While it may not be part of the Photosmart collection, the DeskJet 5940 is an additional sound all-rounder from HP. In fact, HP boasts that you can print anything you want with the 5940, and that includes borderless images up to A4 size.
Taking the 5940 out of the box, we could instantly see that the build quality is a step above just about everything else within the entry-level category. The top is made of brushed aluminum and the sturdy front-mounted paper trays swing up to leave a small footprint when the printer is not in use. There’s also automatic cartridge alignment along with a paper sensor, which detects what type of paper is loaded and will alter print quality automatically.
The 5940 isn’t the most expensive entry-level printer. Okay, there is no TFT and no card reader; pretty much all you get is a PictBridge port for printing photos from a digital camera. Behind it is a USB 2 port.
Most HP Vivera cartridges are compatible. Inside the box, you’ll find a black 339 along with a tri-color 343 for PhotoREt III, but swap out the black for a 348 photo cartridge and then move on to PhotoREt IV.
We’re pretty familiar with this system, and yes, it wasn’t a real surprise to note that the 5940 creates a lot of great images using the 348 installed. Actually, aside from weak banding, the 5940’s 6 x 4-inch and A4 photomontage prints ended up on a par with the Photosmart 8450, a printer that costs more than twice as much. That is, the prints demonstrated authentic skin tones, well-saturated colors, and outstanding amounts of fine detail.
You’ll need to print on Premium Plus Photo Paper for the best quality, but it’s worth every penny. We also had absolutely no problems with HP’s monochrome photo quality: features weren’t sacrificed within dark areas, and there was absolutely no grain to be seen.
When it comes to text, the DeskJet ended up being average. It printed at 3.5 ppm in normal mode, however the erase speed was excellent; at 13 wpm it turned out to be the third fastest in the test and the quality was unexpectedly fair. A 6 x 4-inch photo printed at best in just under a minute, 30 seconds, while A4 mounting required three and a half minutes.
On the front of the software, you will find the HP Image Zone. This includes a simple photo editor along with a print wizard. The driver is easy to use and offers almost everything except a print progress indicator. We did, however, appreciate the Real Life Digital Photography tab, which provides quick fixes to common issues like red-eye, strong backlighting, and blurry images.
The device uses a pair of HP DeskJet 5940 Ink Cartridges: black and color for everyday printing, and a color/photo combination for high-quality photos. Between them, the Photo and Color cartridges have six colors: Mix C, M, and Y inside the 344 High Capacity Color Cartridge, plus black, light cyan, and light magenta inside the 348 Photo Cartridge.
HP’s well-priced paper helps make the 5940 an even more attractive proposition. Also, consider HP’s value packs, as these sometimes consist of “custom” variations of cartridges that contain a smaller amount of ink.