🚀 go-pugleaf

I received a number of replies on the HP 500C vs. 550C question
I posted a couple of days ago. Thanks to all who replied.

The major difference between the two is that, while both come
with two cartridges (color and black), the 550C has both
installed at once, and can thus use both in the same printout.
The 500C only holds one cartridge at a time; you have to change
them. (A simple procedure, that takes less than 10 seconds.) Thus,
you can only use one cartridge for any particular print job. 
For color print jobs that need some black, the black is a combination
of the colors (and isn't quite black, but a very dark green).

The 550C can apparently also print slightly farther into the
margins, and has a bigger buffer.

One other note on the 500C: when the black cartridge is installed,
it is essentially a 500 (the HP black only inkjet), 
and prints as well as a 500.

Approximate prices (at CompUSA):

500   $380   
500C  $495
550C  $695

Based on all this, I bought a 500C.  This is for home use, and
I couldn't justify $200 given that the color, for me, was a toy
(it was only a bit more than the black printer, so it would
be fun to have and use every now and then).  If I were
producing lots of color graphics for presentations, I'd
probably have gone with the 550C. But, since I don't use
color very often, and the cartridges really are easy to 
change, I'm quite happy with the 500C.

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Jim Mann            
Stratus Computer   jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com