INK & TONER
HP DeskJet 6940 Review
 
Editor's Review
HP DeskJet 6940 by Geoff Coldiron 08/24/2010 OVERVIEW: The HP DeskJet 6940 is an excellently versatile and cost-effective home printing solution with extra features, faster print speeds, enhanced network capabilities and impressive resolution. Higher paper hold capacity and higher ink yields make printing more convenient and boast a reduced consumable cost per page, as well as a reduced price tag. One would be hard pressed to find a printer that can yield better quality and efficiency at a better price.
Editor's Pros & Cons
PROS: Print speeds for the HP DeskJet 6940 are an incredible 36 pages per minute for black and white and 27 pages per minute for color printing, at draft quality and letter sizes. Print resolutions are selectable up to 1200 x 1200 dots per inch for black and white and up to a software-optimized 4800 dots per square inch for color. A rated 5000 page monthly duty cycle makes this printer capable of handling smaller volume production for personal hobbies and small home business needs. Three print cartridges can be installed at once, allowing for greater versatility and quality of output, and an optional gray cartridge is added to the mix of possibilities. A 150 sheet paper input tray stacked with a 50 sheet output tray are designed to handle print jobs with minimal movement of internal working parts, making for a more efficient process that uses less power. Automatic duplex printing makes it possible to easily print on both sides of a page. Borderless printing is also possible on sheets with sizes up to 8.5" by 24" for enhanced image output results that make it possible to print professional quality posters, flyers and other marketing media. It's like having a small print shop in your home. A wide variety of media sizes are accommodated, from 3" by 5" photo and card stock to 8.5" by 24" plain paper, in both standard and custom sizes. Media types include plain, banner and glossy photo paper, envelopes, labels, cards, borderless photo and borderless panorama. Standard connectivity includes one USB and one Ethernet connection and an optional Bluetooth wireless adapter and be purchased as an add-on. A built-in Ethernet controller allow for connection to a network as a separate shared device, without the need to go through a print server or centralized PC. TCP/IP protocols make this unit discoverable on a LAN network as an independent network resource. The HP DeskJet 6940 is Windows 7 ready, making connection to a newer computer quick and easy. Software and driver compatibility extends to all currently active Windows versions, as well as Mac OS X. This unit is designed to consume very little power, only 50 Watts when fully operational, and is very quiet, which makes it ideal for home use. A small dimensional footprint and light weight make it possible to set this printer up in virtually any work space, on a table, or on or under a desk. CONS: Like a lot of other ink jet printers, the HP DeskJet 6940 requires purchase of a separate tri-color photo ink cartridge in order to utilize this unit's full photo printing capabilities. LAN network implementation is less than user friendly, requiring a basic knowledge of networking and TCP/IP protocols. The supplied drivers and wizards do not successfully integrate this printer into a network with a centralized server and they cannot be installed on any server operating system. Manual configuration by an IT-savvy individual is essential to utilize full networking capabilities. Paper weights are extremely limited, with a narrow range of 16 to 24 pounds, due to internal hardware components that are designed to increase output speed by handling lighter paper. As a result of this design, the paper feeder will often load two sheets at once.
INK/TONER NEEDS:
There are four different ink cartridges available for this model, which comes with one black and one tri-color cartridge in the box for starters, both of which are maximum yield. Of the replacement cartridges that can be purchased, average page yields are: 860 for black, 560 for tri-color, 130 for photo and 80 for gray. 
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INKJET CARTRIDGE
