp, and it looks slightly better defined in 600 dpi with FastRes 1200 turned off (graphics look far better with it turned on, however).

If you need more reasons to justify 10% price increase over 1150, how about 10% faster print speed? With double the memory (16 MB vs. 8 MB) and smaller footprint (measures about 14 inches by 14 inches vs. 16 inches by 19 inches), 1160 represents a superior value.

That said, 1160 could've been better. 1160 loses 1150's 10-sheet multipurpose input tray (1160 accepts only 1 sheet at a time). And multipurpose single sheet input tray feels a bit flimsy, although 250-sheet input tray feels very sturdy and should last a long time. And according to HP, 1160 can accept only the standard capacity toner (prints 2,500 pages at 5% coverage). Also disappointing are LED status lights (LCD alphanumeric display would have been more informative).

I have 1160 connected to Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (via USB port) so that I can print wirelessly. Apple PowerBook G4 (Mac OS X 10.3.5), IBM ThinkPad A31 (Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2), and Compaq Presario X1000 (Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2) notebooks share the network and printer.

Included Windows installer did not make installation process any easy. If the printer is NOT directly connected to the computer via USB or parallel port, it will not let you install the driver (Mac OS X installer is more forgiving). Network detect feature did not work and I suspect it works only with JetDirect option. After reading the manual on the CD, I have discovered a workaround. Manually add the printer as a local printer, create a new TCP/IP port and specify wireless router's IP address (10.0.1.1 in my case), then click "Have Disk" to install the driver manually. The manual points to wrong directory path. The correct path for English-based Windows XP driver is English\Drivers\Win2003_XP\PCL5.

The driver is not any better. It is not that printer driver itself is that bad (although I have found few minor bugs). My issue is with hp toolbox, an application that supplements the driver. It is written in Java with embedded Apache web server (talk about bloated!). It feels rather sluggish with ugly interface.

That said, the printer works well and hp toolbox should not detract you from using the printer to full potential. And Mac OS X support is nice. When you print, a photo realistic LaserJet 1160 icon appears on the dock showing which page is printing.

If you are looking for true 1200 dpi printing (1160 prints at 600 dpi, only emulating 1200 dpi via REt and FastRes technologies), expandable memory, PCL 6 and emulated PostScript 2 compatibility (1160 supports only PCL 5e), automatic duplex printing, and higher capacity toner compatibility (6,000 pages at 5% coverage), consider 1320.

I'm delighted with this printer. It's wonderfully compact and fits in tight spaces. The printer quality is excellent and it really feels solid. I expect it to be as reliable and long-lasting as my previous printer, an HP LaserJet 6MP. This printer worked right out of the box with my Macintosh running OS X 10.3.x and I suspect that setup for Windows is equally painless. Yes, it's a little more expensive than comparable laser printers, but I think that over time the slighly greater inital investment will have been worth it.

Pros: It will print. Easy initial set-up.

Cons: It has problems printing fonts other than Courier. The way the paper in the tray loads makes it a problem to print sequential single pages (like check stock, think anything already numbered). The manual feed slot is almost worthless.

The font problem is caused, according to HP, by the driver for the printer. It is faulty, and even though HP has released an updated driver, that does not fix the problem. As of June 1, 2005, HP's fix for the font problem is to tell you to load software from another one of their printers (which means you lose some of the funtionality of this new printer).

The manual feed is for one piece of paper at a time and is just a slot - no tray or feeder support.

There are cheaper printers that will perform the same functions as this printer, without all the font issues. If I could re-purchase, I would just purchase the HP LaserJet 1012 Printer again.

The device is made adequately well but not as well as the HP line starting at street price $600-800 or the printers selling in the $900-1300 range, which are known workhorses, but at 4 times the cost.

Setup is easy, especially for those who use higher grade HP printers at work and know how to load and activate the toner cartridge.

I bought two of these for my twins who entered college this fall. USB setup worked fine but required loading of drivers, which is from a supplied CD, on one child's PC, whereas the Apple machine installed totally without intervention.

The print quality is claimed at 1200 DPI and indeed appears to be so. I performed some complex registration tests consisting of running print through the machine several times on the same paper and found registration to be first rate -- excellent.

The lack of a support table on the paper feeder, such as the more expensive models have, made feeding of labels and other single sheet jobs, as well as envelopes, much more difficult than it needed to be. It is unlikely that the addition of an easily accessed single page feed support would have increased the manufacturer's cost more than a few dollars; that negligibly higher price would have been well worth the dollars in user convenience.

I did not explore the energy saving modes and cannot comment on them, but the 1160 is Energy Star rated.

Not enough experience with the supplied toner cassette to state whether it actually delivers the promised 1,500 pages at the coverage percent indicated in the claim. A purchased toner cartridge thereafter will produce many more copies. Also am wondering if the 1160 model is plagued by a timing chip on the cartridge, which I am told disables the ability to employ a cartridge right down to the last spoonful of powder when the manufacturer's "expiration date/freshness date" has been exceeded. You can read about those chips in PC and similar magazines.

Those using the HP office printers know that rocking along two axes can redistribute toner and permit virtually 100% use of the supplied amount when the toner gets down to those final few milligrams.

The machine interior is (not surprisingly) finished more cheaply, and the chassis is more crowded, than the pricier models, so removal of paper jams is slower and less un-invasive of the operator's time. However, continually more crowded chassis interiors has been a problem in HP and virtually all other machines for years now -- every manufacturer wants the smallest footprint without regard for how that will inconvenience the user in the long run.

Overall, a much better deal for the college student not reqiring color printing than is an ink jet, where the ink costs will start to rival tuition costs before long.

HG Review written September 11, 2005 (09/11/05)

I have always been skeptical of printers - it seems that whenever you need them most they malfunction. This is not the case for the HP LaserJet 1160. I have waited over 1 month from purchase to do this review just to make sure that it continued to deliver its fine performance... and it has!

What I like about the 1160

- VERY fast - even the most complex documents are printed in a matter of seconds.

- Extremely Quiet - the 1160 runs almost without any type of noise... just a low hum and *poof* your document is printed.

- To date (knock on wood) I have not had a single jam! This is unheard of... no paper jams!

- Great value - with the rebate the 1160 cost about $250, which seemed like an exceptional value.

- Setting-up and connecting to my laptop was a breeze.

In short, in the one month that I have owned the 1160- I do not have a single complaint. Trust me... I NEVER thought I would say that about any printer. This is the one printer you can buy and not have to worry about.

Bought this laser printer based on HP reliability and fact that it could print MS-Dos software (pcl5e). It did just fine for 17 months, then it died. Printer had printed 13000 pages, plain paper nothing fancy ! Hp online help failed to respond in any way to printer malfunction since off warranty. Problem analyzed as fuser assembly, repair cost est. was $230 at shop in town; we trashed the printer and bought an Okidata.

I would not buy this printer again unless purchaseing a 3 or 4 yr extended warranty.

This laser printer was purchased for use at an auto dealership in the service dept. We use it to print warranty and vehicle recall information. It's used daily and often. No problems so far, it's speedy and the quality is there if we need to print wiring diagrams and such. Would recommend it to anyone who needs a laser printer and doesn't require color printing.

The manual feed is a pain, it's one paper feed at a time and it difficult to feed the paper since it's not a try but a slot - I am also having difficulty printer to tray two, for some reason it keep referring to manual feed even if everything is set to print from (auto feed or even tray 2). I have three in the office and I will no purchase another one just for this reason.

Bought this HP printer when in other one in my chiropractic office decided to die on us. I'm not too particular on printers, other than I like sharp text, drums that don't empty out too quickly, something that's quiet, and doesn't jam paper. This unit basically has provided well along those standards. It's on all day and it's our default laser printer for chiropractic reports and documentation forms. Haven't had any problems with it whatsoever.

When it came time to replace my low-end Epsom color printer, the one received free with my computer, I decided to upgrade to midlevel monochrome printer. So far, a month into my purchase, I am pleased. It is a 3.5 star printer.

Important factors in a home printer, as a writer and occasional designer, I needed speed and quiet. With the LaserJet 1160, I found both. However, it is not a perfect machine. Although the price is economical, I expected better image quality.

I use it presently on a Sony Vaio, XP system, printing from Word and InDesign, and occasionally Photoshop and Illustrator.

The drivers were easy to install. I popped in the CD, and went along clicking as I was told. Once I got online, it updated itself, ensuring all related software was up-to-date. I like not having to think about this.

The 1160 has been around for a few years, so most of the average bugs have been ironed out.

So far, I have only pushed printing text. The few times I have printed images, I have been disappointed with the resolution and screen quality. Text resolution has been good. I printed one page with a giant Times New Roman 'O' in blue, which came off nicely in gray.

Startup is quick, and shutdown is quicker. The fan hums louder than I hoped, but during down times (after around five minutes of nonuse), it shuts down.

As I only print 8.5" x 11", I will not miss the multipage custom sheet feeder. The tray for regular will extend into legal size, and holds 250 pp., enough for my daily needs.

It is a decent printer from which I expect to use for the next five years for basic word processing printing.

Anthony Trendl

editor, HungarianBookstore.com