HP DeskJet 9670

The middle child of three 9600 series printers, the 9670 is a startling looking device with its smooth lines and simple design, very much like a cross between a DesignJet and a lower-end inkjet. The slightly sunken buttons on the front (power, paper feed and cancel) add to the sleek profile. It also feels extremely sturdy, as if it could take a battering in a busy studio.

Capable of handling paper sizes anywhere from A6 to A3+, as well as media weights up to 280g/m2, the printer can also print borderless images. The included duplexing unit makes it possible to print on both sides of a page with ease, too. Setting up the printer on both the Mac or PC, via USB or Parallel connections, proved a breeze. As you can see, for such a relatively low price device, the 9670 certainly packs in the features.

But all this would count for nothing if the print-quality wasn’t up to scratch. Fortunately, the printer delivers in this respect, too. The 9670 can output at up to 4800dpi; HP claims it can produce laser-quality text at 1200x1200dpi. In our tests – printing a borderless A3 photo-quality print – colour reproduction (calibration software is included) was excellent and output certainly vibrant and lively. However, our image did take over 25 minutes to print. Graphics-wise, the printer still impresses, again with accurate colours.

Text, at its highest quality, is generally good, although this isn’t a printer you’d use for such humble day-to-day work. Printing A4 images at best-quality resulted in a 16-minute printing time, but at normal quality on plain paper, this shot down to 53.8 seconds. Even at this setting, quality was excellent. It’s also worth noting that the ink in HP’s new cartridges claims to be light-fast for up to 73 years.

Annoyingly, you have to change ink cartridges for different jobs. If you’re constantly printing photos, for instance, you’ll need the photo cartridge installed. But if you want to print out just graphics and text, you’d be wise to switch to the black cartridge instead. Why HP couldn’t incorporate all these into one unit (like other consumer-orientated units) and avoid this procedure is a mystery.

Another thing: the HP Deskjet 9670 doesn’t work with OS X 10.3 at the time of review. Hewlett-Packard really should get its act together and release drivers asap – it’s very frustrating. By the time you read this, they’ll hopefully be available.

Somewhere in between a high-end DesignJet and a lower-end inkjet, the 9670 is a relatively inexpensive backup A3 printer for the graphics pro. Attractive styling and some great print quality make it relatively good value at £399.