One of the cheapest in the domestic market, the HP DeskJet 2050 multifunction device has for many years maintained a leading position in sales and positive user reviews. Why is this unprepossessing at first glance printer so popular among owners? In this article, the reader will become more familiar with the unique MFP, learn about its characteristics, functionality and capabilities.
Built forever
HP is positioning its brainchild in the segment of low-cost budget devices, which causes concern among many potential buyers who want to buy a reliable printer for home use. After all, the price not exceeding 5,000 rubles does not look serious for a full-featured color HP Deskjet 2050 multifunction printer. After a more thorough study of the customer’s printing equipment, a lot of questions will arise that even representatives of the manufacturer will not be able to answer. In fact, the printer is perfect. Its capabilities and technical characteristics are not inferior to expensive printing factories intended for home use. But first things first.
Features of a complete set
The usual-looking box with the device has a very interesting package: HP DeskJet 2050, user manual, CDs with programs and drivers, manufacturer's recommendations for setting the color palette, cartridges, several sheets of photo paper and a shopping bag. And if all of the above items can be considered the standard equipment of any MFP, then there are a lot of questions for users about the presence of a bag in the box.
It turns out that the manufacturer wanted the owners of the MFP to conveniently transport the device. Quite a strange decision, considering that the printer is for home use. Many owners in their reviews poke fun at the HP management regarding the movement of the printing device from one room to another and vice versa.
Build quality
Externally, the device looks bulky, and many users have the feeling that the design is about to fall apart, because when printing an MFP it literally jumps around the table. The light weight (3 kg) of the HP DeskJet 2050 printer is to blame for this. Owner reviews claim that the problem can be easily solved by installing the MFP on a thin rubber mat. It is this strangeness of the device that causes negativity among all users.
There are no complaints about the build quality of the printer - everything is perfectly adjusted to each other, the latches do not break, the plastic is not easily soiled, all the covers open without much effort. The internal elements are also solidly fixed and there are no prerequisites that any component will fail. Unless the entire MFP vibrates strongly when printing - the manufacturer chased the speed of applying ink to paper, forgetting about the convenience of the user.
The untapped potential of the HP DeskJet 2050
The most important indicator for all printing devices is the maximum resolution, so that advertising in the media would not confirm. After all, the smaller the dot on the sheet of paper, the better the image will be when printing. The HP DeskJet 2050 printer transfers ink to paper at 1200 x 4800 dpi. Users of technology will agree that this is enough to print medium-quality photos.
An important factor is the number of colors in the print head. This printer has four of them, which once again hints to the future owner to print not only text and pictures of an entertaining nature, but also photos on specialized paper. The print speed is quite interesting - 16 pages per minute in monochrome mode, and 4 sheets per minute for color printing.
Device versatility
The optical scan resolution of 1200 dpi cannot be called high-quality. For such an implementation of the technology, the manufacturer can put a negative assessment. This is probably the only minus that the HP DeskJet 2050 printer deserves. After all, the factory could have guessed that the user would need to make a blueprint of a quality photo in color. On the other hand, low-cost technology has reduced the price of the device itself.
In addition, the user has access to all the functionality of the MFP: scanning, copying, printing. A powerful processor and a large amount of RAM (128 MB) are responsible for high performance. The opportunity to create blueprints without connecting the printer to a computer will please you - an independent device.
Spacecraft control
At first glance, a simple MFP has very complex print quality settings - this is clearly a flaw that the HP DeskJet 2050 printer has. The instructions that come with the kit bring clarity, but, again, everything is described superficially. Therefore, users who want to print photos in high quality will have to try the right settings for the device using trial and error.
Professionals in their reviews recommend installing the full package of programs and drivers that are bundled with the printer, otherwise they will not be able to get to the fine-tune of the MFP using the operating system. Fortunately, the manufacturer has implemented a system of profiles that can be configured and saved on the computer disk.
Hidden features of MFPs
Working with profiles opens up a wide range of opportunities not only for ordinary users, but also for creative personalities. The HP DeskJet 2050 All-In-One can be set to give the right colors when printing. True, for this you will have to delve into the settings of color profiles. To ensure that the image on the screen fully matches the photo on paper, it is recommended to purchase a monitor with an IPS matrix, otherwise all actions with fine tuning of 48 million shades will not lead to the desired result.
The declared paper density for use in the printer is 65-156 grams per m 2 . Quite acceptable indicators for printing on ordinary offset sheets, as well as for photo paper. But, judging by the reviews of professionals, from the sheet feeding tray to the exit of the paper from the printer, the media is practically not deformed (as happens in laser devices, when the sheet is bent by rollers when feeding into the oven). This feature of the printer allows you to print on thick cardboard sheets - 280 grams per m2 for this MFP is not a problem.
Savings should be economical
The weak link for all inkjet printers is the cost of supplies. This problem did not bypass the owners of the HP DeskJet 2050 MFPs. How do I refill cartridges with minimal financial cost? Professionals in the field of office equipment and printing assure in their reviews that a continuous ink supply system (CISS) cannot be dispensed with. True, such a solution automatically removes the printer from the warranty. It is up to the user to decide whether to buy expensive cartridges that cost as much as half a printer, or to provide themselves with a CISS resource for years to come.
In the domestic market for HP DeskJet 2050 inkjet printers, the user may encounter one problem. The manufacturer’s branded inks are very expensive, and cheap analogues offered by Chinese companies quickly dry in the nozzles of the print head (4-6 days). Of all the available ink in the CIS markets, only the Ukrainian company Patron managed to create high-quality ink that is suitable for all HP devices and can not dry up to 14 days.
Finally
The HP DeskJet 2050 printer has two opinions. On the one hand, this is one of the cheapest multifunction devices on the market with high quality photo printing. Working with color profiles, all kinds of settings, interesting equipment, printing on cardboard - all this clearly refers to the advantages of the MFP. On the other hand, a printer galloping around the table and the eerie sound of working printheads are very irritating during operation. It is necessary to make some improvements (the manufacturer could elementarily rubberize the bottom of the MFP case), come up with designs to make the device heavier. And with paints, the question remains open, because the choice of ink, in fact, is small. In any case, the potential buyer will have to choose for himself what is more important for him - the price with quality or convenience.