Hewlett-Packard's OfficeJet J5780 inkjet multifunction device offers a low starting price and all four functions you'd expect to find in an all-in-one unit. Unfortunately, the OfficeJet J5780 doesn't have any high-end features; it's best suited for a home office environment that needs occasional use of a multifunction device.

The OfficeJet J5780's print function works OK, offering a top printing speed of 30 ppm in black and 24 ppm in color. However, those speeds are in "Draft" mode; the unit runs more slowly in "Best" mode. Overall print quality is good, thanks to the OfficeJet J5780's resolution of 4800x1200 dpi. Just expect slow performance when printing at a high resolution. And, although the OfficeJet J5780 prints photos at a good quality, its text printing wasn't as sharp as we'd like to see.

This unit's copier function works well, running at speeds (in "Draft" mode) up to 30 ppm (again, that's only in black). You can resize originals at between 25% and 400%, which is a good feature for a multifunction device in this price range. You can send fax documents at speeds up to 10 ppm, which is about average for a unit in this price range. The scanner creates sharp images, offering a top optical resolution of 2400x4800 dpi, but it does run a little slow at times.

The OfficeJet J5780 includes a couple of other handy features, especially for a sub-$150 unit. First, the OfficeJet J5780 has a 100-sheet paper tray; some similarly price units don't include paper trays. The unit's 35-sheet automatic document feeder also is a rarity with sub-$150 multifunction devices. Unfortunately, this unit doesn't offer memory card slots or an LCD for printing photos without the use of a computer.

Overall, the OfficeJet J5780's performance levels--both in speed and in print quality--are only average at best versus other units aimed at home offices that don't need high-capacity performance in a multifunction device.


Pros: Average performance at a good price, good photo print quality, paper tray and ADF are nice features
Cons: No high-end features, overall operation is slow, text printing is below average

Warranty
1 year, limited