Introduction

Product Tour

Front

Side

Back

Ink Cartridges

The Deskjet 1000 uses two ink cartridges: one for black and one for color. The HP type 61 black cartridge costs about $16 and, HP claims, will cover about 190 pages. The HP 61 color cartridge costs about $21, and covers about 165 pages. Higher capacity versions of both are available: the HP61XL black ink cartridge costs about $28 and can print about 480 pages, while the HP 61XL color ink cartridge costs about $30 and can manage about 330 pages.

In the Box

As well as the printer itself, you get: 

• Power supply
  
• HP 61 black and color ink cartridges
  
• HP carrying bag

Not included is a USB cable or paper: you have to supply your own.

Setup and Software

Setup & Manuals

The Deskjet 1000 is a simple printer to set up. The process involves unpacking the printer, installing the ink cartridges, installing the software and connecting the printer when prompted. We found that the whole process took about 20 minutes from start to finish. The process is described in a  setup poster that is included with the printer, with more in-depth detail from the on-screen manual that is installed with the drivers and software. We found both to be adequate: they cover the detail of installing and using the printer with a good level of detail. A PDF version of the user and reference guide are available here.

Drivers

The software install CD contains drivers for both Windows and Mac users: the images below are from the Mac version.

Software ***(5.0)

TA limited selection of software is supplied on the install CD for this printer. As part of the install process, you are also able to download an additional software package, available for both Mac and Windows users: HP Photo Creations.

Print Speed

Photo Print Speed

The Deskjet 1000 is not a fast printer: printing in the Best mode onto photo paper, we found that it took 58.4 seconds to produce a 4 by 6 print, and 3 minutes, 21 seconds to produce a 10 by 8. The printer does not support borderless printing, so there is always a white border around images, with the maximum print size for 4 by 6 paper being 3.74 by 5.33 inches and 8.55 by 9.3 inches for a 10 by 8. This means that there is always a white border around your prints, and this border is bigger at the bottom of the print. On a 10 by 8 print, this bottom border measures a significant .4 inches, turning your 10 by 8 print into a 9.4 by 7.6 inch one.

If you are determined to squeeze out every last drop of quality, the printer does offer a higher quality mode: the Maximum DPI mode slows the printing to provide for more detail in images. But be prepared to wait: it is also very, very slow, taking an average of 3 minutes and 25 seconds to produce a 4 by 6 photo print. For more on how we test print speeds, see this page.

Document Print Speed

The Deskjet 1000 is no speed demon when it comes to printing on plain paper: at the Best quality setting, we found that it took an average of 52.2 seconds to print a page of our test document, which works out at 1.14 pages per minute. That is pretty much in-line with the other cheap inkjets we have looked at, as the table below shows. If you are in a hurry, the Deskjet 1000 also offers faster modes: we clocked the Normal print mode at 2.42 pages a minute and the appropriately named Fast Draft mode at 5.56 pages a minute, all printing onto plain paper. However, the quality of the print does suffer: both the normal and rough draft modes produced significant banding in areas of color.

Print Initialization

The Deskjet 1000 is a simple printer, and it doesn't seem to need to spend much time starting up. We found that it was ready to print just a couple of seconds after pressing the power button, and it didn't spend a lot of time while printing doing anything other than printing the document (such as cleaning print heads, repositioning, etc).

Color Performance

Color Accuracy

In our tests on the accuracy of the colors in the prints that the Deskjet 1000 produced, we found only middling performance. We test color accuracy by printing a chart with 24 known colors on it with a variety of settings: with the color profile offered by the manufacturer and their recommended photo paper, with our own color profile (created with an X-Rite Eye-one Color Match system) on the manufacturers paper and with a custom profile on Ilford Galerie paper. In all of these circumstances, we found that the Deskjet 1000 had only average color accuracy, with several colors being somewhat inaccurate. For more details on how our color accuracy tests are done, see here.

The chart below shows the results: the number in each of the color patches is the CIDE 2000 color difference. The bigger this number, the larger the difference between the original and the printed color is to the eye.

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above may not match the results used for evaluating color accuracy. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the exact printed colors.

Color Gamut

The color gamut of a printer is a measure of the range of colors that a printer can reproduce. The wider this gamut, the better the job the printer can do of displaying the myriad colors that are captured in photos. We measure this as a percentage of the Adobe RGB gamut, and the HP Deskjet 1000 could manage to reproduce 49.15 per cent of the Adobe RGB color gamut, which is a decent score for a low-end printer like this. For more details on how we measure color gamut, see here.

Detail Performance

Depth of Blacks

We found that the Deskjet 1000 was capable of producing deep, dark blacks: we measured the dMax (a measure of the density of the blacks) at 2.56, which is very good for a low-cost printer like this. Having deeper blacks means that photos have more impact:  For more details on how we test the depth of blacks in prints, see here.

Detail

In this section of the review, we look at how well a printer reproduces fine details in prints. We found that the Deskjet 1000 did a decent job here, but there were a few problems, with the printer having some issues reproducing fine details and subtle color changes. Our first test challenges the printer to reproduce a series of color gradients, to see how well it can reproduce subtle color changes.

Next, we test the printer by printing out several images that include subtle details: an etching (of Alice In Wonderland, by John Tenniel), a slanted edge and two small photos. To see the original 6400dpi scan, click on any of the images.

Sample Scan Comparisons

The Deskjet 1000 did a decent job here: the fine details of the Alice etching are well reproduced, and the details of the two faces in the photos are clear. But the slanted edge has a distinct stair-step pattern, and the edge is somewhat soft. Although the details of the faces are clear, the dot pattern of the printer is somewhat pronounced, and the shadow details (such as the dogs brow) are somewhat lost in the black. The same thing is evident in the Alice print: the fringes of her hair and the hatches on her arm are lost to the black. The Deskjet 1000 can produce a good, deep black, but this seems to be at the cost of the loss of some shadow detail.

Inks and Media

Ink/Toner

The Deskjet 1000 uses two ink cartridges: one for black and one for color. The HP type 61 black cartridge costs about $16 and, HP claims, will cover about 190 pages. The HP 61 color cartridge costs about $21, and covers about 165 pages.

Higher capacity versions of both are available: the HP61XL black ink cartridge costs about $28 and can print about 480 pages, while the HP 61XL color ink cartridge costs about $30 and can manage about 330 pages.

The two cartridges fit into the printer carriage that is found underneath the carriage door on the front of the printer. These are easy to install and remove: they snap quickly into place in the carriage, which automatically moves to the center of the opening when the door is opened.

Ink/Toner Management

The driver software keeps a close eye on the ink level, and warns you when it is running low. On a Mac, this uses Growl notifications, not not only to warn you of low ink, but also to warn you about the perils of buying non-HP ink. 

The level can also be checked through the HP Utility software, which also allows you to quickly jump online and order ink directly from HP. The company also offers a system called SureSupply, where information about your printer is transmitted directly to HP to make sure that you order the right ink.

Media

The Deskjet 1000 can handle paper at sizes of up to 8 by 10 inches, as well as letter and legal sized plain paper. Photo paper can also be used, with weights up to 16 lb being supported. However, the Deskjet 1000 does not offer a flat paper path, so it is not suitable for printing on heavyweight card or textured art paper.

Paper Storage

The Deskjet 1000 has only a single printer tray on the back of the printer, which holds up to 60 sheets of paper. This has a single guide that holds the paper in place, which can be adjusted for paper from legal size down to envelopes and 4 by 6 paper. The printed paper is held in a single tray on the front of the printer.

Controls and Connectivity

On-printer Controls

There is only one single button on the printer: the power button on the top left side of the printer body. This is the only control on the printer, and this button also doubles as an error indicator: if the printer has a problem, it flashes the light behind this button.

On-Printer Display

There is no display on this printer.

On-Printer Menus

There are no menus on the printer: everything is controlled through the printer driver running on the computer.

Media Slots

There are no media slots on the printer: photos have to be loaded and printed through a connected computer.

Wireless & Network

There are no wireless or networking features on this printer: it can only be shared or remotely accessed through the controlling computer.

Epson Artisan 50 Comparison

Performance

The Epson had a slight edge in color performance, with significantly more accurate color than the HP. However, the HP had much deeper blacks, although it did use these to excess, loosing some shadow details to the blacks. Although the Epson was more accurate, it did produce colors that looked somewhat dark and gloomy. The bottom line is that neither printer really wowed us in performance terms.

Inks & Media

The HP is restricted to US letter sized paper and below, but the Epson can go slightly larger, handling up to 8.5 by 14 inch paper. The Epson also has the advantage of coming with a tray that allows you to print onto inkjet compatible DVD discs.

In Use

Both printers are simple, straightforward devices that rely on the computer doing most of the hard work. Neither includes any memory card slots or allows for direct printing from a camera: the computer has to be the device that loads and outputs the images to the printer. Both cameras also feel flimsy and cheaply manufactured, with paper trays and covers that would easily break or crack with just a slight amount of pressure.

Canon Pixma iP2702 Comparison

Performance

The Canon Pixma iP2702 had superior color accuracy, but the HP Deskjet 1000 produced deeper and darker blacks, which can give images more impact. We did find that the Canon did a little better at reproducing fine details, though: images printed with this device had a better level of detail, especially in shadows and darker areas of the image.

Inks & Media

Both printers use two ink cartridges: one black and one color cartridge containing three inks (cyan, magenta and yellow). This means that when one of the colors runs out, you have to replace the entire cartridge, even if there is still some of the other colors left.

In Use#####

Both printers are simple, cheap devices that get the computer to do the hard work. There is only a single button on both, with every other control being set through the printer driver. And neither printer driver gives you that much control, although the Canon driver at least allows for some color tweaking, which the HP one does not.

HP Photosmart D7560 Comparison

Performance

These two printers provide an interesting contrast. Neither is a great performer in our tests of color accuracy, but the D7560 is slightly better than the Deskjet 1000. The cheaper Deskjet 1000 has deeper blacks, but this comes at the cost of detail in the printed images: the D7560 did a much better job of rendering the fine details that make an image come alive.

Inks & Media

These two printers take quite a different approach to inks. The Deskjet 1000 only has a single color cartridge, while the D7560 uses separate cartridges for cyan, magenta and yellow, as well as offering a separate black for photo use. The document black ink cartridge is much bigger than the photo ones, so you can get more documents out of a cartridge and are less likely to run out part way through a photo print. The D7560 can also handle larger papers (up to 8.5 by 14 inches) and inkjet printable DVD media.

In Use

The D7560 is the more flexible printer by a long stretch, offering both memory card slots and a small screen that allow it to both print and edit images from a memory card or connected camera. As a way to produce photo prints quickly and easily, this can't be beaten: it is much quicker than loading images into a computer, editing them and then printing them out.

Conclusion

So what does $30 get you these days? Dinner at a cheap restaurant, a couple of DVDs or a HP Deskjet 1000. That certainly makes it one of the cheapest printers available, but whether it represents great value for money depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a simple printer to output documents and the odd photo, it will be fine. If you are looking for a printer that is going to print a lot of stuff or to print out lots of photos, it is a false economy. The best word to describe the Deskjet 1000 is acceptable. The image quality is acceptable, the photo quality is acceptable and the print speed is acceptable. And if that's all you need, then it is a good pick. But if you need fast printing, better image quality or a printer that can work without a computer, it is worth spending more to get a printer that is better suited to your needs.

Performance:

The Deskjet 1000 did not perform badly, but it did not stand out in any of our tests, managing lackluster scores for color accuracy, print speed and detail. The only area where it scored highly was on our dMax test, which looks at the depth of the blacks. Here, we found that this printer did produce deep, dark blacks, but this seemed to come at the cost of the loss of some shadow detail in images.

Inks & Media:

The Deskjet 1000 uses two ink cartridges: a color one and a black one. This means that when one color runs out, you have to replace the entire color cartridge, even if there is still ink remaining in the other colors. The Deskjet 1000 can handle up to US letter sized paper, but it cannot print to DVDs or heavy card or art papers.