[Techtalk] HP printers

[Akkana Peck]

My Epson C86 died, and I'm thinking about trying an HP inkjet,
because of HP's Linux drivers.  But I'm finding it frustratingly
hard to find the specs I want on the web, and of course the goons
at the local stores aren't much help.

The two specs I'm most interested in are:
- are the print heads in the ink cartridge or the printer?
- are the inks the typical dye type that fade after a year?

What I liked best about the Epson: it used pigment-based inks that
don't fade after 6 months, like prints from its predecessor did.

What I liked least about the Epson: the print heads are in the
printer, so once they clog, the whole printer is toast. (Which is
what has happened now, and running 30 cleaning cycles didn't help.)
Apparently a lot of non-Epsons have the nozzle in the ink cartridge,
so if it clogs you can buy a new cartridge.

I'm mostly interested in photo printing for things like greeting
cards and business cards (we have a laser printer for text).
I don't need art gallery quality, just prints look decent.

I don't need an all-in-one; I already have a good scanner.
Don't care about wireless, or standalone print-from-flash-card.
Wired network would be lovely but isn't essential.

A local store has the OfficeJet 6000 and PhotoSmart 5580 on sale,
but googling hasn't told me much about relative print quality,
fade resistance or print heads. Anybody have an HP inkjet and
can comment?  Or have another brand/model inkjet you love for
printing photos?

	...Akkana