Customer Reviews

HP Officejet Pro K850 Printer. Wide format Color Inkjet Printer. Up To 24PPM Blk

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

We now have three of the K850 printers in use, one with a built in print server, second paper tray, and duplexer. So far, the printers have proved to be reliable, fast, and comparatively inexpensive to operate. Power on, pre-print, and post-print noise may be objectionable to users who are located close to the printer.

Capable of using the same HP 10 black and HP 11 individual color ink cartridges, as well as replacement print heads as the HP Business Ink Jet 1100d and HP Business Ink Jet 1200d, the K850 shares the same low, per page operating cost as the 1100d and 1200d printers. Full page color photographs print in roughly 32 seconds, with a roughly eight second delay prior to the start of printing; similar prints from other printers may require from one to five minutes to print the same full page color photograph. White horizontal lines were present in the full page color photograph, possibly indicating that one or two of the nozzles in the print heads, shipped with the new printer, are defective.

The printer handles paper sizes up to 13" x 19", so it easily handles B size (tabloid, 11" x 17") paper commonly used for small engineering prints and foldable newsletters. The printer software installs without problem, although a reboot will likely be required. For network capable K850 printers, the software install automatically finds K850 printers on the network, and adds a "HP Standard TCP/IP Port" to the computer configuration for communication with the printer. For non-network capable K850 printers, both USB and parallel port connections are supported.

Positives:
* Uses ink that is compatible with other printer models, helping to keep operating costs down.
* Fast printing for full page color, and even faster black printing with spot color.
* Large format color printing, which is helpful for quick generation of engineering prints.
* Nearly idiot proof print cartridge replacement - light turns on to indicate the color that needs to be replaced, printing stops automatically, user replaces ink cartridge, and printing continues.
* Separate ink cartridges and print heads means less aligning of print cartridges/heads after ink cartridge replacement, larger capacity ink cartridges, and lower operating cost.

Negatives:
* Minimal install of HP software from the CD requires at least 100MB.
* Low capacity HP 13 print cartridges ship with the printer.
* Power-on, pre-print, and post-print noise, just like the Business Ink Jet 1100d and 1200d. However, there is very little noise produced while printing.
* Cheap plastic cover over the print cartridges, similar to that used on the 1200d.
* Large footprint.

HP Officejet Pro K850:
Initial Impression: Setup is easy: Documentation: Clear and concise:
Did not use CD, downloaded full software package from HP's site: Installation on windows xp with DeskJet 5550 connected, without issue: All functions available: Trial printings' on letter and 11 x 17 without issue: Quality as advertised: Networked using Linksys Wireless: Drivers installed on 2 Dell (win xp) laptops, over network, without issue. Test printings over network without issue. Our print test consists of business graphics, text, manuals and genealogy (family) trees. Printing is quick with low noise. BJ

My criteria for my new printer purchase was:
1. 11x17
2. individual inks
3. reliable printer company
4. easy installation/good customer service
5. price (this was a bit pricey but the next step up was not a choice)

So far for my needs this has been a great printer so far. It does great quality prints for photos, school projects and more. I wanted to have more versatility to make posters, labels, photos, etc... My last HP wide format printer (1200c) lasted for over 5 years and I took it everywhere. I have only had this for a few motnhs but it hasn't been a disappointment yet!

We needed a tabloid size printer to replace our old HP 1120C and 1220C. This printer seemed to be the obvious choice. We received this about 3 weeks ago and have been fighting with it ever since. While it works great on white paper, we could not get it to function AT ALL with colored paper; not even with bright yellow paper. The printer never even attempts to print; it simply reports a paper jam error. Finally we called HP and were told (after an hour), that this printer is not compatible with color paper. Nowhere on the HP site does it mention this minor detail! Since color paper is our main use for this printer we requested a replacement. After over two hours on the phone, HP did agree to upgrade us (at some cost) to the 2800 printer. I hope that one will work!

I am a design/build contractor and business owner.

What I was looking for:
-Large format (13x19) prints
-Inexpensive ink/reasonable ink usage
-independent cartridges for each color

Note that I was not looking for a photo printer. For those of you looking for a photoprinter this is not it. That being said the prints are quite good. They are not super high end but they look sharp. You are going to have to make a choice photo-quality prints or inexpensive printing cost. You can't have both.

The noise people mentioned in other reviews doesn't bother me at all. I have it right beside me and its fine. It does make some noise but I'm not running prints all day so it's not a bother.

I picked up some remanufactured ink cartridges (69ml blk, and 3 28ml colors for under $50).

For a business owner needing affordable printer that does large format this is it. It's great running off full color 13x19 prints and not flinching at how much its going to cost.

I have:
- 2 HP laptops,
- 2 HP desktops,
- one HP docking station,
- four HP printers,
- 2 HP print servers, and
- 3 HP 12C calculators.
- And a supply of cartridges for all of the printers.

My newest printer is the HP Officejet Pro K850. I bought this to compliment my HP Business inkjet 2200 because is a wide format and it uses the same individual ink cartridges as the BIJ 2200. Today I tried to print with the K850 and it would not print. The Cyan and Magenta cartridges are "out of date" even though they are 48% and 50% full. Out of date also means it disables the printer too. I keep a good supply of these cartridges so I will not run out at an inconvenient time. I buy them when Office Depot or Staples has a deal or on sale-they are normally over $30 each. Granted some are older than others-so what? I do use the older ones first! Today is Sunday and an inconvenient time. I did not lease these cartridges from HP. I did not rent these cartridges from HP. I BOUGHT THEM! THEY ARE MINE. I have just learned that HP puts a drop-dead chip in these cartridges so they expire whether they are good or not! Planned - sneaky is better term- obsolescence! This should be ILLEGAL- maybe it is already!! And it is a sorry way to treat loyal - or maybe exloyal- customers. Furthermore,HP off shore customer service sucks. I gave up and just Google for answers and found the expiration chip information there. It works well too! You might want to try it yourself!

BUT IT IS A GREAT WIDE FORMAT PRINTER! I have the network and automatic reverse side options and they work great too. I did have problem printing 13x19 photos but I think I can work that out - with the help of Google.

This is my fourth 11x17 printer, and the best of them by far. I use 11x17 only occasionally, but when I need it, I need it. The printer is much more rugged than the typical HP small office / home office unit, which is to be expected given its significantly higher price. The individual ink tanks are a big plus, since 11x17 printing can consume a LOT of ink, and you can easily deplete one color of a three-color cartridge, causing you to discard a lot of perfectly good ink. The footprint IS large, but hey, it prints on large paper. It IS noisy before it starts printing, but that isn't a problem in my situation.

There's a drawback if you plan to use this printer for photos -- it can't do borderless prints. It DOES print well on small stock, and since it sits close to my chair, I use its single sheet feed slot to print the address and return address (with a color logo) on the #10 envelopes I occasionally send out.

This is a great printer for those who want to print on 12x12 scrapbook pages. It works well with heavier(cardstock) paper. It also prints great photos. I have a MAC i-book. I also use The Print Shop 2 program with it. It gives me great versatility with my pages & photos.

This printer is soooo much better than the older Epson it replaced. I am very satisfied with the quality and dependability of this printer for the price. I have been using it for a month now. The paper feed works flawlessly on all sizes of paper. The cancel print button on HP printers is an excellent feature to save money. The seperate ink reserviors for each color is also a money saver. I don't use photo quality printing so I can't comment on that, but the faster print mode produces excellent results. One tip I can offer is that the color ink cartridges are HP 11 cartridges, but the wider black cartridge with more ink that fits in this printer is an HP 10.

We've gone through two of these printers in less than two years. Our first one went bad in less than a year. The print quality became very poor and we started getting printhead errors that just wouldn't go away. Customer service, via e-mail and on-line chat, was very frustrating and useless. None of their troubleshooting options worked. The printer was eventually replaced with a refurbished one. Again, in less than a year the replacement printer developed the same exact issues as the previous one. We contacted customer service and after four months of following their various troubleshooting instructions, we were finally told that they would not replace or repair it due to the warranty expiration on the original purchase. The only option available to us was to upgrade to a refurbished printer and was given a list of six refurbished printers to choose from ranging in price from $269.99 to $399.00. No thank you! I absolutely do not recommend this printer. We will stay away from HP products from here on out.