HP Officejet J6480
Manufacturer: HP Part number: CB029A#ABA
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The HP Officejet J6480 has a lot of built-in features that are rarely found included in a $200 printer. Shoppers looking for an all-inclusive multifunctional unit will be impressed with the robust hardware and rich print quality.
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CNET editors' review
HP Officejet J6480 price range: $143.00 - $179.99
- Reviewed by: Justin Yu
- Edited by: Rich Brown
- Reviewed on: 05/08/2008
- Released on: 04/16/2009
The good: Loads of useful built-in hardware including autoduplexer, auto-document feeder, Optical Character Recognition scanner; painless 802.11g wireless setup; excellent quality text, graphic, and photo prints.
The bad: No PictBridge support; only three autodial fax buttons; slower than average photo prints.
The bottom line: The HP Officejet J6480 has a lot of built-in features that are rarely found included in a $200 printer. Shoppers looking for an all-inclusive multifunctional unit will be impressed with the robust hardware and rich print quality.
The Officejet J6480 is Hewlett-Packard's newest all-in-one printer with a host of features designed to appeal to small-to-midsize businesses that want a low-cost, feature-rich device capable of handling projects across the board. This $200 multifunction printer certainly delivers everything you want in an AIO: Autoduplexing, photo finishing, one-touch faxing, a scanner with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, auto-document feeder (ADF), and built in wireless 802.11g networking. The J6480 includes all these additional features you don't normally see in a $200 printer and does so without sacrificing print quality, software usability, or hardware shortcuts. Even though it prints photos slower than the average speed for an AIO, the rest of the robust feature set on the J6480 make it one of our favorite do-it-all devices.
Design and features
The HP Officejet J6480 is relatively large (18.7 inches wide by 18.6 inches deep) and heavy (16.87 pounds), but it manages to keep a low profile by standing only 10 inches high. The large footprint plus the fact that the trays don't fold into the body mean you probably won't move it around the office very often. However, the combination of matte-white-and-gray panels and the glossy black cockpit should blend well with the rest of your decor. At first glance, it seems that the J6480 has a lot going on, but the buttons are organized in such a way that makes navigation fairly easy. The front panel houses a series of shortcuts for the scanner, the printer, the copier, and the fax machine, with the numerical keypad and faxing buttons occupying half of the console. There's also a small, two-line LCD screen to quickly access system preferences and tools to maintain ink cartridges and the printer nozzle, but there are only three autodials for the fax machine--most AIOs have at least four, if not eight one-touch buttons.
The front panel also has an external card reader (supporting xD, Memory Stick, SD, and CompactFlash) and a wireless On/Off button. Unfortunately, the J6480 does not have a PictBridge port for transferring images directly from a digital camera. We understand the redundancy in including both a media bay and a PictBridge port, but PictBridge is quickly becoming the de facto standard for direct printing, and we wish HP would have considered this in the printer's design.
The 250-sheet input tray has an adjustable arm to fit any paper size--we like that the tray is actually fixed into the machine and made of a sturdy plastic, as opposed to other printers that employ a flimsy tray to corral paper. The printer also has an auto document feeder for scanning and/or copying as many as 35 sheets at a time, as well as an autoduplexer for double-sided printing, accessible through the driver settings. Finally, HP rounds out the device with built-in wireless 802.11g networking. We followed the onscreen instructions and successfully paired the J6480 with our desktop computer in less than 10 minutes. From there, we connected satellite computers to the printer by simply installing the driver onto the other desktops. The process of setting up a wireless network with your printer is typically painful, requiring special network configurations and system changes, but the J6480 slowly guides you through the setup with onscreen instructions that we found easy to follow and troubleshoot.
In addition to the drivers, the J6480 also ships with HP's Photosmart Essential and Solution Center software. The former allows you to import, organize, edit, and share your digital photos, while the latter helps you fax and scan documents as well as order additional supplies to use with your printer. The J6480 has a two-cartridge bay with one single black cartridge ($15) and another tricolor cartridge ($18) for color prints. We ran low on color ink during our testing, so we suggest that you purchase the XL cartridge that's available on the HP Web site for $35. They're double the price of the standard cartridge but offer three times the page yields in both black and color.
The scanner on the J6480 comes with onboard Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software that allows the scanner to interpret graphics into editable text. The HP Solution Center software has a "convert to text' option as well as an embedded "save as editable text" feature that automatically converts as it scans. We tested this functionality using several documents, including handwritten notes as well as simple text document printouts, and we received mixed results. Large, clear text translated well, and the software even matched the original fonts, but the algorithm couldn't recognize our smaller letters as well as any of the handwritten portions, no matter how uniform the character. Instead, the scanner changed our letters into a font that looked a lot like Wing Dings. All in all, the OCR isn't perfect, but you can count on it to work for light editing on presentations and other large format scans.
Performance
The HP Officejet J6480 excelled against its competitors in all the speed test categories except photo. In this case, the HP tested dead last at 0.83 photo per minute and couldn't even beat out the Lexmark x7550, which was the previous model to beat for dead slowest photo printer (1.16 PPM). Photos aside, the rest of the speeds were surprisingly quick. The J6480 blew away the Brother MFC-685CW and the Kodak EasyShare 5500 in the speed test, and the 3.4 page-per-minute scan speed is one of the higher benchmarks in the AIO printer category.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Copy (PPM) | |
Color scanning speed (PPM) | |
Photo speed (PPM) | |
Graphics speed (PPM) | |
Text speed (PPM) |
Those who decide to use the J6480 to print photos will be rewarded for their wait--text, graphics, and full-color photos are very pleasing with detailed, sharp lines. We did notice some color casts on some of the prints, but a few tweaks in HP's image-editing software fixed the issue in less than five minutes. The skin tones in our portrait shots blended well with their background and exhibited a rich color palette, including dark purples and lighter shades of blue and green. We recommend HP's Premium Presentation Paper for presentations and other high traffic documents--the nozzle had a hard time laying down a smooth color gradient on plain paper and the matte-coated finish lends itself better to the tricolor inks.
Service and support
HP includes a one-year warranty with its J6480, with the option to upgrade to its "Total One Package," which offers an additional two years of HP Accidental Damage Protection and access to its Pick Up and Return program. In addition, coverage is extended for qualifying peripherals during the same time period. The standard warranty includes 24-hour toll-free technical support. In addition, online classes, FAQs, driver downloads, and basic troubleshooting can be found at HP's Web site, www.hp.com.
Find out more about how we test printers.
User reviews
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Problems with Vista/installation
by lara424 on May 14, 2008
Pros: fast, cheap, small, duplexing - but doesn't work!
Cons: Problems installing on Vista, Scan button not functional
Summary: After several hours on the phone with HP over the last three weeks, I have decided to return this printer. The reps could not get it installed properly on my ...
Summary: After several hours on the phone with HP over the last three weeks, I have decided to return this printer. The reps could not get it installed properly on my Vista-equipped XPS. Actually, that's not entirely true ? currently, it is installed correctly, but Vista is so shot that I have such bad error messages that I need to reinstall Vista. This is a brand new laptop and I am furious with the reps for wreaking havoc on it. Through remote access they changed settings, changed permissions, changed the registry, and basically messed up my laptop so badly that it doesn't function at all now except to print. If I had more than 21 days to return, I would try to install the printer again after I reinstall Vista, but my time is up, and I'm not going to take that risk since it took us 6 installs to get to this point.
I suspect that HP's drivers are not fully compatible with Vista yet, which is really a shame. In fact, one rep even told me that "7 out of 10 times we will not be able to install."
I found most of HP's reps to be incompetent ? e.g. asking me to download wireless internet software when I don't even have wireless internet ? and I won't ever allow them remote access to my pc again.
Also ? the "Scan" button on the actual device is not functional on my printer. I suspect this is Vista related (too many details to explain here). The reps told me to "ignore" this and that button "is not supposed to work." What?! Minor annoyance but add it to the list.
Also ? the automatic ink level sensors don't work on my printer either. The reps also told me to "just ignore" this and to replace the ink when the pages start to fade. I don't really care about this feature but it's an indication of a bigger problem, in my opinion.
If you are buying this printer for a Vista pc, I suggest you immediately install the software and run several tests over several restarts (some of the error messages were coming up after successful installs; that is, a few days after a successful install, suddenly it would be asking me to insert the disk).Updated
I am learning that this printer is not "Certified for Vista," which is a designation by Microsoft given to devices after they pass a rigorous test of compatibility. Other HP printers do have this designation but not this one. Something to keep in mind for buying a printer for a Vista system.24 out of 25 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good printer, however...
by gwzap on July 20, 2008
Pros: Good print quality, Wireless works great, decent features for the money
Cons: Install manual needs to be re-written, Installation software needs to be tweaked
Summary: Look, I've used HP printers for practically 10 years, and I've used Lexmark, Epson, and Canon, but the install sofrware needs work. I can't believe how poorly ...
Summary: Look, I've used HP printers for practically 10 years, and I've used Lexmark, Epson, and Canon, but the install sofrware needs work. I can't believe how poorly the install instructions are written. With all the resources available to HP, they can do better. That being said, the print quality is crisp, color quality is very good, and duplex and wireless features work as advertised. Aside from the install, the printer does its job well.
15 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Works Great!
by jrbrug on May 29, 2008
Pros: Easy set up
Cons: slow scanning
Summary: Don't know what the complaints are on this model, my set up went without a hitch! It does take a while to set it up through the software install (...
Summary: Don't know what the complaints are on this model, my set up went without a hitch! It does take a while to set it up through the software install (10-15min.)I chose to do a customized install where I chose what software I wanted. You don't need all the junk software that is offered. I already have Adobe Photoshop for viewing photos. The software found my network through an ethernet cable from the printer to the router. I also loaded the drivers on a laptop and was able to access the printer through my wireless G network. It works great...prints two sided copies, scanning, and faxing. You do need to use the included phone cable for the fax machine. It did not like mine...and the software set up tells you so! ...so far so good.
12 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A disappointment even though I REALLY wanted it to work.
by rparker59 on May 27, 2008
Pros: Copier, scanner, wireless and duplex printing
Cons: Poor setup and auto document feeder does NOT work.
Summary: I have to say I was really enthusiastic at the prospect of a device that would meet almost all of my needs.
Enthusiasim turned to disappointment when trying to used ...Summary: I have to say I was really enthusiastic at the prospect of a device that would meet almost all of my needs.
Enthusiasim turned to disappointment when trying to used the automatic document feeder (ADF). I had a number of family photos to scan for a project. I used the feeder to scan 4x6 prints. Each scan had the exact same issue - about 4 7/8" down the scan there appeared a horizontal line and the photo lost 1/4" of the image. There were also vertical lines (artifacts) that appeared randomly. It made the image look as if it were scratched.
I then tried scanning via the flatbed. The scan came out perfect. No horizontal line or random artifacts.
I packed up the original unit and returned it to the retailer. I exchanged the J6480 for a brand new unit, took it home and set it up. The setup of the second was a bit frustrating as I had to delete the first printer and re-install. Also had to setup the wireless connection once again.
Once I finally got the computer (HP Pavillion DV6345) to recognize the printer, I embarked on my scanning mission again. I was ready to put the photos in the ADF and let the machine do the work it was designed to do.
Before I committed to an investment of time and disk space I wanted to make sure the spectre of my earlier issues would not reappear. I placed the 4x6 photo in the ADF and pressed "scan".
Well, I was not impressed. I was now experiencing the very same issues as on the first unit I purchased. This time I opted to call the experts at HP Tech Support.
One Hundred and Seven minutes later I was no further along than when I discovered the ADF issues. It didn't matter if I was copying or scanning a photo (or paper document) with the ADF - results were consistently the same. The image always contains a horizontal line where it gets compressed by 1/4".
I tried different size photos - same results.
Conclusion - I received either two units from a bad manufacturing lot or there is a design issue with the ADF. Without the ADF this unit is severely crippled in the capacity in which it is sold and marketed. Don't take my word for it. Scan or copy your own photos or documents using both the ADF and flatbed options. Physically compare the results to the originals. I'd be interested to see if many other folks experience or notice the same issues (feedback at ray_parker59@hotmail.com).
If HP can get the ADF portion of this device working properly and ease the installation pain a bit, it will have an awesome product with little competition in this price/performance range. I really hope they can remedy this quickly.10 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Installation needs work
by paratwa48 on June 6, 2008
Pros: Very easy to print, fast, good colors
Cons: installing printer is a nightmare
Summary: I tried for 3 hours to get this configured by myself with no luck. I then called HP tech support and 2 hours later it worked.
There is a manual ...Summary: I tried for 3 hours to get this configured by myself with no luck. I then called HP tech support and 2 hours later it worked.
I have been using this printer for over a year now, and I have to say it still works great. But the included software is horrible. After installing it, it now takes 4 minutes longer to boot windows. Find yourself some after market fax software and uninstall all of the HP software. Other than that, it works flawlessly! HP is just very sloppy with their software code.
There is a manual setting on the printer to configure network settings. We had to manually set the IP on the printer, once that happened things started to fall into place. Just hit the setup button on the printer and scroll till you see network settings, there is an option to set it manually.
We also had to delete a file and reinstall it, since it wanted to default back to the wrong IP address.
Here is what we had to do. Install the installation cd then (this is his spelling, I just pasted it here)
If ther would be no network found just do this ff steps:
Right click on the hp disc and click explore
Look for the Setup folder>Open it>look for Netdevicemanager folder>right click on the windows installer netdevice and click Uninstall and then right click again and click install.
After doing this go back to the Connection type window click through the netwrok and it will found now your netwrok printer.
It now works perfectly! And I am very happy with it, more importantly, my wife is happy with it.
This is much better than my old printer having to use a print server on a Non networked printer.
If it had been easier to install, I would have given it a 9 instead of a 7.
Updated on Oct 18, 20098 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Wireless Does Not Work Properly
by john1ellis on September 3, 2008
Pros: Supposed wireless capability is an attractive feature - if it works
Cons: Wireless Does Not Work Properly
Summary: I purchased this printer primarily because it claimed to have wireless printing capabilities. I took my time and carefully installed the software on my wife's laptop computer. When I ...
Summary: I purchased this printer primarily because it claimed to have wireless printing capabilities. I took my time and carefully installed the software on my wife's laptop computer. When I finished the installation and set-up I tried to print a test page, only the top two inches of the test page printed. After several hours of unsuccessful troubleshooting, I decided to configure my own laptop for wireless printing and perhaps figure out why my wife's laptop would not print properly. I ended up with the same exact results, only the top two inches of the test page would print. HP's online help was pretty much useless.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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"It is working as Intended," then that's the Problem!
by HdsitWork on November 8, 2008
Pros: Fairly consistant Auto Document Feeder (ADF) for BW copies
Cons: Software very limited for PDF's, Text documents
Text OCR does not produce proper replica of documents
Only reads one side of pages undisclosed until purchased
Can not use any other Software to interact with Scanner.Summary: I purchased this multifunction printer primarily to scan BW documents loaded through the ADF. The J6480 is pretty consistant at feeding and making PDF versions of the up to 25 ...
Summary: I purchased this multifunction printer primarily to scan BW documents loaded through the ADF. The J6480 is pretty consistant at feeding and making PDF versions of the up to 25 documents at 300dpi. However, the more detail requested the slower it goes. Using the wireless access in the J6480 was painfully slow so I went back to the USB. Photos 4x6 loaded through the ADF were unusable even after a number of attempts.
Using the OCR that reads text and converts it into a text document was useless as from numerous attempts at different one page documents the results were nothing more than "$.:;%&="!"%>", from full 8.5x11 sheets of text.
Another issue I found out after purchase and calling HP is that the HP Scan Pro software only allows for one sided scanning. (I have another scanner from a different company and the software allows you to turn the pages around and the software will resort and insert the back pages into the correct order for the final PDF.) The HP software does not do this. So I attempted to use another software program to correct this problem. HP Help Screen indicates that you can use other programs via TWAIN to connect to this scanner, which I tried but it didn't work. HP's email reply to this issue was that they do not support the TWAIN driver and HP Support's last reply stated that since the J6480 scans and prints then "it is working as intended."
Seeing that I as stuck to using the HP Scan Pro software I called HP and they said I can only get assistance on the software by paying for Smart Friends Help. But, the program is not working as it says it should and you want me to pay more to get someone to tell me how to get your software to work?
During his proces I have done all that they have told me including a Manual uninstall which is supposed to fix all problems but really after that you are on your own.
My one star rating is because the ADF works with BW text, but for the rest I would give: OCR to text, slow wireless access, the Software TWAIN support, the HP Scan Pro software support all 0 stars.
If it is "working as intended", then I would suggest as a potential buyer you look for one that - works for you.3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Never worked properly since day one
by anebt on September 6, 2008
Pros: None at all. Terrible machine.
Cons: Right of page blurry, left of page semi-crisp. Does not recognize cartridges, though they are clean, HP brand. Sometimes it turns on easily, sometimes have to disconnect and reconnect 7-10 times. Support wants to replace cartridges only. .
Summary: HP used to be a good company with good if not great printers. I think they are losing their lust with the latest units. It seems that the quality has ...
Summary: HP used to be a good company with good if not great printers. I think they are losing their lust with the latest units. It seems that the quality has gone way down. My 670c never failed me. My 4315v was so-so. Now this one doesn't even work. HP printers are no longer an option for me. Too much trouble with the later models.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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no good for faxing
by hadahawk on April 12, 2008
Pros: easy to setup
Cons: unable to send a fax from pc
Summary: We purchased this all-in-one for its' wireless capability and were very happy until we tried to send a fax. We could send a fax by using the control buttons on ...
Summary: We purchased this all-in-one for its' wireless capability and were very happy until we tried to send a fax. We could send a fax by using the control buttons on the all-in-one, but when we tried to send a fax using our pc(HP Pavillion dv6000), we were unable to do so. We tried with the wireless setup and also with the USB connection setup. In both cases we first opened Home Solutions and selected Send A Fax. After completing the Fax info we clicked Send Fax and in both cases we got an ERROR MSG "The Fax Scan Failed".
After FOUR DAYS and SEVERAL HOURS, HP technicians were unable to solve the problem. One tech even said that Home Solutions, included with Windows Vista Home Premium, is not compatable with this all-in-ones' fax software and that we may need a upscale version of Vista. "BUMMER".
Our J6480 has gone back to Best Buy. Don't know yet what to purchase next, but HP is not on our shopping list!3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Complete Piece of Crap
by billb11879 on February 21, 2009
Pros: There is nothing good about this product. Burn it.
Cons: Software is horrible -- even just loading in drivers from HP.com doesn't completely work. It's hard to believe fixes for this printer do not work after the 10th change. Why do you think it sells for under $100?
Thanks, CNET! You guys rock!!Summary: Don't waste your time. If HP can't be bothered to fix their own software, why support them? Try Lexmark or Brother.
Summary: Don't waste your time. If HP can't be bothered to fix their own software, why support them? Try Lexmark or Brother.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: HP
- Part number: CB029A#ABA
- Description: Boost productivity with a wireless all-in-one printer with speeds up to 31 ppm black; 25 ppm color. Feature-rich all-in-one keeps cost per print low and includes automatic two-sided printing and auto document feeder.
General
- Fax Type Plain paper
- Printing Technology Ink-jet - Color
- Monthly Duty Cycle (max) 5000 impressions
- Width 18.7 in
- Depth 18.6 in
- Height 10 in
- Weight 17 lbs
- Localization English / United States
Memory
- Standard Memory 64 MB
- Supported Flash Memory miniSD, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro
Copying
- Max Copying Speed up to 31 pages/min (mono) / up to 25 pages/min (color)
- Max Copying Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)
- Max Document Enlargement 400 %
- Max Document Reduction 25 %
- Maximum Copies 100
- Automatic Duplexing Yes
Printing
- Inkjet Technology HP Thermal Inkjet
- Max Printing Resolution up to 1200 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)
- Max Printing Speed up to 31 pages/min (mono) / up to 25 pages/min (color)
- Printer Drivers / Emulations PCL 3
Scanning
- Scan Element CIS
- Optical Resolution 4800 dpi
- Interpolated Resolution 19200 dpi
- Gray Scale Depth 8 bit
- Color Depth 48 bit
Fax Machine
- Max Transmission Speed 33.6 Kbps
- Fax Resolutions 203 x 98 dpi, 200 x 200 dpi, 203 x 196 dpi, 300 x 300 dpi
- Total Memory Capacity 100 pages
Fax Machine Features
- Features Color faxing, Fax forwarding, Automatic redialing, Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection (DRPD)
Document & Media Handling
- Max Original Size Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
- Original Type Sheets
- Document Feeder Capacity 35 sheets
- Min Copy Size 3 in x 5 in
- Max Copy Size Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
- Supported Media Type Cards, Labels, Envelopes, Photo paper, Plain paper, Transparencies, Iron-on transfers
- Borderless Photo Sizes 8.5 in x 14.0 in
- Standard Media Capacity 250 sheets
- Output Trays Capacity 50 sheets
- Document & Media Handling Details ADF - 35 sheets, Input tray - 250 sheets, Output tray - 50 sheets
- Speed Details Copying : up to 25 pages/min ( Legal ) - Color, Copying : up to 31 pages/min ( Legal ) - B/W, Printing : up to 25 pages/min ( Legal ) - Color draft, Printing : up to 31 pages/min ( Legal ) - B/W draft
Finishing Equipment
- Collator None
- Stacker None
- Stapler None
- Binder None
PC Connectivity
- PC Connection Availability Yes
- PC Connection Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Ethernet 10 Base-T/100 Base-TX
- Operating System Support MS Windows 2000, MS Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9, Apple Mac OS X 10.4.x, MS Windows XP Home Edition, MS Windows XP Professional, MS Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Power
- Power ( 50/60 Hz )
- Power Consumption Operational 40 Watt
Miscellaneous
- Microsoft Certifications Works with Windows Vista
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
- CNET Labs Color Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 3.4
- CNET Labs Gray Scale Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 3.27
- CNET Labs Photo Speed Test (pages per minute) 0.83
- CNET Labs Presentation Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.36
- CNET Labs Printer Graphics Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.17
- CNET Labs Text Speed Test (pages per minute) 5.54
Accessories
- HP 74/75 Combo Pack - print cartridge (32630980)20.66 - 35.20
- HP 75 - print cartridge (32404364)9.99 - 23.23
- HP 75XL Photo Value Pack - print cartridge / paper kit (32756708)40.99
- HP 74/75 Combo Pack - print cartridge (32956551)21.72 - 49.99
- HP 75 Series Photo Value Pack - print cartridge / paper kit (33064160)12.92 - 32.99
Manufacturer info
- HP
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse HP products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.hp.com
- Address:
3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
