The first disappointment, surprisingly enough, was speed. Even though the 1100dtn seemed fast, it was actually quite slow. Specifications can be deceiving. I wasnt really expecting see 23 pages per minute, but I was shocked when my wifes 337-page double-spaced novel took 70 minutes on the 1100dtnan average speed of just 4.8 ppm. (For comparison, it took 54 minutes to print on the LaserJet 5P, for a respectable 6.2 ppm.)

A phone call to HP revealed that the printer actually has four print modesbest, fast/good, normal, and draftand the 23-ppm figure is for draft mode. Sure enough, the printer does print noticeably faster in draft mode. But go to those faster modes and the print quality turnshow shall I put ithorrible. Here are enlargements of actual printed text in the different modes:

Clearly, the "draft" mode gets its speed by putting less ink on the pages. The result is barely presentable.

For comparison, I printed the same text on the Laserjet 2300dn. It was simply smashing:

The blacks are solid, and the lines are straight. The better quality comes from the fact that the laser printer is building up an image with micro deposits of black carbon toner that are fused into place, while the inkjet image depends on ink being sprayed onto and absorbed into the paper. Inkjet simply cannot deliver the same quality.

Another big disappointment with the 1100dtn was its paper handling: my old laser printer delivers the pages neatly stacked, but the inkjet didnt. As a result, I can take a 50-page document off the laser printer, fasten the pages with a paper clip, and drop it into a FedEx envelope or put it in my backpack. Paper off the inkjet printer, in contrast, had to be shuffled and straightened. And after I printed a few thousand pages, my 1100dtn started jamming every 20 to 50 pages. Perhaps my machine was dirty or perhaps there was a tiny piece of paper stuck inside the machine, but the net result was that the printer needed to be babysat when big jobs were printed. This is, in fact, a common complaint about inkjets: they just arent suited for large-volume print jobs.

I finally sent the 1100dtn back and bought the 2300dn. (Well, actually my father bought it for me as a birthday presentthanks, Dad). The 2300dn is a marvelous printer. It really does deliver the rated 25 pages-per-minuteprovided, of course, that your computer can deliver the data fast enough. (A fast computer can if you connect to the printer over a network.) The printer has a built-in management system that tells you, among other things, how many pages you have printed on the current cartridge and how many are left. The printer can also send out alertsfor example, it can send e-mail to a pager when the paper path has jammed or when it is time to order a new printer cartridge.

There are little features on the 2300dn that make it a real pleasure to use. The paper tray, for example, has an indicator that tells you how much paper is leftwithout having to open it up. But my favorite thing about the printer is that I can type control-P in Microsoft Word, hit return, and the letter that Im working on is printed in less than 10 seconds.

Ultimately, the DeskJet 1100dtn inkjet served HPs interests wellthe device convinced me that I needed a new printer that could do two-sided printing and that would print really, really fast. Its a pity, though, that the 1100dtn wasnt the printer of my dreams. On the other hand, those low-cost color lasers are looking better all the time.