Customer Reviews
Brittle Ink Cartridge Holders 
2008-04-13
The ink cartridge holders are very fragile. There is a tiny plastic stub that holds a giant spring that senses that a cartridge is in place or not. The stub on the black ink cartridge holder broke, so the printer would sometimes not sense that it had a cartridge in it. More importantly, the loose spring soon poked a hole in the printed circuitry that connects to the cartridge, so it broke completely. This seems like a poor engineering idea, to have cheap printed circuitry (like metallic ink on heavy paper) next to a sharp spring.
I have read reviews of the HP Deskjet 6940 (the new version of this printer), and it seems that it has the same exact problem.
While the printer was working, it printed with good quality. However, the printer would stall often. It would start a print job, and then get confused or something and would just stop. Sometimes, it restarted the job and finished properly, but sometimes I had to manually end the job and just reprint.
5 stars down to zero! 
2007-09-14
Bought my 6540 1-1/2 years ago. Loved it! Great printer including photos from 4x6 up to 8-1/2x11. No problems until this week. Changed black ink cart with a new hp #96 cartridge. It didn't work. I worked at it for a long time. Wrote to online customer service. Got a reply and he had me try a few things. Nothing doing! He had me print a test page and report a series of number results to him. He wrote back that the printer was not reading the new cartridge and I needed to repair or replace it! THE END? It might be the end of me being an hp fan. I've bought exclusively hp for the past 6 years and this problem really bothers me. I just paid over $30. for this ink cartridge and can't use it at all! No other options...........repair or replace? I live in rural MN and its over an hours drive to a major city. We'll see... On the plus side.......the online repair tech was very helpful and spelled things out very well in an easy to understand way.
No Problems 
2007-01-06
I hate to say that what I like best about this printer is that I can pile stuff on top of it. It's the only printer I've seen with a flat top. It prints great pictures and I've had zero problems in over a year. I rarely use it for black and white, but the quality seemed fine when my lazer printer was down.
Hunk of Junk, HP cheaps it out again 2006-12-21
This printer will fool you into thinking it is a "robust" business class machine. It isn't, the retaining clips on the springs for the cartridge holders make chinese toys look like Tonka toys. It's an obvious flaw that's designed to last about long enough to get through the warranty period then leave the user with a $125 paperweight.
I haven't seen such an obvious piece of designed weakness since the HP2000 series, oh wait, that was another HP business class printer wasn't it. HP are resting on their laurels as far as actually producing a quality small business machine. Do Not Buy This Junk!
Good Printer 
2006-11-03
I purchased 5 of these printers for Library Catalog use in a law library and have not have a bit of trouble with them in their first few months of use. I find the USB connection in the front to be extremely helpful as we got small USB cords for laptop use as we are a wireless campus. I would recommend this printer. The cartridges are small but we have yet to have to change any of them. I only gave four stars because of the small ink cartridges. It is a sleek design and fits pretty much anywhere. I was actually surprised at the width of the design. It appears this season printers are a bit more boxy then seasons past.
Great printer........ 
2006-10-14
Includes: black ink cartridge, tri-color ink cartridge, HP Photo Printing software, power cord, power supply,&more.hp Q8963A DeskJet 6540 Color Printer - This inexpensive color inkjet printer is perfect for both basic office printing, and high resolution photos! With a maximum resolution of 4800 dpi, an optional photo ink cartridge, and premium paper, you can reproduce photographs in a variety of sizes that rival the quality you'll receive from a 1-hour photomat! Another great feature is the front USB port. This lets laptop users quickly connect and print, without the need for expensive wireless options, or cumbersome rewiring. Input Tray - 150 Sheets Output Tray - 50 Sheets Media Types - Paper (plain, inkjet, photo, banner), Envelopes, Transparencies, Labels, Cards, HP Premium media, Iron-On Transfers,&Borderless media Media Sizes - Letter, Legal, Executive, No. 10 Envelopes, Cards, Borderless Photo, Borderless Panoramic,&Custom Sizes - 3x5 to 8.5x24 in. Media Weights - US Letter - 16 to 24 lb. / Legal - 20 to 24 lb. / Banner - 16 to 24 lb. / Envelopes - 20 to 24 lb. / Cards - up to 110 lb. index max. / Photo Paper- up to 130 lb. Connects to a PC or Mac via USB Compatible Operating Systems - Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000 Pro,&XP / Macintosh OS v 9.1 or later, 10.1.5, 10.2.3,&10.3.x
No USB Cable??? 2006-09-29
I ordered this printer and was dismayed to learn on its arrival that it didn't come with a USB cable - a prequisite to its operation.
For those of us who order things like this online, we expect it to ship with everything it needs to operate.
To be fair, I cannot yet comment on how this device prints, because as of this review, I am still waiting on the cable I subsequently ordered. However, the fact that HP would leave out this cable suggests to me that they likely cut other corners in the hardware/software. (I think a one star review is appropriate given that right now it totally fails to print anything.)
If you do order this product be sure and also buy a cable. Be warned, that it is not the standard USB cable (one end is different).
HP 6540 Printer 2006-08-24
This is one of the few printers compatible with the MSNTV2 Internet system. Connection and operation are very easy. Copies (both black and white and color) are excellent.
Excellent printer 2006-08-17
Ever since I saw this printer in my insurance company office, I knew it was the one I would purchase. Clear, fast, sharp printing. The styling also stood out. I have not been disappointed.
Great Printer!!! 2006-08-16
I tried my best to find something bad about this printer. The color is fantastic, the black is bold, holds plenty of paper, sleek design, no paper jams, no problems with the ink cartridges. It's just "DY-NO-MITE"
