HP LaserJet 1300 Printer

• Up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpi resolution
• Up to 20 ppm print speed
• 16 MB standard memory, expandable to 80 MB
• First page in just 8 seconds
• USB and parallel interfaces, optional networking

Don''t let your first impression of the LJ 1300 fool you. It does look a bit more like one of HP''s cheapie inkjet or photo printers than the serious B&W laser workhorse that it is.

It''s chintzy-appearing plastic paper tray sticking out of the front and it''s very inexpensive price (...) belies its rather impressive capabilities as a reasonably "heavy duty" home office or small business printer.

I''m a full-time, home-based medical transcriptionist. My printer output averages 5,000-7,500 pages a month -a much higher output demand than most home offices and others who have posted reviews here. Because I work on production, I absolutely require a reliable laser printer.

The reason that I bought the HP 1300 was because a Brother HL-5140 I had recently purchased turned out to be entirely unsatisfactory after only a couple months of use (it''s poorly designed and plagued with paper jams). I knew I should have stuck with HP in the first place.

I have now used the HP 1300 for about a month and printed more than 5,000 pages without a single glitch or paper jam. Yes, I am very careful about how I handle the paper I put into the printer, but I think that''s pretty amazing. And after printing more than 5,000 pages with the small-capacity 13A toner cartridge (which is rated at 2,500 pages), I still have 25% of the toner left.

Over the past years I have used LaserJet 4L and 6P models extensively. The only differences I can discern between them and the current printer is that he HP 1300 is quieter and a whole lot faster. And, contrary to the observations of some reviewers here, I have found the print quality among all three to be consistenly excellent.

I don''t give a 5-star rating easily, but the HP 1300 has earned it.

THE PROS:

1. Initial setup (at least for me, using a parallel port connection with both DOS and Windows drivers) was incredibly quick and simple. Anyone who has trouble installing this printer (as mentioned in a couple of other reviews here) probably didn''t bother to read the instructions.

2. I found the online documentation to be quite adequate, and the online "Toolbox" is an extremely useful tool for both customizing the printer and monitoring its current status.

3. If output speed is what you''re looking for, the HP 1300 delivers with HP''s "instant-on fuser technology." No more waiting for the laser printer to warm up between jobs. For me, this "first page out" time is as important as the rated print speed.

4. Paper of all kinds, including envelopes, run through it without any problems, and the print quality is excellent.

5. It''s about as quiet as any laser printer I''ve ever used.

6. The HP 1300 appears to be VERY well designed and built for very hard use. Changing the toner cartridge couldn''t be easier.

THE CONS:

1. I remains to be seen if the HP 1300 will stand up to my very rigorous use as well as my old LaserJet 6P, which has over 120,000 pages through it and is still going strong.

2. As noted by another reviewer, like nearly all laser printers, it does tend to curl the top and bottom edges of the printed pages a bit sometimes, which can be a bit annoying. However, this characteristic is common to nearly all laser printers, and it depends a lot on temperature, humidity, and the type of paper you''re using.

All in all, an absolutely fantastic, reasonably heavy-duty printer, and a terrific bargain for(...).

Bob

Buy HP LaserJet 1300 Printer Now

This HP pretty much delivers its money''s worth. The paper tray holds a decent sized 250 pages, but the strength of the printer remains it''s speed. I use it from home and probably print 300-600 pages a week. It has no problems dealing with the output, though it does sound like there''s a lawn mower loose in the house every time it kicks into action. If you live next to Benedictine Monks or a Yoga school, you''re probably going to need something a little more mindful of neighbors, but otherwise, this is a powerful workhorse. Sure, it''s just black and white, but if you''re looking for efficiency, not a bad choice. The previous reviewer mention a problem with quality of print. I just don''t see it. I tried smudging the pages with my fingers, running them underwater, giving them to the dog, but the print survived. I even do professional work off it, and still, fail to see the problem. I can''t imagine finding anything better in the same range.

Read Best Reviews of HP LaserJet 1300 Printer Here

Works well. Thus far I''m quite happy with it.

I really like the 10 page manual feed `tray'' that sits on top of the regular paper tray cover. Great if you need to print a booklet or a small duplex job since you don''t have to take all the paper out. Also great for reusing paper that has been printed on one side for those small print jobs that you''ll throw away anyway like rough drafts etc.

With the guides set properly, I haven''t experienced any of the crooked printing reported by other reviewers. The manual tray paper guides slide easily so you''ll need to keep an eye on them.

Some reviewers have mentioned that the print is too light. At default settings the printing is a bit lighter than my old HP LaserJet 5L however this can be easily fixed by bumping up the toner density from 3 to 4 (on a scale of 1 to 5). Note: this will increase the per page cost as you will be using more toner. Unfortunately, this feature is not very well documented in the manual. It''s accessed through the HP Toolbox > Advanced Print Settings > Print Quality.

No printed manual is included so you''ll have to print it yourself (172 pages). Alas, the lack of a printer manual is par for the course these days. When I first tried to print the manual, I got a fatal error (all three lights on) about 20 pages into the job and had to turn off the printer and reboot my computer before I could print again. Fortunately, this has not happed since and I''ve now printed a total of 476 pages. The manual is ok but could be a lot more detailed and better laid out so as not to waste paper. Some critical stuff is in the README file.

HP recommends a "software first install" which means you install the drivers first and then connect the printer when prompted during the installation.

One piece of advice: use the custom install feature and install both the PCL and PS drivers (only the PCL is installed by default). The PS driver gives substantially better results printing PDF''s. With the PCL driver some PDF pages suffer from dropouts and the text looks terrible, however they print perfectly with the PS driver. You will also need the HP toolbox as it is the only way to access printer features such as Toner Density (unless you have the 1300n with the LIO print server.)

If you need to add the PS driver after you have installed the HP Printing system things get a little tricky. Read the "known issues" in the README file. Basically, if using the CD, "Be sure to select the HP toolbox and the print driver you wish to install," otherwise it will delete the HP Toolbox. This is completely counter intuitive as one figures that once the Toolbox is installed it need not be installed gain. I made this mistake and subsequent attempts to "modify the existing installation" by adding the missing components had everything installed but I still couldn''t use the web update feature. Hence I removed everything and reinstalled it from scratch.

Want HP LaserJet 1300 Printer Discount?

If you are looking to buy LaserJet 1300 (or its cheaper sibling, 1150), take a look at newly released LaserJet 1160 and 1320. They address some of 1150 and 1300''s biggest shortcomings while being nicer looking. I have used LaserJet 1300 for several months and while I think it is a decent printer, I am not a fan of protruding paper tray (it reminds me of old DeskJet printers) and its output bin tends to curl papers when 50 or so pages are stacked.

After playing with both 1160 and 1320, I got 1160 (refer to my LaserJet 1160 Amazon review). Both 1160 and 1320 look more like a laser printer while still maintaining small footprint. LED status lights are still cryptic, but they are now clearly labeled. Although multifunction input tray can accept only 1 sheet at a time (1150 and 1300 accepted 10 sheets), the paper handling is improved overall and output bin is more robust. And output quality is crispier, with better defined text and graphics.

I came online just to check prices for this printer, since mine just flamed out and I wanted to see how much I''d originally spent on it. I was startled to see other reviews detailing *exactly* what happened to my 1300... steaming along just fine until about year 2, then paper jams, crackling noises, shredded rollers and the works.

The printer worked like a champ for as long as it lasted, but once the crackling sound hits, as mentioned in another review, it''s time for a new printer.