HP LaserJet 1160: direct monochrome printing with manual duplex review

A direct monochrome printer with attended duplex

The HP LaserJet 1160 suits a compatible USB computer or a prepared legacy parallel workstation producing ordinary black-and-white documents. Its included normal paper supply is a 250-sheet enclosed tray. The deciding limitation is manual two-sided printing: the automatic duplex mechanism described elsewhere in the shared manual belongs to the 1320 series.

HP's exact US product record identifies Q5933A#ABA and explicitly says the printer is discontinued. This is an earlier US reference, not a current offer. HP's US specification lists the low-voltage 110–127-volt, 60-Hz configuration separately from a 220–240-volt, 50-Hz regional edition. The original guide also describes separate regional power requirements and warns not to convert operating voltage.

The included interfaces are USB and parallel

The exact 1160 configuration and rear walkaround establish a USB port compatible with USB 2.0 specifications and a real IEEE 1284-B parallel port. For a USB computer, use the correct cable and connect it when prompted by the compatible installation procedure.

The parallel arrangement needs a genuine compatible legacy computer interface, suitable parallel cable and an appropriate printer driver. No USB converter or network device is assumed. An optional external Jetdirect server or wireless accessory in the manual is not included networking hardware.

The original 1160 software scope names host-based printing and PCL 5e. It does not give this model the neighboring 1320's PCL 6 or PostScript features. Historical Windows and Mac listings describe the original software environment; check actual driver availability for the intended computer. AirPrint, Mopria and secure PIN-held document release remain unconfirmed.

This is a monochrome print-only printer with no scanner, document feeder, flatbed, copier or fax. A generic support application, external print server or two-sided driver option cannot add those physical functions.

Count the enclosed stack separately from manual feeding

The main tray holds 250 sheets of 20-lb/75-g/m² ordinary paper. The documented 147×211–216×356-mm main-tray range accommodates Letter, Legal and A4. Load the print side down with the top toward the printer, adjust the side and rear guides and straighten the stack when adding paper.

The separate priority slot takes one sheet at a time, with the print face up and top toward the printer. The printer partially draws it in, then waits for the instructed Go-button step. This is a useful attended special-media path, not another normal stack, so included ordinary capacity remains 250 sheets.

For a supported envelope, open the rear straight-through output and feed only one envelope into that priority slot. Put the print face up, top edge along the left guide, with a short-edge flap entering first when present. Choose the actual envelope size and Envelope type in the compatible driver. An ordinary tray-capacity headline does not describe envelope capacity or automatic envelope duplex.

Manual duplex requires a second pass

The original lightweight-paper Windows procedure closes the rear straight-through output and enables manual two-sided printing in Device Settings. Choose Print on Both Sides in Finishing, print the first sides, remove unused input paper and straighten the printed stack.

Reload the printed stack face up with its bottom edge toward the printer, then press Go to print the reverse sides. Heavy paper has a separate rear-output routine. The original guide explicitly excludes this manual-duplex feature from Mac OS X, so a historical driver list alone is insufficient to promise that workflow on every computer.

HP declares up to 20 one-sided Letter pages per minute, separately 19 A4. These are maker ratings rather than measurements here. Special-media modes can slow printing. The original 10,000-page maximum monthly duty is distinct from the stated 1,000-page average; that average is not treated as a recommended monthly maximum.

Confirm the 49A supply and working space

The original exact 1160 configuration identifies a 2,500-page cartridge. HP's current compatibility row maps 49A Q5949A to the 1160, and its exact 1160 yield report declares 2,500 standard pages under ISO/IEC 19752. The 1320 family's higher-yield 49X declaration is not borrowed as a 1160 compatibility promise.

The original guide separately describes historical life at 5% text coverage, density three and EconoMode off. Those conditions are kept distinct from the ISO declaration. No remaining toner, present supply price or cost per page is assumed for an individual earlier unit.

HP's US body dimensions are 13.8 inches wide, 13.9 deep and 10 high. Weight remains unconfirmed against differing original cartridge-installed and later unspecified bases. Leave additional cable, tray, rear-output and cartridge-access room. Choose the 1160 for prepared direct printing with attended handling; essential wireless sharing or automatic duplex needs a separately documented configuration.