HP's
Bluetooth Inkjet is Barely Known, Why?
October 18, 2002 by Keith Benicek
Our review of the HP Deskjet 995c came in a roundabout manner; in fact, we discovered the 995c at the end of a search for Bluetooth products for another article. As part of the “Ultimate Guide: Networking PC and Mac’s”, we found that we needed to add the now maturing Bluetooth technology. Certainly an integral part of this emerging close range network had to be something as important as printing, but where were all the Bluetooth printers? None from Epson, Canon or Lexmark for the SMB market, and none from Minolta, Sharp, Xerox or any of the high-end office printer companies.
It was by shear accident that we learned from Anycom, a leading European manufacturer of Bluetooth components, that HP had a Bluetooth embedded Inkjet. A quick call to our contacts at HP and a Deskjet 995c was sent down to our Tech Lab for the networking article.
We liked this little known but revolutionary Deskjet so much that we felt it deserved it’s own review too. But, please tune into the multi-part series “Ultimate Guide: Networking PC and Mac’s” to see how this printer can fit into your Medium, SMB, SoHo, Educational Institution or Home Use applications. The first part will be published at the end of October 2002.
When we opened the
box that contained the Deskjet 995c and caught our first glimpse of it’s
silver and gray sleek lines while lifting out the hefty printer, we knew
that this was an expensive but well built printer. Not that we would expect
anything less from HP; the Deskjet 995c is obviously more sturdy than
Inkjets we seen from competitors at the same or twice the price. Hey,
sturdy long-lived printers are an HP hallmark. For you old timers, we
still have a functioning Deskjet 550C in our office that’s over
10 years old. We’ve already tossed Canon and Epson Inkjets that
were only a few years old. 
ì...(If
you) need an industrial strength Inkjet with Bluetooth for your office
or school, this is the printer for you.
î
Since we have mentioned the
price issue, we may as well break the only bad new about this printer
to the budget conscience. At $399.95, the Deskjet 995c has a pretty hefty
price tag to match its weight, or perhaps that’s what you’d
think. Considering it’s many features and capabilities, some of
which are very unique, the price may be actually a huge bargain. As we
go along, have your calculator out and see.
Introduced at the beginning of this year, the Deskjet 995c is the only printer with an integral Bluetooth radio that will give you non line-of-sight wireless printing for up to 40 feet by our tests, and that was through a commercial sheet-rock wall. If you are an IT manager and need an industrial strength Inkjet with Bluetooth for your office or school, this is the printer for you. Otherwise, you’ll have to resort to buying an LPT Bluetooth adaptor, which will cost in a range of $200 to $250 each, so factor that into your equation. Getting these “dongle adaptors” to work reliably for everyone is hit and miss from our recent testing experience, and you are limited to LPT connected type Inkjets.
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