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HP Deskjet 6980

74

Good

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Pros
Fast print speeds
Good print quality and documentation
Cons
Control panel is hard to use
Output tray is flimsy

$279.99
From 1 Merchant

Pricing: Expensive: $150 (3/20/2008)
Performance: Good: 79
Features: Good: 78
Design: Good: 71

Find out how these four scores, and their relative weights, combine to produce the PC World Rating.

Pricing

Expensive: $150

Standard-Capacity Black Cartridge - $29.99

Standard-Capacity Color Cartridge - $34.99

Performance

Good: 79

Text Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
Tested Text Speed (ppm)	9.1
Three-Page Word Document (secs)	50.68
Ten-Page Word Document (secs)	86.17
Text Output Quality	Very Good

Color Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
Tested Color Speed (ppm)	2.5
Two-Page Excel Document (secs)	50.01
One-Page Webpage (secs)	25.45
4 by 6 Color Photo (secs)	19.87
Color Output Quality	Very Good

Color Photo Printing (Glossy Paper, Best Settings)
Tested Glossy Photo Speed (ppm)	1.4
Sports Action Shot (secs)	43.81
Color Photo Quality	Very Good

Grayscale Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
Tested Grayscale Speed (ppm)	2.9
4 by 6 Grayscale Photo (secs)	20.61
Grayscale Output Quality	Very Good

Lineart Printing (Plain Paper, Best Settings)
Tested Lineart Speed (ppm)	2.4
300dpi Line Art Image (secs)	24.53
Line Art Output Quality	Fair

Features

Good: 78

Memory (in MB)
RAM Installed	32
Maximum Amount of RAM	32

Dimensions
Dimensions	17.7-by-14.5-by-5.7
Weight (pounds)	14.04

Vendor Rated Speeds
B&W Pages per Min.	B&W PPM:36
Color Pages per Min.	Color PPM:27

Resolutions
Max. B&W dpi	1200-by-1200
Max. Color dpi	4800-by-1200

Language & Emulation
Printer Emulation Type	GDI

Interfaces
Parallel Port	No
Serial Port	No
USB 1.1	Yes
USB 2.0	Yes
Ethernet	Yes
PictBridge	Yes
Other Interfaces	802.11b/g

Drivers
Macintosh	Yes
Windows 98	No
Windows NT	No
Windows 2000	Yes
Windows XP	Yes
Linux	No

Power
Maximum Power Draw (watts)	50
Standby Power Draw (watts)	0

Multifunction Printer Specs
Fax Memory (pages)	0

Paper Handling
Number of Input Trays, Standard	1
Number of Input Trays, Maximum	1
Tray Capacity, pages	150
Maximum Sheets With Optional Paper Trays	150
Manual Feed Slot	No
Maximum Paper Size	Legal
Output Tray Capacity	50

Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years)	One
Parts Warranty (years)	One
Weekday Support Hours	24
Saturday Support Hours	8
Sunday Support Hours	8
Toll-Free Support	Yes

Cost of Operation Inside of Warranty
Cost per Page, Black	0.04
Cost per Page, Color	0.09

Vendor-Supplied Data (in Pages)
Monthly Duty Cycle	5000
Monochrome Ink/Toner Yields	850
Color Ink/Toner Yields	590

Bundled Items
Included Hardware	Ethernet cable, power supply, power cord
Included Software	HP Photosmart Premier software

Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category	More bad news for HP: below-average grades for out-of-box problems and significant problems with its printers. Readers aren’t thrilled with HP’s phone support either.

Reliability of brand's products in this category
Reports of products arriving with problems	Worse than Average
Reports of products with any significant problems	Worse than Average
Reports of problems that render a product unusable	Average
Buyers' rating of products ease-of-use	Average
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category	Average

Service & Support Quality
Time spent holding for phone support	Average
Overall quality of vendor's phone support	Worse than Average
Reports of problems unresolved after contacting service	Average
Overall quality of service	Average

Design

Good: 71

HP Deskjet 6980 Review

by Melissa Riofrio

- In a time when inkjet printers tend to bristle with card slots, LCDs, and other fancy features, HP's Deskjet 6980 sticks to the basics. Its peppy overall speed and very respectable print quality suit it for a business-minded small or home office.

Read Complete Review »

User Reviews for HP Deskjet 6980

Reviewed by: Dossett

Duration of ownership: 1 Month

Strengths: The HP deskjet 6980 prints documents and photos quickly. The printer rectangular style and deep blue color is attractive.

Weaknesses: HP has chosen to use HP PhotoSmart software to operate the 6980 Deskjet which has created problems in printing documents. The print, even after utilizing several printing options, is over saturated and the print is not crisp and clear. My older HP Deskjet 5550 performed much better in printing documents. I've printed a few photos with the 6980 and find the clarity is crisp and clear, however skin color comes out too light... without the warmth one would normally see in a photo.

Overall Evaluation: HP has made a mistake to use PhotoSmart as the deskjet operation software. HP needs to review the attributes of the software used in the HP deskjet 5550 and its subsequent models that were superb in printing documents and photos. The printing technology of the 6980 has improved overall but the software lacks the attributes of its older deskjet models.
Reviewed by: winnerprincess

Duration of ownership: 11 Months

Strengths: speed is good, but not as crisp as others wireless

Weaknesses: It is not recognizing the black ink cartridge. It leaks ink down into the printer. Sometimes pulls more than 1 sheet of paper

Overall Evaluation: I'm on my second HP 6980 printer. It works fine for the first 6 months. After that it is down hill. The HP assistant keeps poping up and will not stop even after adjusting the settings. I purchased a warranty so I will be taking it back.