Laser printers have traditionally been more expensive to purchase and less expensive to operate than ink jet printers. Now, however, with the Officejet Pro 8000, HP is bucking that trend. They say that when used with HP’s high-capacity cartridges, this Officejet ink jet printer has a 50% lower cost per page than comparable laser printers and the list price is only USD 179. So we set out to see if this ink jet printer lived up to the hype and if it was truly a worthwhile purchase.

As expected, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 comes in a large box, shown in Figure 1.

click to enlarge
Figure 1: The box.

Inside the box is the printer itself. It is shown in Figure 2 with the paper tray extended. The duplexer, power cable, USB cable, Quick Start guide, small manual, and software, shown in Figure 3, are also included.

click to enlarge
Figure 2: The HP Officejet Pro 8000 with tray extended.

click to enlarge
Figure 3: The box contents.

Also included are four ink cartridges and two print heads, shown in Figure 4.

click to enlarge
Figure 4: Ink cartridges and print heads.

The printer itself is two-tone device with a white base and large portions of black accents. It is made of thick plastic giving the printer a sturdy look and feel. The lines are curved, which also gives the printer a nice visual effect. However, the two different colors accentuate the fact that this printer is quite large. As shown in Figure 2, with the paper tray at the front extended and the duplexer on the back, the printer is a full 24” (61 cm) deep. It is 19.5” (49.5 cm) wide. So your first chore will be to make sure you have room for it.