Introduction
Contents
Touch screens got big boost popularity in cell phones, and now they are moving into other devices, including printers. The HP Photosmart Premium C309g printer boasts a large touch screen along with all-in-one capabilities, automatic duplexing, and wireless networking. Since this printer had such a wide-range of capabilities we decided to take a closer look.
The HP Photosmart Premium C309g comes with quite an array of accessory items. As shown in Figure 1, these include a two-part power cable. The power block is shown on the left and the wall plug and cable is shown on the bottom. Also included is a CD with the HP software, a black cleaning cloth with the HP logo, and a small sample package of photo paper. While most printers of this caliber don’t include a USB cable, this one does. While the USB cable is only three-feet (90 cm) long, it is adequate for use during the printer setup.
Figure 1: Cables, software disc, etc
Figure 2 shows more accessories including a black reusable accessory pouch, an HP Smart Web Printing guide, a Getting Started Guide, and five ink cartridges. A close look reveals that this printer comes with two black cartridges, one large and one small. More on the uses of these will be included later in this review.
Figure 2: Ink cartridges and documentation
The printer itself comes nicely packed as shown in Figure 3. This model is simple, sleek, and good-looking. At 7.83 x 17.8 x 18.62 inches (199 x 452 x 473 mm) with tray extended, it is quite compact for an all-in-one printer. At 16.4 pounds (7.45 kg), the printer has enough weight to feel substantive while still being able to be moved easily from place to place.
The C309g is an all-black printer that has matte black plastic around the sides and a glossy black top. When looking for this model, the “g” is very important. HP also has C309 models with other extensions like “a” and “m.” These seem to be entirely different printers with different features and very different looks. We don’t understand why HP would invest in such complicated naming systems as it only confuses perspective purchasers.
Figure 3: The HP Photosmart Premium C309g