Product Review: Hewlett-Packard 1020 LaserJet Printer

I used to buy cheap inkjet printers that loused up print jobs and cost me a small fortune in ink cartridges. Not being one who enjoyed refilling ink cartridges with a do-it-yourself kit, I bought ink cartridges at thirty dollars a pop (minimum!), only have them dry up in record time, no matter how frugal I was with printing. The print quality of the inkjet printers I'd been using left much to be desired- smudges, blobs, fuzzy text. It wasn't something suitable for professional use, or even for my academic purposes. So, after going through three annoying printers in five years, I decided to succumb to my desire to have a reliable laserjet printer.

So I went to Office Depot, and lo, there it was- the Hewlett-Packard 1020 LaserJet model, on sale for $135.

I've always had good experiences with HP printers- most of the companies I'd worked for used HP printers, and they didn't seem to have problems (unlike the company copiers). I was, truth be told, hoping that I could find a reasonably priced HP laserjet printer, but I assumed that a quality printer like an HP would be out of my price range. When I saw the price of the HP 1020, I grabbed it. Literally. It was the last one, and I was scared that the other people in the printer aisle with me would notice the smoking deal and grab it while I stood there, neurotically deliberating.

Skepticism kicked in, however, when I got to the register and the cashier told me that I'd need to buy a toner cartridge, as the cartridge included with the printer was a "tester" cartridge good for only about 15 prints. Wondering aloud if I'd gotten myself into yet another printer ink rip-off situation, I handed over another seventy-something dollars for a toner cartridge and left the store with the slightest twinge of buyer's remorse. Two years later, that "tester" cartridge is still alive and well and printing like the Little Toner Cartridge That Could. I wonder if I'll ever get around to using the replacement.