Print USB, All In One Laserjet Supplies and More …

by brewbooks

HP’s recent Photosmart C5380 is an excellent high quality product, which has hardly any negatives and it is one of the best multifunctions for the selling price and a fantastic investment for families.

Very little has altered visually from the C5380′s forerunners. This device has exactly the same gloss white fascia of HP’s other inkjet models, having a basic control scheme along with a small colour LCD for PC-less operation.

USB 2.0 is the single connection option. Still, the unit does offer an integrated memory card reader, together with support for MemoryStick, SD, xD, CompactFlash cards and a secondary USB port for usage with PictBridge-capable products.

What the C5380 is short of in connectivity, it more than compensates for in print quality. We’ve had difficulties with the caliber of previous HP inkjets however the C5380 is a transparent indicator of change in this respect. Text documents are very clear as well as legible, and are comparable in quality to correspondingly priced mono laser printers. Colour documents that have graphical elements are better still, thanks to clear text accompanied by accurate and also vivid colours.

Pictures have fantastic, vibrant colours, surpassing the output of Canon’s. The C5380 is among the very first mid-range inkjet printers we’ve encountered that’s not liable to any banding conditions. The outcome is an excellent quality picture, unmarred by the concerns commonly associated with inkjet equipment. The sole small niggle we had with the C5380′s quality was signs of the print rollers’ track marks observable under direct light. Basically, the C5380 provides the best print quality we have observed at this kind of low cost point.

The C5380′s print speed is also very impressive. A draft quality text document will print at an average 20.6 pages a minute, with the first page out in 15.3 seconds, slowing to 10.9ppm at normal quality. Graphical documents are just a little slower, with draft quality documents printing at 18.75ppm and also normal quality documents at 6.3ppm. Picture printing rates are a bit slower: an ordinary 4x6in picture will print in 27sec, plus an A4 picture at regular quality prints in 1min 14sec. Although these rates aren’t the quickest we’ve noticed, the C5380 prints more quickly on a more uniform basis than other products. The caliber of CD/DVD printing is impressive. Quality is very dependent on the printable media used, nevertheless the printer managed to churn out high quality CDs as well as DVDs. Colours aren’t as radiant as photographs created by the unit, yet detail levels continue to be reasonably high. The media we employed in the course of screening was somewhat liable to smudging in dark colours, yet generally we were satisfied with the results.

The enclosed software is outstanding; as a result of an easy-to-follow procedure which directs the user through media selection, template design and style, picture and text editing and print choices. There aren’t all-encompassing choices – Canon’s proprietary software gives extra room for photo and also text customisation – but for many users this should not be an issue.

Despite this printer’s quality, consumables aren’t excessively pricey. With four high-capacity HP Photosmart C5380 printer cartridges it’s not the most cost effective multifunction available, however it is not going to hurt your wallet either.

The only real drawback of the C5380 is it’s scanning. Detail is not scarce at an optical resolution of 4800dpi – and this definitely helps very detailed white and black scans – however scanned images are largely under-saturated, producing images paler than their source. The C5380′s scanner can become annoying. Though the cover’s hinges can move a bit to permit scanning of thicker material, they’re not adaptable enough to fit a thick book without danger of breaking.

HP Photosmart C5380 printer ink cartridges are available here.

This is a recorded presentation of Software Shelf’s Print Manager Plus Academic Edition. (Watch full video here: www.softwareshelf.com ) The video was recorded through a GoTo Meeting session. The presentation fully shows the ability and print management features of Print Manager Plus. The product is a Print Monitor software package for Windows Server and Workstation. The print audit capabilities of the product with it’s powerful quota and restriction policies allows schools, universities, and non-profit organizations save money on their printing expenses.
Video Rating: 0 / 5

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