by psaulm119 - Written: Nov 19 '07 (Updated Nov 23 '07)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Paper Handling:
Pros: Fast, reasonably quiet, great deal for the money
Cons: Doesn't have a re-set the print job button. Very unsatisfactory rebate experience with Hewlett-Packard.
The Bottom Line: I'd buy this for my mother if she wanted a laser. It is easy to use, works flawlessly and hasn't jammed on me yet in well over 3000 pages.
psaulm119's Full Review: Hewlett Packard LaserJet 1018 Printer
I decided to get this laserjet after reading negative reviews of starter units of other companies. This unit didn't have the specs (specifically, the speed) that other units did, but after using an inkjet all my life, its 12 pages per minute seem incredibly fast. And yes it does work quite well with Vista.
It has been very very reliable. I've had it about a month, and I've gone through a few thousand pages. I've never had any problems with the machine at all. It is fairly quiet, and doesn't cause the lights in the room to blink (like other printers did, at least according to some reviews). It is fairly small, not taking up too much space on my small computer desk.
It is very easy to replace the toner. You simply lift up the flap on the top of the printer, and pull out the toner that has a small handle sticking out. It slips right out; you slip the new one in--no problem.
I read that some folks were having problems with their lasers producing pages with curved edges (not this one, but lasers in general). This hasn't happened at all with mine; I read that this happens primarily in moist climates--I live in a desert. At any rate, like I said, this problem hasn't happened with me and the 1018.
After using up the starter toner that came with the unit, I started using "remanufactured" toner. HP charges some $60-70 for their toner that is supposed to last 2500 pages. I'm getting cartridges for under $25 at amazon that are lasting me at least in the low 2000s if not more. One more thing--when your pages start to fade, indicating you need to replace the toner--try shaking it a few times, then sticking it back in. It goes a while longer that way.
The only thing I don't like about it is that when you run out of paper, there isn't any button to press on the printer to start it working again. You have to go to your monitor and click on a window that pops up--not a problem, but on Vista, this makes my laptop display fade to black for several seconds--a bit of an annoyance.
If you don't have a USB cable, don't forget to buy one. Newegg sells them for about 6 bucks including shipping. Most printers don't come with them, but if you are a first-time buyer you might not realize that.
One more negative--the $65 price was AFTER the rebate, which over 2 1/2 months later, I still haven't gotten. I've had to make multiple calls on three separate occasions to get the rebate processed accurately. I hate having to work so hard to get these companies to fulfill their end of the deal,but my only other option was to pay full price, so I went ahead and decided to play the rebate game again.
In short--if I had to buy one again, I'd buy the 1018 without a moment's hesitation.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $65 (rebate) Operating System: Windows
HP SERIAL ATA/150 INTERNAL HARD DRIVE - 40GB - 150MBPS SERIAL ATA - SERIAL ATA/150 - SERIAL ATA - INTERNAL Works with the following models: Hewlett Pa...More at Amazon Marketplace
Smoothly print documents containing text, images, and graphics with the 234MHz processor and 2MB of memory. Print up to 12 pages per minute and waste ...More at eBay
HP SERIAL ATA/150 INTERNAL HARD DRIVE - 40GB - 150MBPS SERIAL ATA - SERIAL ATA/150 - SERIAL ATA - INTERNAL Works with the following models: Hewlett Pa...More at Amazon
PriceTool.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources,
so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
