HP Photosmart 7960 Printer

The HP PhotoSmart 7960 features HP's exclusive photo resolution enhancement technology: HP PhotoREt Pro utilizes eight-ink printing, ultra small ink drops, true neutral grays, and photo blacks to print everything from professional color images to impressive black-and-white prints with accurate shadow detail. The eight colors come from the No. 59 gray photo cartridge with two shades of gray ink and a special photo black; from the No. 57 tri-color cartridge with cyan, magenta, and yellow; and from the No. 58 photo cartridge with photo cyan and photo magenta (the black in the No. 58 is not used for eight-color printing).

Designed for PC and Mac users alike, the 7960 also offers two USB ports and four memory card slots, so you can print images directly from your digital camera. And, the built-in 2.5-inch LCD lets you preview, edit, and even remove red-eye from images before you print. The printer offers versatile paper handling through it's standard 100-sheet paper tray and built-in 20-sheet 4-by-6-inch photo tray. It also supports an optional duplexing accessory. The 7960 is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty.

What's in the Box
HP PhotoSmart 7960 photo printer, HP 56 black inkjet print cartridge (19ml) C6656AN, HP 57 tri-color inkjet print cartridge (17ml) C6657AN, HP 58 photo inkjet print cartridge (17ml) C6658AN, HP 59 gray inkjet print cartridge (17ml) C9359AN, power supply, Basics guide and setup poster, CD-ROM with HP Photo & Imaging software for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh, HP Memories Disc Creator software, HP media sampler; USB cable not included

Product Description
CL) AA) HP PHOTOSMART 7960 PRINTER

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.


Excellent HP Printer as usual!   September 23, 2003
Jim (South Lyon, Michigan)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

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!!


Excellent Printer   November 24, 2004
Erik M. Thiesemann (CA, USA)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

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


does a great job   October 7, 2003
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

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.


cannot find a flaw yet   December 22, 2004
Margaux Paschke (New York)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

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.