HP DeskJet GT 5820: Good ink-jet printer for small entrepreneurs (Tech Review)

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The new HP DeskJet GT series from the global computer peripherals company HP Inc. may bring cheers to small businesses, offering wireless printers with ink tank technology that can print thousands of pages in an efficient and low-cost way.

Here we have the Rs 14,670 HP DeskJet GT 5820 printer that can print up to 8,000 pages with a set of three HP colour bottles and up to 5,000 pages with the HP black pigment ink bottle, with an ink tank that rests outside the machine. The other HP Deskjet GT 5810 printer is available for Rs 13,041.

Here is what works for the HP DeskJet GT 5820 machine.

Sporting an elegant small and matte finish black colour, the machine has a small LCD screen that, unlike some other brands in the market, cuts the bulkiness and does not confuse the customer with too many options on the hardware (though it provides several options in the software).

The company removed the ink tank from inside of the machine and placed it outside -- on the right side of the printer - making it easier for user to not only replenish the ink cleanly (thanks to an innovative spill-free refill system) but also to keep a regular check on the ink levels in the translucent tank.

The ink could be filled by simply plugging the three ink bottles, available for Rs 498 each, into the tank without any squeezing required. The ink would then automatically flow inside the tank.

With the new HP technology, the ink is fade- and smudge- proof. The all-in-one printer and original HP inks deliver sharp text, vibrant graphics and photos that resist water and fading and deliver high-quality photo documents as well.

However, one needs to use the right setting and right paper to get the desired results. For example, set A4 in the settings if you want to take an A4 print as the "letter" setting will not give you good result.

Coloured photos came out fairly well. The black and white prints were crisp, dark and the ink dried as soon as the prints came out from the output desk.

Yet another highlight is its wireless function. There are two ways to get this working: Either connect the printer and smartphone/laptop to a common wireless printer or, while working in an environment without a wireless network, Wi-Fi Direct enables users to directly connect the printer to the mobile device in the office just like smartphone users do with "share it" app nowadays.

Working with cloud? No problems. With the "Remote" app, users can quickly send scans to email or cloud storage through mobile devices. They can easily print from a variety of devices including iPhone and iPad using AirPrint, or smartphones and tablets running Android, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Google Chrome operating systems.

Although the printer is priced a little over Rs 14,000, the cost-per-page (CPP) of HP DeskJet GT 5820 for mono turns out to be 10 paise and for colour print, 19 paise. The total cost of ownership (TCO for nearly five years) is pretty much less than other machines.

The printer delivered six black and white pages per minute and four colour prints and photocopied 20 black and white pages in nearly seven minutes. A fairly good performance in this category.

What doesn't work.

The machine needs good care. Since the ink tank is kept outside, too much shifting may damage the machine.

The problem of ink drying is there. Keep the printer unused for a week and the ink starts to dry up. I had to almost print five pages to get it back to normal.

The high-resolution print on an A4 photo paper took almost one to one-and-half minutes to complete which can be resolved in upcoming models.

Conclusion: Small entrepreneurs looking for a printer for long-term use may go for this as HP Inc has tried to keep the total cost of ownership to the minimum. Also, the printer is not bulky and can fit in minimum space.

(Sourabh Kulesh can be contacted at sourabh.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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