Customer Reviews

HP Photosmart 7960 Printer

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I couldn't decide between the HP Photosmart 7760 and 7960 so I bought them both, and I printed the exact same pictures from both pictures to compare quality. I found that I liked the coloring of the 7760 in most of the color pictures. The 7960 tended to have reddish looking pictures. For example, a person's face would look redder in the 7960 pictures. But the 7960 did have more detail in landscape type pictures. Hands down, the 7960 did the best job printing black and white (used the 59 Black and White cartridge in both printers). For me, I only print black and white photos about 10% of the time.

I did like the slightly bigger LCD screen of the 7960, but found the menus and options exactly the same as the 7760. The 7960 is longer(20.9") than the 7760, and it did not fit on my desk.

The 7960 comes with 4 ink cartridges - 56 (black for documents), 57 (tri-color), 58(photo ink), and 59(black for black and white photos). While the 7760 comes with 2 ink cartridges - 57 and 58. Buying the 56 and 59 is about an additional $40, which could be a consideration when buying the 7760.

In the end, I kept the 7760. I just could not justify the additional $100 for the 7960.

I purchased my printer in Jan. and have just used my first ink cartridges. Please keep in mind I do not care about speed or space. I simply wanted a printer that prints quality prints. I generally print 8x10 and 4x6 prints. Here are the pros and cons:
PROS:
* I can not tell the difference between my professionally printed pictures and copies from my printer. No one can believe that they came from a home printer.
*Beautiful black and white prints. (I love black and white so having the photo gray was the decision maker for my purchase)
*Easy to use printer and easy to install software. Effortless to change and replace the ink cartridges.
*Coloring is excellent.
*I generally use with Camedia and Photoshop however it is nice to be able to print right from the printer when you are in a hurry.
*Prints regular documents quickly.
*I like being able to choose what quality ink output I want. If I am experimenting in Photoshop I like printing at a lower quality so I do not waste ink. For good prints I use the high end mode.
*This printer has never jammed therefore I do not waste costly paper. (I buy the HP premium matte)
CONS:
*Price. Expensive printer, ink and paper. (But worth it)
*I notice on some of my prints there are roller marks. (Faint lines that go through the pictures.) They only appear randomly and a lot of the time I have to look for them. When the ink is low I notice them more. I was aware of this problem prior to my purchase and still made the purchase.
*The ink takes a little bit to become completely dry and sometimes I smudge it.
Overall, Great purchase. I only buy HP printers and can not compare to other brands. I have always had good luck with them, why change?

I'm very impressed by the straight forward design and navigation of the HP PhotoSmart 7960. Very easy to use and figure out, even if you're a technophobe like myself. Out of the box it was easy to set up with the step-by-step poster that they provided. Right away I was printing vacation photos straight from my compact flash (with the printer's default settings, without being hooked up to a computer) and I got really good printouts.

Pros: The LCD display is bigger than most digital cameras and is very clear, navagation is straight forward and easy to figure out, the color range is good (considering there's "8 colors"), very easy to use.

Cons: It comes with color cartridges that combine colors (CMY, Light-CMY, Grey or Black) so if you run out of one color you have to replace the whole thing. On glossy photo paper the overall color tends to be a bit darker. And at the moment it's a bit pricy compared with it's competition.

I received my new HP 7960 Photosmart printer 2 weeks ago. Set up is very easy and the printer is excellent at printing photos. This printer is wide (20") so make sure you have room for it. The printer comes with a large viewing screen which makes it easy to view your photographs prior to printing. One drawback: You have to change out the grey photo cartridge to the black cartridge in order to print text, but I am using this printer strictly for printing photographs anyway. The printer accepts most memory cards and also has a USB port on the front of it. I highly recommend this printer!!

Shortly after coming home from a vacation in Rome, I realized that I had some very, very nice pictures, and wanted to see those pictures on something more than just a CRT or my camera's LCD. I didn't really believe my HP Deskjet 840c was going to cut it (it did a passable, albeit crooked, job on printing out a previous picture). Enter the PhotoSmart 7960...

Packaging/Construction... The printer arrived well packaged. It had taken a beating during transit, and some of the styrofoam had disintegrated, but the important part was undamaged. The printer itself is not built like a tank. If you are excessively rough with it, you will probably be able to damage it. I frequently open mine in order to switch ink cartridges, since I do a fair amount of text printing, even though I have my deskjet still hooked up (I like reports and music to look crisp and black). One of the biggest complaints I see is durability, with most people saying this printer is too flimsy. If you are going to run off into the jungle, I would definitely suggest a hard case when taking this with you. Otherwise, the 99.9% of us that leave our printers at home, and just take our camera, this printer should be fine. If I notice any unwarranted wear, I will update this posting.

Print Quality... Excellent. Colours look awesome and vibrant. Level of detail is very good. Pictures from 3 and 5 megapixel cameras are indistinguishable from film, printed at 8 x 10 size. Printing music onto some thicker stock, I got razor sharp quality using the maximum-dpi (4800 x 1200). This is from memory (mine is usually pretty good): the 56 ink cartridge contains a pigment based ink, rather than dye based, which is better for printing text, giving smaller equivalent drop size (I'm not certain how they figure that, but 4-5 picoliters of pigment based ink is equivalent to 2 picoliters of dye based ink. Perhaps it doesn't spread as much). When printing text, switching to the 56 is a good idea. The text I get from this printer looks blacker and sharper than what I get from the deskjet.

Print Speed... At high quality, this is not going to raise any eyebrows. No time trials done here, but it is fast only by geological standards. However, I figure that the few minutes invested in printing (and much longer for drying) is well worth it. Tip for those who will be using this printer for everyday text: Unless quality is a big issue, set the printer on fast draft, black and white. If you want to be a little economical, you can even lower the ink volume. There is a little reduction in quality, but print speeds are along the lines of some slower laser printers, at about 4 seconds per page.

Paper Choices... Statements about print longevity are based on using HP's Premium Plus Photo Paper. I have used that paper, and plain copier paper in this printer. Copier paper works well, although I will be getting some better quality inkjet paper for reports. The photo paper is great, although there have been some issues that people have brought up that I will attempt to address.
Dry Time... In a nutshell, 8 x 10 matte paper takes one day to dry, 4 x 6 glossy takes one day to dry, and 8 x 10 glossy takes 7 days to dry. During this time, I set the prints on a flat surface, and just leave them be. I have not tried to see how long they really take.
Little White Lines... Inside the printer are little plastic wheels that hold the paper against the rubber rollers. I believe these are actually plastic, not metal like somebody else stated. If they are plastic, they will not break in over time. You have to look closely to find these lines. When printing with matte paper, I was unable to find them. When under a frame, these lines should not be visible.
Raised Surface on Paper... This problem also seems to be unique to glossy. With time to dry, the raised portions of the paper seem to go down. I think in general, the paper is somewhat raised to begin with. Given a couple weeks, it will return to this state after printing. If it really bothers you, get matte paper.
Matte or Glossy... This is a question that I have had for a long time, and will try now to answer for others. When you go to Kmart and have your film developed, you receive prints on 4 x 6 glossy paper. When you have your picture taken professionally, you get back 4 x 5 matte prints. I have yet to see professional glossy prints, especially on 4 x 6. Photoshop does not have that option, either, I believe. Glossy gives slightly sharper prints, and a lot of people feel that you need the glossy for the "picture look." Glossy has a bright, shiny finish, but it does not handle fingerprints very well. Matte paper looks a little duller, still sharp picture quality, though maybe not as much as glossy, and handles fingerprints much better. I do have glossy paper, and I have used it, but matte looks more professional. My suggestion is to definitely use matte for black and white prints, and let personal preference dictate for colour. Be warned, matte is harder to find, and more expensive. Tip to glossy users (and matte): Glossy paper really shows off finger prints, though whether you can see them or not, they can affect print quality. When getting the paper out of the bag and into the printer, first put a sheet of copier paper (or any cheap, plain paper) over the printable side. Then load your printer (for HP users, this means printable side down), and remove the copier paper. Any fingerprints will not wind up on the printed side of your expensive photo paper.


Printing without a computer... This is possible with the printer, though I have never tried it. In order to hook the camera itself up to the printer, you need to have an HP PhotoSmart camera. However, everybody else, just about, can pop their memory module out, and stick it in the printer. It looks like you can crop, rotate, and enlarge the pictures, and view them on the LCD. You can also print out a proof sheet, or a contact sheet, which allows you to fill in some bubbles, scan it, and the printer will then print out your selected photos. You can only choose one size for all the pictures using this method, and it seems to me to be only a way to show off, unless you have somebody who can't view the pictures from your camera, or at the printer. This printer will recognize DPOF, if your camera supports it, allowing you to mark pictures in your camera for printing.

Ink... This printer actually has ten inks, but will only print with up to eight at a time. This is because three of the inks are black. One is the pigment black for documents, one is the black contained in the 58 cartridge, and the third is in the 59. When the 56 (pigment black) is installed, the 57 (tricolor: cyan, magenta, yellow) and 58 (photo: light cyan, light magenta, black) are used, giving you six inks. When you install the 59 (which replaces the 56, there are only three ink cartridge carriages. The 59 has a light grey, dark grey, and photo black), you get eight ink printing (the black in the 58 is not used). When printing colour prints, eight inks give you a little better results in the dark areas. When printing in black and white, you definitely want the 59 installed. Compared to the cartridges in the deskjet, these cartridges are tiny, though not quite as expensive. I figure when I bought the printer, I paid $60 for the printer, and $90 for ink (I got it on sale).

The Bottom Line... I've gone on long enough for these specific categories. I've outlined a few potential problems, though I still gave this printer 5 stars. I was aware of the problems before I bought it, and still went ahead, and have been completely satisfied. It does everything I want. If you don't care about or don't like black and white, get the 7760, which only uses six inks. If you print black and white on it, it will mix the inks to get grays, though it won't be as high quality.

I really enjoy this printer, and get nothing but compliments on its print quality. I have even had people compare my Rome pictures (taken on a point and shoot camera, full auto settings) with photos taken by SLR cameras and developed in a real darkroom (as opposed to my digital one).

Hope this has helped you,
Erik

This printer replaced my Epson 750 Photo Stylus. The print quality is breathtaking. Skin tones, transitions, etc. are all flawless. The dedicated grey cartridge performs wonders. The printer is relatively quiet, fast, paper handling decent (beware multiple sheets of glossy paper in the tray) and the design and quality sturdy enough. Bounces around a bit when printing, and it's a big gizmo to plonk on a desk.

Problem 1) installing this thing can be a bit of a nightmare. My old W2K server with a 5 port USB2 card absolutely refused to play nice with the printer. Hours and hours with tech support was a total waste of my time (and theirs). Their final suggestion - to take it back to the store "because there might be an issue with the ports" - was blatantly ridiculous. Finally moved to another computer (also W2K, and tested on an XP machine with no problems), and all was well.

Problem 2) $70 for a set of replacement color cartridges?!? Do the math - someone on a site did just that, and found that they price this stuff higher than Chanel No. 5. Come on, HP, you've got us buying your "solid state" plastic, your paper, *and* your cartridges, could you at least price it all fairly? I'm getting the refill kits a.s.a.p. to see how they perform. I was really disappointed to realize that 8 color printing *does not* mean 8 individual cartridges - should have read the fine print, but this does mean you're wasting pricey color when you ditch a half-empty cartridge.

Final issue I have is paying for all the crap I don't need. I'm never connecting a camera or a media card directly to this thing, so the plethora of ports is wasted on me. Likewise the little 2" screen - cute for info on progress etc. but total overkill. I'd much rather have saved that money on a no-frills version - or spent it on more ink.

All the same, I'm satisfied with the printer - the drivers work great on XP and 2000, transfer is fast, even via USB1, and again, the print quality is excellent.

I've used this printer for a ton of photos taken at 2288*1520 and it has done a great job on all from 4*6 to 8*10.The 4*6 prints from this printer are impossible to tell apart from the 4*6 prints from my photo dedicated dye sublimation printer.With many more print size options compared to more expensive dye subs this would be a great choice instead.The card reader is also a great benefit works very nicely and is simple to use.It's only real bothersome side is that you must change the gray scale print catridge for black when printing text and back for photos.I also use an epson 960 that does an absultely equal job at photos that doesn't require any cartridge changes but with the epson you give up the card reader convenience.

I own a Canon Digital Rebel and needed a new printer that could handle printing high quality photos with a good life span. The HP Photosmart 7960 handles picture from my camera with no problems whatsoever. The prints come out better than from a photo finisher and thats with just using the settings from the printer software; I have not even begun to use Photoshop on the pictures!

I checked out the Epson Stylus R800 as well, but for an extra $100 you actually lose some features with the Epson. The R800 prints will last 80 years on Epson Paper and the HP Photosmart 7960 prints will last 73 years on HP plus paper...no deal breaker there! In addition the Epson does not have flash card slots...but the HP does!

The HP Photosmart 7960 inks are a bit pricey...especially the No.59 Grey Cartridge for photos. I printed only (3)-4"x8" prints and at least 10% of the cartridge is gone already. But from what I can see the other manufacturers are playing the same games with ink.

Overall, I highly recommend this printer for its features, software, price and high quality photo printing! The only con as I mentioned would be the price of ink, especially the No.59 Grey Cartridge for photos. Good luck and happy printing!

I received this printer last year as a holiday gift and I have not found a flaw yet......it prints very crisp photos that rival any camera store product, it is amazingly easy to use, has lots of editing capabilites, easy to navigate functions, accepts all kinds of digital cards (which is GREAT since you don't have to buy a different printer if you change digital cameras) and prints up to 10 x 12 photos. This printer is well worth the price; in fact, I'd be willing to pay more so it's a bargain. This printer gets heavy usuage (it goes thru at least one ink cartridge change per 75 photos) and I have two toddlers who have - not on my watch - "played" with it and it still works like a dream. Does it get any better than this?!? I think not.

UPDATE / SEPTEMBER 2007 (nearly 3 years later): I still love this photo printer. It has survived play-doh and numerous other assults without lasting injury. A few minor fixable issues is all she wrote (pennies stuck inside the paper tray, etc.). I use this printer every day without a problem. The only issue I have is the higher volume memory sticks are not recognized by this machine and I might end up upgrading.

Combine this printer with the new HP Premium Plus photo paper and you would swear that your prints were from film! I recieved this printer as a gift this weekend and spent today in heaven playing with it. First off, it is the easiest printer I have ever dealt with! You don't even need to have a computer hooked up! The panel is intuitive; but, gives you a lot of control including print size, # of copies, zoom, and rotate. And everything you do to the photo is shown on the screen which adjusts to whatever angle is easiest for you to view. I was printing using the low-end black ink instead of the higher quality grayscale ink and I am still amazed at the quality of the prints! If you are looking for an amazing printer which is easy to operate, this is the one you want!