Customer Reviews

Hewlett Packard DeskJet 648c Printer

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

 

 

It's not just a printer, it's an HP printer!

Anyone who decides to buy a new printer must feel a little at a loss with today's abundance of printers. Good printers. It all boils down to a simple question - how much are you going to spend for your printer? HP 648C is efficient, HP-smart and relatively cheap - under $100.

DRIVERS: A few users have been confused with the installation process and apparent mislocation of a printer driver. All HP printers from 64xC series have the same driver. This obviously applies to 640C, 642C and 648C. There are differences between these printers, but the driver is the same. DO NOT panic during setup when you notice that Windows installs 640C driver for your 648C printer! It's all as it is supposed to be.

WINDOWS 2000: Although 648C is Win2000 compatible, a proper version of driver is not included on the CD. Instead, as noted on quick-installation poster, you have to go online, visit HP support page, go to the drivers section and download a proper version of a driver. All other software included on CD is designed to work in Win98 environment, and thus you will have NO USE of extra features included, while working in Windows 2000. Fear not, the printer works flawlessly - and isn't it what we wanted?

SPEED: In the normal mode (default), the printer is slow, about 3ppm. The output is clear and crisp, though. This is not a disadvantage. Affordable printers cost little exactly because they aren't superspeed dragons with photoCD abilities. Customers targeted by HP in the case of 648C do not usually need speed-dragons. This printer works well and is cheap. This really counts. Under DRAFT mode, it is as fast as you might want it at home, provided you don't print masses of documents. In that case, a laser printer would be a better solution.

DESIGN: 648C is sleek and fits nicely to an HP Pavilion computer, if you have one. Not that this information is terribly important... :)

USB/SERIAL: Contrary to what some customers said, I haven't had any problems with USB connectivity between 648C and my Windows 2000 computer. As soon as I plugged in my USB cable, Win2k recognized my printer and installed it in no time. As I said before, YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD WINDOWS 2000 DRIVER FIRST.

SUMMARY: You get more than what you paid for. It's HP's cheapest model, but provides their famous quality. Go for it if you do not necessarily have your wallet bursting with $ notes. You will be happy

I also bought this printer as part of a bundle (came with a scanner) at a pretty decent price, but not quite this low. I've been a geek for over 10 years now, so I'm pretty good ad judging cost vs. value when eyeing new peripherals. This printer is exactly what I expected it would be. Decent printing at a very reasonable price. The setup (including reboot) took about 3 minutes (USB) on my WinME system. All of the other computers on the network picked up the driver and were instantly able to print without having to install any additional drivers (except the Win2K machine, which I did have to download and install separately). I haven't had any bleedthrough with my paper, but I also have the printer set to print using "less ink" (printer properties). Anyone who purchases this printer will be using it for casual home use, so there's no reason not to. It saves a lot of ink! Don't expect photo quality from this printer (or any printer for this amount of money). If that's what you're buying it for, go look at the 900 series.

This printer is pretty much the same quality as the rest of the 600 series, which means that the B&W printing is fine but the Color printing is mediocre and grainy, but it does get the job done. I will note that when we first tried to hook this up to a brand new out of the Box Win98 PC via the USB port it refused to work and only finally cooperated when we hooked it up through an old fashioned Printer Cable. I don't know what benefits, if any, would have been had through a USB connection but HP shipped the wrong drivers in the box aparently so we never found out, and the HP Website Patches didn't help either. In any case I'm MUCH happer with the 900 series.

I bought a new HP computer and along with it came this printer. I have used HP printers and I find them very reliable. They are very sturdy, easy to assemble, their ink cartridges are easy, and they have good tech support. You need to realize, however, that this is not a top of the line printer by all means. This is not for someone who does more than 4 print jobs a week. It is a very basic and simple printer. It prints out semi-slowly. I would say one page typed in 20 seconds and one page of color and type in 1 to 2 minutes. So it’s not very fast. It is pretty reliable with a few problems here and there that can be fixed if you are computer literate at all, or you can call tech support. The price is very cheap which is nice, but don't forget that the cartridges are $40+.... that’s what fools many. Overall I recommend this for simple and non-frequent users. If you use a printer on a more regular basis, look into the 810 series or 900 series....

I got this printer as part of an hp package, and must admit that I had my doubts about it's performance. I am pleased to report that it has proved me wrong, and hasn't failed me yet. It's remarkably quiet, and plenty fast enough for my needs. Black and color text are both crisp, and images are clear.

Very good printer for the price. It's quiet, which is an unusual trait. The DPI's are 300 X 600 but the colored prints are excellent. The only reason to buy more expensive printers is to get a faster print speed. The DPI's on this printer will give you beautiful results for home and office work. Let the photo finishing shops do your photographs. This printer will please you. After the rebate, it costs the same as two ink cartridges. A lot of bang for the buck.

Anything said about this printer has to begin with the fact that, after rebate, it costs ($) (plus shipping, to be picky). With that in mind, you pretty much can't go wrong. One reviewer grumbled that set up was difficult; that wasn't my experience at all. The diagrams were slightly confusing, but most diagrams are. I'd say set-up took me a grand total of 30 minutes, max. (...) If you need a fast, high-volume, ultra-high-res printer, this isn't for you, but if you think you're going to get that kind of printer for this kind of money anywhere, you're living in a fool's paradise. I'm satisfied that, for the (very small amount of) money I spent, I got all the printer I need.

I found the printer satisfactory. I paid [money] for it, with a rebate. So the price was great. I bought it in September 2001. In February 2002 it began to print everything at an angle. Now I can't get the paper to move through at all. The 90 day warranty has expired. I had little more than 5 months of use.

I just thought I'd give my review of my experience with the 648c. The B&W prints are pretty decent but the color prints could use some work. I also experienced a problem with mine. The prints were angled and I was unable to fix it. Luckily, I took it back to OfficeMax and they gave me the refund which I used to buy a new 842c which I like much more. I just suggest you spend the extra bucks to buy the 842c.

I bought this printer a year ago and it's still going strong. This was my first time buying a product from HP. If you want a good printer for the home you can't go wrong with this printer. This printer prints both Text and Photos great. I have this printer hooked up to my Webtv and I love it. If you want this printer for a business or office I would recommend buying a more updated printer but this one is great for the home or for that collage student. I will deffently buy another HP printer when mine dies.