Cartridge Yield and Cost-per-Print HP PSC 2355 and Dell 942
Color InkJet All-in-Ones Final Report Presentation

December 2004

for Photo Images
spencerLAB DIGITAL COLOR LABORATORY
Catherine Fiasconaro, Director
Spencer & Associates Publishing, Ltd.
David R Spencer, President Melville, New York 1.631.367.6655
http://www.spencerlab.com 2004
Project Overview Objective
Help understand 4-color photo Cost-per-Print of two color inkjet All-in-Ones
HP PSC 2355 and Dell 942 Verify HP published Cost-per-Print claims for bundled ink and media value pack
Incorporate sound, unbiased test and analysis methodologies
Independent comparative test, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard
Our methodology and procedures maintain spencerLABs reputation for unbiased integrity
Utilize nine-image spencerLAB Photo Test Suite
Intended to represent typical consumer usage
Independent test of 4-color ink cartridge yield
Adapt ISO monochrome toner test methodology to color inkjet printing
Test at least three color cartridges on each of three All-in-Ones from each manufacturer Procure All-in-Ones and cartridges from multiple distribution channels where possible Use Declared Page Yield statistical calculations where possible
Calculate and compare Cost-per-Print
Combine test results with manufacturers published cartridge and photo paper prices

Significant Findings

HP PSC 2355, Dell 942 color inkjet All-in-Ones tested with spencerLAB Photo Test Suite

Ink Cartridge Yield

HP tri-color ink cartridge average photo yield exceeds its 97/97 280-Sheet Photo Value Pack bundle published marketing claims HP tri-color ink cartridge photo yield tested higher than Dells

Cost-per-Print

Tested photo yield combined with Ink and Media cost
Tri-color ink, black ink, and media usage per 4"x6" photo image Pricing based upon bundles where available; otherwise, individual ink cartridges and media Prices per Manufacturers Web Sites
HPs tested photo Cost-per-Print was lower than Dells
Dells cost-per-print 44 to 52% more than HPs HP at 27.67 to 29.06; Dell at 41.95
Confirmed HP 97/97 280-Sheet Photo Value Pack marketing claim: 29-per-Print
Consistent Color Reproduction
Dell cartridges displayed significant cartridge-to-cartridge color variation HP cartridges produced more uniform color prints

Methodology

Yield Test Methodology
HP ink cartridges were procured from multiple distribution channels; Dell is sole-source
At least nine tri-color cartridges were tested for each All-in-One
Three cartridges were tested in each of three machines for each All-in-One
Manufacturer-recommended media was used for testing
HP PSC 2355: HP Premium Photo Paper, glossy Dell 942: Dell Premium Photo Paper
The All-in-Ones were tested with comparable photo driver settings
Chosen modes were based upon establishment of comparable output print quality levels
HP PSC 2355 Paper Type: hp premium photo paper, glossy; Print Quality: Best Dell 942 Paper Type: Photo/Glossy; Quality/Speed: Photo, 4800 dpi Automatic paper sensing was disabled in the drivers to prevent possible error
Machines were run in nominally continuous mode
Pauses were only for paper replenishment, jam clearance, and overnight Each copy of Photo Test Suite was printed as a separate print job in order to allow for possible intra-job calibration
Windows Photo Printing software was used with a spencerLAB Photo Test Suite
Testing was performed in an environmentally controlled office environment
Machines/cartridges from each vendor were tested from a single computer at the same time
Declared Color Cartridge Page Yield was calculated in accordance with ISO 19752
Individual page yield of each cartridge was the number of 4x6 pages printed until End-of-Life End-of-Life was determined by Fade, since neither tested machine employed an INK-OUT stop The prescribed statistical confidence factor was used in calculating Declared Page Yield

and resultant cost-per-print
Methodology (contd) spencerLAB Photo Test Suite
Intended to represent typical consumer photographic content

Nine photographs

Portraits, family photos, landscapes, scenery, vacation photos, etc.
Source images color corrected and retouched in sRGB
Optimized, maintaining representative photographic quality High quality JPEG compression representative of 3-5 MegaPixel digital cameras
Red, Green, and Blue components are nominally balanced

Methodology (contd)

Cost-per-Print Analysis Methodology
Ink Cartridge and Media Prices were obtained from manufacturers current web sites
Ink and media bundle pricing used, where available
HP offers a bundle of two tri-color ink cartridges and 280 sheets of 4x6" media (Q6636AN#140) and an instant rebate on two 100-sheet packs of 4x6" media (901211) Dell does not offer an ink and media bundle; however, a Get 4 Packs for The Price of 3 for 4x6" media was used

(44X6PHO)

Cost-per-Print included the pro-rata cost of ancillary Black ink usage
Some Black as well as Tri-Color cartridge ink is used when printing photographs Black ink usage determination used pro-rata, average begin-end cartridge weight change
Data taken over the lives of three tri-color ink cartridges per machine was averaged
Analysis reflects alternate HP user Usage Scenarios:
Scenario I Consumer prints 280 photos, the number of sheets of media supplied in a Value Pack, and discards the ink cartridges upon using up the media
Cost-per-Print includes cost of Value Pack plus ancillary Black ink Consumer will print 280 photos and may have ink left over in a discarded tri-color cartridge
Scenario II Consumer prints additional photos by purchasing additional 4x6" media until all ink from both Value Pack cartridges is used
Since 280 sheets are included with Value Pack, user would purchase additional media to use remaining tri-color ink Cost of additional media based upon prorated usage of 100-sheet package Cost-per-Print includes cost of additional media as well as cost of Value Pack plus ancillary Black ink Consumer will have printed more than 280 prints

Test Results

The following tables and charts present the test results
Ink Cartridge Yield (Prints-per-Cartridge)
Test results (chart) Usable Color Ink Content (graph)

Ink and Media

Scenario I Scenario II
HP Value Pack Verification

Appendix

Cartridge Reliability Photographic Image Print Quality
Ink Cartridge Photo Yield Individual Page Yields

Printer Run

Black Color

pages grams pages grams

pages grams
Average Std Dev 90% L Bound
17.8 17.7 18.4 17.9 17.1 18.2 18.8 17.5 18.3 17.97 0.51

165 160.7 7.37 156

0.6 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.44 0.10 4.04%
14.2 14.3 14.1 13.8 13.0 14.2 15.1 13.3 12.8 13.87 0.72

117 116.7 7.42 112

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.19 0.11 1.01%

Declared Yield

The declared photo yield value for the HP 97 tri-color cartridge was 156 prints The twin-pack cartridge bundle yield of 312 prints (156 x 2 cartridges) exceeds HPs advertised yield of 280 images
Color Ink Usage (by Weight)
Tested HP tri-color cartridges contained 41% more usable ink than tested Dell tri-color cartridges

Start End SD SD TOTAL

HP psc 2355 Start End 49.58 31.61 0.17 0.48 49.75 32.09
Dell 942 Start End 43.37 30.60 0.13 0.40 43.50 31.00
Cost-per-Print (4x6") Scenario I
Combining declared photo yield test results with manufacturers web site prices for cartridges and 4x6" media: Dells Photo Cost-per-Print of 42 was 44% higher than HPs Photo Cost-per-Print of 29

HP psc 2355

Price per Item Pages per Item Cost per Print Black #94 Tricolor #97 Bundle Monochrome Color/Media Bundle Monochrome Color/Media Bundle Total $ $ 19.99 79.99 4,280 0.49 28.57 29.06

Dell 942

HiCap Black Hi Cap Color 4x6" Media Monochrome Color Media Monochrome Color Media Total $ $ $ 24.99 29.99 59.85 11,400 0.21 26.78 14.96 41.95
Results based on spencerLAB Digital Color Laboratory cartridge yield tests, November 2004; Hewlett-Packard and Dell pricing per their respective web sites, December 2004
Assumes HP user prints 280 photos (Value Pack media sheet limit; user will have enough color ink left to print 32 additional photos, per Declared Photo Yield)

Cost-per-Print (4x6") Scenario II
Combining declared photo yield test results with manufacturers web site prices for cartridges and 4x6" media: Dells Photo Cost-per-Print of 42 was 52% higher than HPs Photo Cost-per-Print of 28
Price per Item Pages per Item Cost per Print Black #94 Tricolor #97 Bundle Monochrome Color/Media Bundle Monochrome Color/Media Bundle Total $ $ 19.99 79.99 4,280 0.49 28.57 29.06 27.67 Black #94 4x6" Media Monochrome Media Monochrome Color/Media Bundle $ $ 19.99 29.99 4,200 0.49 15.00
Total 15.49 Weighted Average
Assumes HP user prints 312 photos per Declared Photo Yield (using the tri-color ink in the Value Pack cartridges, 280 media sheets from the Value Pack plus 32 sheets from a twin 100-sheet pack of HP Premium Photo Paper, glossy)
Cost-per-Print HP Value Pack Verification spencerLAB testing confirms HP claim:
29 per print with 97/97 280-Sheet Photo Value Pack with Vivera Inks
280 photos printed at a cost of 29 each (Scenario I) 312 photos printed at a cost of 28 each (Scenario II)
Appendix Cartridge Reliability
Two of nine Dell color ink cartridges failed during testing
One cartridge applied Yellow ink outline (that was not present in image files) to prints One cartridge incorrectly produced desaturated color images, with excessive banding
Both cartridges were replaced with properly functioning cartridges
Defective cartridges were not used in the testing or analysis
Photographic Image Print Quality
HP prints displayed exceptional richness and were well saturated Dell prints appeared light and washed out in comparison Dell prints exhibited noticeable banding HP prints were very smooth and uniform Dell output displayed significant cartridge-to-cartridge color inconsistencies HP prints remained consistent, with accurate and predictable color
Thank You The spencerLAB Project Team

Project Management

David R Spencer, president Catherine Fiasconaro, director of spencerLAB
<fiasconaro@spencer.com>

Project Administrator

Jennifer Piano, manager

Project Analysis

Vikaas Gupta, color engineer Vishal Sahay, laboratory engineer

Support

Maureen Miniter, purchasing

Start Here

Important: Do not connect the USB cable until Step 16 or software may not install properly. Follow the steps in order.
If you have problems during setup, see Troubleshooting in the last section.

Remove all tape

Lift the access door and remove tape inside the left side of the device.
Title in HP Futura Book 14-20 pt., centered
Subtitle in 10-14 pt., centered, white
Magyar Italiano Japanese Espaol Norsk Portugus Russian Simplified Chinese Slovencina Slovencina Espaol Svenska TraditionalChinese Thai Trke Ukrainian 2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. English Arabic Bahasa Portugus Hrvatski Cesky Dansk Nederland Suomi Franais Deutsch Greek Hangul Hebrew Magyar Italiano Espaol

Locate components

Windows CD print cartridges control-panel overlay (may be attached)
Magyar Italiano Japanese Espaol Norsk Portugus Russian Simplified Chinese Slovencina Slovencina Espaol Svenska TraditionalChinese Thai Trke Ukrainian
2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
English Arabic Bahasa Portugus Hrvatski Cesky Dansk Nederland
Suomi Franais Deutsch Greek Hangul Hebrew Magyar Italiano Espaol
Macintosh CD power cord and adapter USB cable*
HP Photosmart 2600/2700 series all-in-one

User Guide

User Guide * Purchased separately. The contents of your box may differ.
Horizontal cover image: Replace this guideline area with either a cropped product photograph or a straight-on front-view illustration
HP PSC 2350 series all-in-one Setup Guide
Attach the control-panel overlay (if not attached)
a Position the controlpanel overlay above the device. b Press down rmly on all edges of the overlay to secure it.
The control-panel overlay must be attached for the HP all-in-one to work!
Lift the color graphics display
Raise the color graphics display.
For best viewing, remove the protective lm from the display.

Load plain white paper

2 HP all-in-one
Connect the power cord and adapter
Press the On button and congure
On a After you press the On button, the green light ashes, and then becomes solid. This may take up to a minute. b Wait for the print cartridge prompt before continuing.

Open access door

Lift the access door until it stops.
Remove tape from both cartridges
Pull the pink tab to remove the tape from both print cartridges.
Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or retape the cartridges.

3 HP all-in-one

Insert the tri-color print cartridge
The device must be On before you can insert the print cartridges. a Hold the tri-color print cartridge with the HP label facing up. b Place the tri-color print cartridge in front of the left slot. c Push the cartridge rmly into the slot until it snaps into place.
Insert the black print cartridge
a Hold the black print cartridge with the HP label facing up. b Place the black print cartridge in front of the right slot. c Push the cartridge rmly into the slot until it snaps into place. d Close the access door.

4 HP all-in-one

Align the print cartridges
a Press OK at each of the prompts on the control panel to start print cartridge alignment. The alignment may take a few minutes. b After the page prints, alignment is complete. Check the color graphics display for the status, and then press OK. If it fails, see Troubleshooting in the last section. Recycle or discard the alignment page.
If you are not connecting the device to a computer, continue to the User Guide for information on how to get started.

Turn on your computer

a Turn on your computer, login if necessary, and then wait for the desktop to appear. b Close any open programs.

3 Insert the correct CD

Macintosh Users:
Insert the HP all-in-one Macintosh CD. Go to the next step before installing software. a Insert the HP all-in-one Windows CD. b Follow the onscreen instructions. If the startup screen does not appear, double-click My Computer, double-click the CD-ROM icon, and then double-click setup.exe.

Windows Users:

5 HP all-in-one

Connect the USB cable

Connect the USB cable to the port on the back of the HP all-in-one, and then to any USB port on your computer.
You may have to wait several minutes before you see the onscreen prompt to connect the USB cable. Once the prompt appears, connect the USB cable to the port on the back of the HP all-in-one, and then to any USB port on your computer.
If you do not see this screen, see Troubleshooting in the last section.

6 HP all-in-one

Continue software installation
a Double-click the HP All-in-One installer icon. b Make sure you complete all screens, including the Setup Assistant.
If you do not see this screen, see Troubleshooting in the last section. Follow the onscreen instructions. Complete the Sign up now screen.

Congratulations!

When you see the Congratulations! screen, you are ready to use your HP all-in-one. See the User Guide or onscreen help to get started.

www.hp.com/support

7 HP all-in-one

Troubleshooting

Problem: Action:
*Q5786-90221* *Q5786-90221*

Q5786-90221

A Carriage Jam message appears. Open the access door. Remove the tape from inside. Turn the power off, and then wait one minute. Turn the power on again.
The Check Print Cartridge message appears after you insert print cartridges or the print cartridge alignment fails. Remove print cartridges. Make sure you remove all tape from copper contacts. Re-insert the cartridges, and then close the access door. (Windows only) You did not see the screen telling you when to connect the USB cable. Remove, and then re-insert the HP all-in-one Windows CD. Refer to Step 15.

Problem:

Action:
(Windows only) The Microsoft Add Hardware screen appears.
Click Cancel. Unplug the USB cable, and then insert the HP all-in-one Windows CD. Refer to Steps 15 and 16. (Windows only) The Device Setup Has Failed To Complete screen appears. Verify that the control-panel overlay is rmly attached. Unplug the device and plug it in again. Check all connections. Make sure the USB cable is plugged into the computer. Do not plug the USB cable into a keyboard or non-powered hub. Refer to Steps 4 and 16.
(Macintosh only) The Macintosh software does not install. Make sure the USB cable is plugged into the computer before installing the software. Do not plug the USB cable into a keyboard or nonpowered hub. Refer to Step 16.
Refer to the User Guide for more information. Printed on recycled paper. Visit www.hp.com/support for assistance. Copyright 2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Printed in country []. Printed in country [].