Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 930C review

Billed as the ultimate photo-quality replacement for the DeskJet 815C, Hewlett Packard's DeskJet 930C takes on board many of the new features of its very capable stablemate, the 970Cxi.

And it's on a mission: it wants to show both Lexmark and Epson a clean pair of heels in the race to be the best photo printer. If it is to be successful in this bid, the 930C will have to fend off some pretty impressive contenders. The most noteworthy are the similarly priced Lexmark Z51 and Epson Stylus Color 760 - both produce exceedingly good photo-realistic prints.

HP's hopes its knockout punch will be the 2400x1200dpi photo mode intended for printing onto its glossy or matt specialist photo papers. Don't be swayed by these big resolution figures, though - the question is what the end result actually looks like.

The 930C follows the styling of the 970Cxi - gone, though, is the rigid paper tray, to be replaced by a space saving flip-up 100-sheet input tray that feels rather flimsy. The look of the printer is a departure from the HP norm, too, employing soft curves and bolder greys, in stark contrast to the more angular styling of previous models and their regulation battleship grey.

Control layout is bold, with decent-sized buttons to hand at the top right of the printer, and the interface connections are easily accessible just over the hump of the lid, should some fiddling be required. New to the LED indicator bank is a low-ink warning lamp - which was a glaring omission on previous models. All good stuff.

Installation should be a breeze, especially using the USB connection. In the event, it turned out not to be, as my PC refused to detect the presence of the printer until I rebooted. This might sound pretty normal but, in theory at least, USB devices should be detected as soon as they're plugged in.

HP claims that the 930C is a quiet printer, which it is - very quiet, in fact. You'd hardly know it was working at all, if it wasn't for the slight creak of a spring as it gobbles a sheet of paper. Printing a full A4 photo at top resolution onto HP's specialist Glossy paper, though, takes a total of 5mins 30s - 50% longer than the Epson 760 (at 3mins 42s). True, that's at the 2400x1200 resolution, but under the magnifying glass the dots don't look any smaller than either the Lexmark or Epson's. That said, its output is really very nice on pure photographs.

The same, though, can't be said of mixed text and graphics printing. Our standard newsletter looked positively awful printed at top resolution onto both glossy and matt paper - the headline and shading colours simply didn't match properly. At this resolution, too, skin tones are quite unrealistic. At 600x600, however, mixed-mode printing is handled better - and it's quicker, to boot!

The HP is not as capable as either the Epson 760 or Lexmark Z51 when it comes to high-resolution printing, so it won't appeal to the digital imaging aficionado. Its strength lies instead in general workhorse printing and reliability. If you ignore the 2400x1200 mode (which, if you never buy any fancy paper, you'll have to), then the DJ930C is a competent and comfortable printer that will serve the average family for the life of their PC.