HP LaserJet P1005 review

HP's submission to this month's roundup has the dubious distinction of being the joint most expensive printer to run. But where we're just about willing to forgive the Samsung ML-1630W for its stylish lines and wireless functions, the HP LaserJet P1005 isn't so lucky.

Although the printer is quite cheap to buy at £72 exc VAT, you'll soon find yourself regretting your penny-pinching ways as the low-capacity starter cartridge (700 pages) and costly replacements (£44 per 1,500 pages) begin to rack up. In the end, after 10,000 pages only two printers will have cost you more - the far more capable Lexmark E260dn and the Samsung ML-1630W.

Things begin to look up with the print quality, which is above average. Text at all usable font sizes is crisp and black with characters that are well-formed, and photographic output - although a little grainy - is free from banding.

But alas, the good news doesn't last long. Print speed is sluggish at a rated 14ppm and although the HP meets these claims for plain text, with a quick processing time of only two seconds our more demanding tests had it floundering. We waited a painful 50 seconds before it started to print our 12-page Excel spreadsheet, although it did manage to churn through those pages at a rate of 12ppm once it decided to start. Our 24-page DTP document slowed it further to 9ppm.

The final nail in the coffin of this printer, though, is the quality of the opposition: the P1005 is simply too expensive, too slow and too basic to compete. In this price bracket, Brother's HL-2035 beats it hands down in every conceivable department.

Author: Jonathan Bray