Product Reviews

The general rule with inkjet printers is that, the more you pay, the better the print engine, but with HP's recent printer ranges you actually get the same print engine across the board. This means each model produces identical print quality, with the budget models forsaking a few of the extra features, like the CompactFlash and SmartMedia slots found on the Photosmart 1218 (reviewed Labs, issue 77, p106). It all makes perfect sense really; we saw it with last year's range based on the 970Cxi engine, and now HP's applying a similar stripping-down process to the 990Cxi engine (reviewed Labs, issue 77, p106) with the new DeskJet 980cxi.

With the exception of the more conservative lettering on the left, the 980cxi looks almost identical to the 990Cxi. It has the same white chassis, the same translucent graphite hood, the same buttons and even the same duplex unit. The only real differences are the removal of infrared connections, and a slightly reduced print speed. However, the lack of significant changes is mainly because you only save a meagre £17 by choosing the 980cxi over the 990Cxi. You still get the obligatory parallel and USB interfaces, although if you're using the latter it pays to follow the supplied instruction poster, as the installation procedure isn't entirely logical. A cynic would suggest that it's essentially a slow 990Cxi that happens to fill a gap in the market, and they'd be right.

The drop in speed is minimal though; HP claims the 980cxi will produce 15ppm (pages per minute) in mono, against the 990Cxi's 17ppm - almost negligible. We couldn't reproduce quite the same speed, but the 980cxi still managed to produce a draft 25-page letter test in two minutes, equating to an impressive 12.5ppm. The quality isn't bad either, retaining the black that the Epson Stylus Photo 890 (reviewed issue 79, p178) lost in draft mode. However, the characters look strangely squashed at the top and bottom, and are also slightly pixelated.

Using the normal mode setting increases the quality significantly, and even on plain paper the 980cxi produced crisp and sharp black text. The drop in speed isn't too dramatic either, averaging out at 4.2ppm against the 990Cxi's 4.8ppm. So it's insignificantly slower than the 990Cxi but, more importantly, it's noisier. The noise is particularly evident if you're

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printing draft documents on plain paper. The paper feed makes an irritating chugging noise when in operation. Thankfully, it's almost as quiet as the 990Cxi on higher quality documents that take a longer time to print.

HP's Premium Inkjet paper is a good bet for this kind of work, and the 980cxi coped well with our demanding four-page DTP test, which it produced in 12 minutes, 56 seconds. The print quality is reasonable, but the photos and graphics look grainy and shaky compared to a six-colour system like the Epson Stylus Photo 890. The text was similarly disappointing, particularly losing clarity at smaller font sizes. So although HP has basic plain paper performance down to a tee, Epson has a killer formula for high-resolution colour printing on coated paper.

This was also demonstrated on our colour test, which showed visible banding and grain in comparison to the Epson's smooth results. That said, its greyscale accuracy was almost perfect, with an even spread of black and white. As with the colour tests, the greyscales showed noticeable grain though, and the composite makeup of the colours was also visible at a closer glance.

As with the 990Cxi, you have two options for photo printing - the quicker PhotoREt III, and the maximum 2,400 x 1,200dpi mode. The difference between the two is impossible to discern in terms of quality, although an A4 2,400dpi photo took ten minutes, 11 seconds, compared to the four minutes, 35 seconds in PhotoREt mode - only nine seconds off the 990Cxi's time. The quality is superb, although again it lacks the Epson 890's smoothness, and there was also noticeable banding and track marks. All of this requires close-up examination though, as the 980cxi's photo results look fantastic to the naked eye.

What the 980cxi really has in its favour are the intelligent features that made the 990Cxi exceptional. It may not have infrared, but the automatic paper detection and cartridge alignment systems are still intact, as is the rear-mounted duplex unit for double-sided printing. These are all useful and innovative features, and it's great to see them in a sub-£200 printer. However, it's only a very minor alteration, and with a saving of just £17 over the 990Cxi, it makes you wonder quite what the point is.

This is the problem with the DeskJet 980cxi. In terms of both features and value for money, the difference from the 990Cxi is almost completely negligible. Even the photo quality results are identical to the 990Cxi's, despite it being a little slower. This makes you wonder who the 980cxi is really aimed at. Anyone thinking of spending £200 on a printer is likely to spend an extra £17 to get the superior model, and the 980cxi isn't sufficiently different from the 990Cxi to really be worthwhile. However, if you don't like forking out extra money for features you don't really need, then the 980cxi is still a good all-round inkjet in its own right.