HP ThinkJet

The HP ThinkJet was an early Hewlett-Packard thermal inkjet printer introduced in 1984. Its name was derived from “Thermal Ink Jet,” the printing technology on which the machine was based. The product is historically important because it marked the commercial emergence of HP’s thermal inkjet approach, a technology that later supported the company’s large printer businesses under names such as DeskJet, OfficeJet and other Jet-branded products. The ThinkJet was designed as a relatively compact personal and office printer. Its principal technical characteristics included an approximate resolution of 192 by 96 dots per inch and a rated output of about 150 characters per second. Compared with impact printers commonly used at the time, its most visible advantage was quiet operation. This made it suitable for office and workstation environments where acoustic noise was undesirable. The printer was also integrated into the HP Integral PC, linking the product to HP’s broader workstation and personal-computing ecosystem. The ThinkJet was the first HP printer to use the “Jet” naming element that subsequently appeared across a broad family of HP printing and imaging products. Later examples included the QuietJet, PaintJet, DeskJet, LaserJet and OfficeJet printer lines, as well as ScanJet scanners and JetDirect print servers. The ThinkJet therefore functioned not only as a standalone product but also as the starting point for a durable naming and technology lineage within HP’s imaging portfolio. The original ThinkJet was followed by the QuietJet in 1986, which offered modest improvements in speed and print quality, and by the wider-carriage QuietJet Plus. HP then expanded its inkjet range with the color-capable PaintJet in 1987 and the first DeskJet in 1988. DeskJet products added features such as cut-sheet feeding, higher resolution and progressively faster black-and-white and color output. As these newer products became more capable and better suited to mainstream home and office printing, the ThinkJet ceased to be a current consumer printer brand. Despite its age, the ThinkJet remained relevant as a legacy platform. The original 2225-series machines used consumables that continued to be sold by HP decades after launch; reference material reported the availability of new cartridges in 2021. Compatibility with later industrial printing equipment helped sustain demand for those supplies even after the original printer hardware had left the mainstream market. The product is therefore best understood as a discontinued historical printer brand whose technological and naming influence continued through HP’s later inkjet businesses.

HP introduced the ThinkJet in 1984 as an early commercial implementation of thermal inkjet printing. The name described the underlying method: heat was used to generate ink droplets that were deposited onto paper. At approximately 192 by 96 dots per inch and 150 characters per second, the printer was modest by later inkjet standards, but it provided a practical alternative to impact printers. Its quiet operation was a particularly important selling point in offices and computer-workstation settings. The ThinkJet was also associated with HP’s early personal-computing products. An HP Integral PC incorporated a ThinkJet printer, demonstrating how HP could combine computing hardware and output equipment in an integrated system. The printer was reportedly HP’s smallest printer until 1992. Its compact form factor and thermal inkjet mechanism helped establish a product direction that HP would later develop for much larger consumer and business markets. The ThinkJet introduced the “Jet” naming pattern that became strongly associated with HP imaging products. In the years that followed, HP used related names for the QuietJet, PaintJet, DeskJet and LaserJet printer families, along with OfficeJet multifunction products, ScanJet scanners and JetDirect networking accessories. The naming convention eventually covered products using different printing or imaging technologies, but the ThinkJet was the first HP printer in this broader lineage. HP’s next step was the QuietJet, introduced in 1986. It offered somewhat higher speed and improved print quality, with the QuietJet Plus providing a wider carriage. In 1987 HP introduced the PaintJet, expanding its inkjet activity into color printing. The first DeskJet arrived in 1988 with a built-in cut-sheet feeder, approximately two pages per minute of output and 300 dpi resolution. The DeskJet family quickly became HP’s principal mainstream inkjet platform, reducing the strategic importance of the older ThinkJet. During the late 1980s and 1990s, HP expanded its printer portfolio with Macintosh-oriented Deskwriter products, portable DeskJet models, color DeskJets, higher-end A3 machines and increasingly capable multifunction printers. These products added faster output, improved resolution, color cartridges, networking and scanning. Compared with that expanding portfolio, the ThinkJet remained a basic monochrome legacy product and was eventually discontinued as a current printer line. The product nevertheless retained a long afterlife through its consumables. Reference material states that HP continued selling new cartridges for the original ThinkJet 2225 series as of 2021. Such supplies also served newer industrial printers, helping preserve a market for the cartridge format after the original hardware was no longer a mainstream offering. The ThinkJet’s lasting significance is consequently technological and historical: it helped commercialize HP thermal inkjet printing, established the company’s “Jet” product vocabulary and preceded the DeskJet family that became central to HP’s consumer and office printing business.

1. 2021Legacy ThinkJet ink remains available

   Reference material reports continued sales of cartridges for the original ThinkJet 2225 series, including compatibility with newer industrial printers.

   Source
2. 1988DeskJet launches as HP’s mainstream inkjet successor

   HP introduces the first DeskJet with cut-sheet feeding, 300 dpi resolution and higher suitability for general home and office printing.

   Source
3. 1987PaintJet extends HP inkjet printing into color

   HP introduces the PaintJet, demonstrating the expansion of the company’s thermal inkjet work beyond the monochrome ThinkJet.

   Source
4. 1986QuietJet follow-up introduced

   HP follows the ThinkJet with the QuietJet and wider-carriage QuietJet Plus, providing incremental improvements in speed and print quality.

   Source
5. 1984HP introduces the ThinkJet

   HP launches the ThinkJet, an early commercial thermal inkjet printer with quiet operation, approximately 192 by 96 dpi resolution and output of about 150 characters per second.

   Source

An early, quiet, compact thermal inkjet printer for personal-computing and office environments, positioned as an alternative to noisier impact printers and as the foundation of HP's later inkjet product families.

• HP ThinkJetThermal inkjet printer1984

  The original ThinkJet was a compact monochrome thermal inkjet printer introduced in 1984. It produced approximately 192 by 96 dpi output at around 150 characters per second. Its defining advantage was quiet operation compared with impact printers, making it appropriate for personal-computer and office environments. The ThinkJet was also incorporated into the HP Integral PC and became the first HP printer to carry the “Jet” name.

• HP ThinkJet 2225 seriesLegacy thermal inkjet printer series1984

  The 2225 series represents the principal ThinkJet hardware family identified in the available reference material. Although the printers themselves are discontinued, their cartridge format continued to have practical relevance because HP supplies remained available and compatible with some later industrial printing equipment.

• 1988Shift mainstream inkjet emphasis toward DeskJetStrategy

  HP’s subsequent inkjet development moved toward higher resolution, cut-sheet handling, color capability and faster output.

  What changed. HP launched the DeskJet family as a more capable mainstream inkjet platform following the ThinkJet and related products.

  Aftermath. DeskJet became the principal consumer and office inkjet brand, while ThinkJet moved into legacy status.

  Source
• 1984Commercialize thermal inkjet printing with ThinkJetProduct launch

  HP was developing a quieter alternative to impact printing for personal-computing and office environments.

  What changed. HP introduced the ThinkJet, using thermal inkjet technology and a compact design.

  Aftermath. The product established HP’s thermal inkjet presence and began the “Jet” naming lineage later used for DeskJet and other imaging products.

  Source

• 2021HP continues supplying legacy ThinkJet-compatible ink

  Reference material indicates that HP continued selling ink cartridges for the original ThinkJet 2225 series, partly because the supplies remained compatible with newer industrial printers.

  Other
  Source
• 1986QuietJet succeeds the ThinkJet platform

  HP follows the ThinkJet with the QuietJet and QuietJet Plus, adding incremental improvements in speed, print quality and carriage width.

  Product generation
  Source
• 1984HP introduces the ThinkJet thermal inkjet printer

  HP launches the ThinkJet, an early commercial thermal inkjet printer offering quiet operation and approximately 192 by 96 dpi output.

  Product launchOther
  Source

1. HP DeskJet