Digital Trends

HP DeskJet 9670

October 27th, 2003 | by Rob Curtis

Performance

All tests were timed with a stopwatch.  Timing started when the click-to-print button was clicked and stopped when printing was complete and the paper on the output tray.

Test 1:

The first round of tests for the 9670 were to time the printing of a typical 10 page MS Word document (black text, no graphics).  We used typical office inkjet printer paper and the HP56 and HP57 ink cartridges. 

MS Word Test 10 Page document results

All six copies of the document presented crisp black text.  The text was solid black with no fading or hollow spots.  In the Fast Draft mode, the 9670 was very fast and as such, the text was obviously lighter but perfectly readable.  There seems to be little trade off with this setting and it is a nice balance of speed and quality.  The 9670 automatic duplex unit performed the two-sided printing without problems.  The money saved in paper supplies is worth the extra wait and certainly beats doing the job manually.

Test 2:

Second round testing involved a typical business MS Excel spreadsheet.  This spreadsheet is in a large 11x17 format and includes color charts and graphs as well as a typical operating statement.  Paper used was 11x17 typical office inkjet printer paper and the HP56 and HP57 ink cartridges.

MS Excel 11x17 spreadsheet results

The 9670 performed all 3 jobs very fast and with excellent quality.  All graphs and charts were of good color contrast with no bleed and the text was nice and crisp.  The edges of the charts were well formed and smooth and no banding was evident in any of the print quality settings. 

Test 3:

Third round testing involved printing of color photos. We installed the HP58 photo ink cartridge and HP Premium Glossy Photo paper. HP included a Sample photo CD that contained images intended for large formats.  We chose the 11x17 image of a beautiful alpine mountain and lake.  Maximum DPI, best print quality, borderless printing and HP Premium Glossy 11x17 photo paper were selected. 

The results were simply stunning.  The long print time was offset by the quality of the print.  All edges were crisp and smooth with no jaggedness and there was no evidence of ink blurriness or bleed.  We shared the print with several other people and all stated that it was a great print and the color quality was very good.  The print was viewed under incandescent and fluorescent lighting with no visible change of quality. 

Phase two, of round three testing, involved printing a family photo on 8x11 and 4x6 print media.  Again, we used the HP58 photo ink cartridge and HP premium photo paper.     

The 9670 performed admirably again.  The quality of both prints was beautiful.  As in the 11x17 print, no banding or jaggedness was found and all edges were smoothly reproduced.  Again, these prints were evaluated under different lighting situations and by multiple people.  All subjects provided favorable reviews of the quality of the prints.

Printer Supplies

The length of time ink cartridges last are always a concern and HP has addressed this with a utility called myPrintMileage.  This consists of a program that runs in the background and monitors your printer usage information, such as ink and media usage patterns, and then autosends this to the myPrintMileage website.  This can help you plan your purchase of supplies.  The myPrintMileage consists of two parts:

- myPrintMileage website

- myPrintMileage AutoSend

From the myPrintMileage website, you can find out the following information about your printer:

- The amount of ink that has been used. myPrintMileage forecasts how many print cartridges you might use in one year.

- Whether you use more black or color ink.

- The average quantity of media you use per month for each media type.

- The number of pages that have been printed and the estimated number of pages that can be printed with the amount of ink remaining.

The website also provides:

- Links to third-party utilities and software.

- Information on the latest digital printing tools, such as Bluetooth and infrared printing.

- Printing tips.

To access the website, click myPrintMileage on the Information tab in the printer toolbox that sits in your system tray.

myPrintMileage AutoSend is a utility that periodically updates your printer usage information to the myPrintMileage website.  This will provide you with a closer forecast of your printer usage.

This utility will be enabled on your system if you accept the terms in the disclaimer on the software installation screen.  The ability to turn AutoSend off is available as well.

The requirements of using myPrintMileage are:

- The Toolbox installed.

- An Internet connection.

- The printer connected.

The current pricing for replacement ink cartridges are (as found of the HP printer supplies website):

HP56 Black $19.99

HP57 Tri-Color $34.99

HP58 Photo $24.99