Object Details
- Description
- HP began making inkjet printers with the HP Thinkjet (models HP 2225A and HP 2225B) in 1984. In 1988, HP introduced the first DeskJet. It included a built-in cut sheet feeder, 2 ppm, and 300 dpi. This was followed by the DeskJet Plus in 1989. It offered a landscape printing ability. The DeskJet 500, this model, was introduced in 1990, offering a faster printing speed of 3 ppm. The printer was soon complemented by the DeskWriter for Macintish computers. The DeskJet offered continuous plain-paper printing and higher print quality than its inkjet predecessors. At about $1,000, it was the least expensive non-impact printer on the market at the time it was introduced. However, HP wanted to bring the price down even more. By 1993, when HP had achieved enough sales volume to employ economies of scale, the list price was $365. Customers could now get a printer superior to an impact printer (such as a dot-matrix printer or daisy wheel printer) for the same price. And by 1994, the DeskJet offered a color printing upgrade.
- Early DeskJet printer offered a very inexpensive, disposable print head that could be built into the ink cartridge itself. This guaranteed a high level of print quality over the entire life of the printer. Competitors offered permanent print heads, which tended to clog and need replacement.
- The DeskJet developed into HP's Deskjet, Photosmart and Professional Series printer lines, all of which used thermal inkjet technology.
- The object is marked on the front: HEWLETT (/) PACKARD (/) Desk Jet 500.
- This example of the DeskJet includes a 3 1/4" installation disk (dated 1993) , a brochure entitled "HP DeskJet Series Printer Software Gruide for Microsoft Windows" (dated 1993), and an unopened "DeskJet 500 Printer: Printer Setup Guide." There is also an advertising leaflet entitled "Does your computer get all tied up when you print from Windows?"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- maker
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- date made
- ca 1993
- Credit Line
- Hewlett-Packard
- Physical Description
- plastic. metal. (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 8 in x 17 in x 15 1/2 in; 20.32 cm x 43.18 cm x 39.37 cm
- Object Name
- Printer
