HP Designjet 9000 Ink Cartridges

HP 9000 Printer Review

Printing signage in-house has never been easier than it is with the 64-inch HP DesignJet 9000. This large-format inkjet printer will upgrade production quality for users specializing in advertising, CAD, engineering, or sign making, not to mention it will reduce spending by eliminating the need to outsource. This machine weighs nearly 600 pounds, but fortunately a stand is supplied with wheels, which makes it a bit easier to move the 9000 around as needed.

The rate of production is completely contingent on the print mode that is selected. This will also have an effect on the overall quality. In Fast mode, which will render the lowest quality, up to 322 feet of printing can be done in an hour. In Normal mode, the quality will improve and up to 176 feet of printing can be completed in an hour. To reach the maximum quality, which is 720x720 dpi, users will need to set the mode to High Quality, which delivers only 88 feet per hour.

There are six colors of HP 9000 printer ink used and six heavy-duty printheads, each of which contains 512 nozzles. The nozzles eject 12-picoliter sized dots of DesignJet 9000 ink onto the paper, creating vivid colors and accurate details. Three individual heating systems are present, on the front, rear, and where pages are printed, which will help dry the printer ink into the canvas. Media such as plain paper, film, fabric, banner scrim, and vinyl can all be used.

Able to connect to Windows computers through a USB 2.0 port, the 9000 is equipped with a 192 MB of memory to process large tasks. Additional products can be added to the base unit if needed. A high-speed dryer is an option, as well as an air purifier, which will cleanse the air of anything harmful omitted by the low-solvent HP 9000 ink. A number of things are provided in the box, however, including a screwdriver and gloves for assembly, a cleaning kit, two waste containers, and 500-ml starter DesignJet 9000 ink cartridges.

This wide-format inkjet printer is pricey off the shelf, and the replacement HP 9000 ink cartridges are also a bit expensive, even the remanufactured versions. With a roll of paper that measures 64 inches by 150 feet, users should be able to create any number of oversized prints. The 9000 printer promises to deliver high-quality color and black-and-white pages.