HP PhotoSmart 8450 Inkjet Printer

5 comments

1. 

   Mel Irizarry on September 2, 2010 at 6:29 am

   I picked the 8450 up after my Canon i950 died. I initially set it up in the kitchen so my wife could try it out. It’s been 5 days now and the printer is still in the kitchen. With the media card slots and on board photo editing my wife has no need to use a computer. The red-eye removal works better than any software package I have ever used. The photos that print out are extremely close to that of dye-sublimation printers. The only cartridge that runs out the fastest is the Gray cartridge #100. The tri-color #97 and the photo color #99 are still reporting 3/4 full. This is after printing around (40) 4×6 photos and (15) 8.5 x 11 full page prints.

   Definately use the HP Glossy paper. I originally printed on the leftover Canon Photo Paper Plus which was impressive. When I tried the HP Glossy paper, I was blown away by the difference. The Canon paper had a yellowish tinge to it which covered up the light pinks and blues, and the flesh tones looked a bit jaundiced. The HP paper brought out the colors as I have never seen before. Absolutely perfect right down to the subtle pinks in the flesh tones.

2. 

   Brad C on September 2, 2010 at 8:38 am

   I purchased an HP8450 over the holidays to produce some photos as gifts. For years I worked in photography, and I consider myself a professional with professional standards. I had actually very seriously considered just getting an HP 7960 printer as they are now clearanced in the US and available for about $150. The 8450 still hovers at a premium price of around $250, though I bought mine on sale for $220. In the past I’ve owned lower-end HPs, two Epsons which, due to their heads clogging after two months, I vowed never to buy Epson again, despite some excellent output while they’re working. The Canon’s are supposedly excellent printers, but the models I looked at seemed to be lacking in onboard features and had some ergonomic problems (like “push and click” doors that wouldn’t stay closed) that were bothersome enough for me to eliminate them as a choice. HP’s former top-of-the-line photo printer, the 7960 has recieved unanimous, excellent reviews and it’s now lowered price makes it a very attractive option. But heading down to Staples, I had the chance to lay my eyes on the 8450. It just looked so much more solid than the 7960 that I had to find out if it was going to offer any improvements in photo quality. There are some comparison photos available at Photo-i (an excellent review site based in the UK) showed there was some difference between the two printers http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/printers/HP%208450/page-3.htm . The 7960 looked a bit over-sharped, resulting in some jaggedness, as compared to the 8450’s smooth (and somewhat off-putting) unfocused look. But as the reviewer points out here, these are huge blow-ups. For those who took away the same erroneous impression as I did, let me say that I’ve never seen crisper images from any photo printer I’ve owned than the 8450. They are really stunning. The pics from my Canon G2 have never looked better. Certainly better than any photo lab I’ve recently use (albeit generic services). Any fears of losing sharpness in gaining smoother prints were quickly abated when I began putting the 8450 through its paces. Now, how did the 7960 compare to the 8450? I think that’s what’s on a lot of people’s mind considering which HP, at the moment. Honestly I could only do a rudimentary comparison at Staples, but it was enough to give me that final steer towards the 8450 (although it’s superior build had already nudged me towards that precipice). The test anyone can run is using the HPs built-in sample photo — one of those dreaded flower shots (why do manufacturers always insist on sticking flowers in my face. Are all photographers closet horticulturists?). I ran a printhead cleaning on both machines and then printed out the built-in test photo onto a sheet of HP Premium that had strayed nearby. Even from this little test, the 8450 appeared (to me) to best the 7960 in clarity. The stamin of the orchid was much better defined. All I can attribute this to might be the 8450 being a bit more precise in delivering its ink, resulting in better definition. Both samples looked very good, but the 8450 just shone more realistically. I studied the samples for 10 minutes, trying to give a reason for liking the 8450 print, whereas, at home, my wife picked up the two-side test print and immediately declared the 8450 the winner. Enuf said, I guess. I purchased the 8450 a half hour later. Eight prints later at home, I’m really in love with the printer. It’s the FIRST time I haven’t had to burn sheet after sheet of paper to get what I see on the screen. Almost true WYSIWYG color printing on my eMac 1.5ghz without any fudging with print settings. I think this is the printer’s greatest strength. If you’ve ever tried getting acurate color from your computer screen to your prints, you know how hard is can be (plus a waste of ink and paper). The HP 8450 is the first printer I’ve ever owned that does it almost perfectly without any tinkering. It’s absolutely simple to turn out a great prints straight out of the box. Great quality, combined with sturdy HP technology. A winning combination.

   Side Notes: Inks ARE somewhat expensive. The gray HP 100 (about $25, and nearly impossible to find the cheaper) cartridge only let me print about 13 8×10 prints (and not heavy in black areas) before running out. I’m not very happy with this aspect of the printer. The other tri-colour cartridges have about 60% of their ink left, so be prepared to be buying additional gray cartridges. I really wish Hewlett Packard would put more ink into their supplies, it’s not very fair to the consumer. It would cost them a few pennies, instead of multiple dollars for the customer.

   It’s for this reason I am giving an otherwise excellent product four stars.

   Final Note: The HP software that comes with the printer is excellent under Mac OSX. Connectivity and ease is excellent. BUT… the additional HP printing software, namely the printing utility that lets you create “album pages”, uses a terrible algorithm when resizing or rotating prints. I’d say you lose about 20% of your print quality; it’s terribly noticable. If you want to resize or rotate your prints, you’re much better off sticking with iPhoto.
   

3. 

   James Borton on September 2, 2010 at 8:53 am

   When I first saw this powerhouse printer on the shelves at CompUSA I couldn’t believe they had replaced the 7960 printers already, but after further investigation, I found that this new model had some great improvements. Print quality is a bit better than last years models in that the colors seem more vibrant, and accurate to what the camera saw. The print speeds have jumped nicely, and the product itself feels more rugged. HP has thought of everything with this model. They included an Ethernet adapter in the unit to allow me to plug it right into my home network, and simplified the many options in the front of the printer for one touch printing, no PC necessary. The sales rep I spoke with also stated that they have found the new inks to last longer, so I won’t be purchasing ink as often. He also said the pictures won’t fade for over 100 years. I am very impressing with this printer! It has taking digital imaging to a new level at home.

4. 

   C. Bailey on September 2, 2010 at 11:51 am

   I have been an HP fan for a long time. I picked up this printer a couple of days ago and so far, I have been very impressed. The Photosmart 8450 is an 8-ink printer just like the Photosmart 7960 which this printer replaces. I have owned a 7960 for over a year now and have been very happy with it. When I saw this model, I wasn’t planning on replacing my current printer but the 8450 is network ready, a feature that I could really use. On first impressions, this printer is extremely well built, even more solid than it’s predecessor. The photos that I printed off so far have been every bit as good if not better than the 7960 and in less time. The interface is very easy to use and it makes it simple to select multiple prints on a single page. No matter what type of digital camera you have, this printer will be compatible with it. It has card slots for all memory types as well as a PictBridge port for easy printing from a digital camera. I expect this printer will give me the same satisfaction as the one before.

5. 

   Kymy on September 2, 2010 at 1:26 pm

   My hubby got this for me for my birthday & I LOVE it!!! It is easy to use, fast & high qaulity. And one of my favorite parts is that the cartriges can be refilled with the refill kits from costco which saves TONS of $! I also love the fact that I can use it even if my computer is turned off.

   The only problem I had was when installing the HP photo editing software on my HP computer! But is works fine with out it!

   This is a great investment. I have asked people & they can’t tell the differnce between the pics I printed, and the ones that I had printed else where! I have saved over $100 in the last 5 months just from printing my own instead of getting prints made at a store!