HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Printer
HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Printer
- All In One Printer with Wireless 802.11g Networking
- Laser Quality Speed Up to 15 ppm Black/Up to 11 ppm Color and Maximum 35 ppm Black/34 ppm Color
- 3.4 in Touchscreen LCD Display and Up to 2400 x 4800 dpi Scan Resolution
- 128 MB Memory and 348 MHz Processor Speed
- 250-Sheet Paper Tray, 50 Sheet Automatic Document Feeder, and Automatic Two Sided Printing
The HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-one Printer comes with built-in Wireless Printing and Wired Networking. The Two sided printing saves paper with add-on features like memory card slots, Color LCD Screen, 4*6 Color Photo Printing, High Capacity Paper Tray and Auto Document Feeder.
List Price: $ 488.00
Price: $ 519.00
2011-12 Score Hockey SP #557 SEAN COUTURIER Short Print Flyers | US $14.99 End Date: Tuesday May-21-2013 18:28:57 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $14.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
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Well-suited for the home or the home office,
I thought I would make what is normally the conclusion the beginning section because not everyone may have the time or the disposition to go through all these paragraphs unless actually interested in making a purchase. I am providing more detail that should support my conclusions AFTER the evaluation section.
Evaluation
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The reviewed unit meets the claim of it being a all-in-one solution. While it is not likely that any individual user would take advantage of all its features on a regular basis, it is reassuring to know that the features are there. The supplied software and the printer’s own console interface allow for a tremenduous amount of flexibility and customization. Some of the more advanced features will require an above-average level of computer expertise but, even without a lot of customization, this will be a useful, worthy printing/faxing/copying/scanning appliance.
While the superior quality of output would make this printer a good ‘small office’ candidate, its speed would probably disqualify it if the small office was doing any significant amount printing. I provided some personal benchmarks so that any prospective small business buyer could decide. As a ‘home’ printer, this comes as close to perfect as they come. I will be using it as a home printer so please do interpret my rating within that context.
A minor observation regarding ‘design’. I found it interesting that some of the functions available on the touch screen are duplicated on physical buttons on the printer’s console. This was striking because I actually saw this model for sale at New York’s Fifth Ave. Apple store. It immediately occured to me that an Apple designer would have none of those buttons if allowed to redesign the product. This is not criticism, it’s only an observation, also prompted by the fact that, for example, when specifying the number of copies to be printed, I could NOT use the physical number pad but had to punch the number on the virtual keypad displayed on the touch screen.
The strong, almost violent shaking the printer brings itself to when not on a perfectly steady surface was a little disturbing to me. I have little doubt that, if improperly placed, the printer would quickly lose its printheads alignment and it might even experience other technical trouble.
Finally, I am happy that the HP Tech support solved my Vista-related problem but it would have been better if a printer that was manufatured only a few days before I received it had an updated CD or, at least, a flyer advising Vista users how to obtain the updated driver.
Considering all of the above, the this printer gets a strong, very positive 4 stars.
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First impressions
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The HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-In-One Printer integrates print, copy, fax, scan document and photo-processing functions. HP supplies the printer itself, ‘starter’ ink cartridges, print heads and a phone wire. Ethernet or USB cables are not included. Thin manuals are provided for wireless and FAX setup. A quick installation poster is provided as well. The full 300+ manual can be downloaded from the HP site. The CD has drivers for the several supported Operating Systems and a number of additional applications such as OCR (optical character recognition).
Besides the Ethernet and USB ports, other physical IO include 2 telephone jacks in the back and slots for several types of memory cards in the front. The printer can be controlled from a PC or directly through a touch-screen color display and several buttons that generally duplicate options on the menus available through the touch-screen interface. To satisfy energy saving concerns, the printer goes to sleep if not used for a while but it can be reactivated by either touching the screen or one of the buttons or remotely from a networked workstation.
Software
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Drivers are available for the most recent flavors of Windows (Vista, XP, 2000) and for the Mac. It can be configured to either a local printer, connected to a PC via a USB cable or as a network printer, wired (Ethernet) or wireless (802.11g). Another option (not tested by me) would be for one PC to connect the printer via USB and then share it over the network. I experienced problems installing the Vista drivers but HP’s tech support addressed it by replacing the CD-supplied drivers with a version available at HP’s site.
While installing the drivers, HP will also install a number of applications and services. Of these the HP Solutions Center is the most versatile. It monitors the printer’s status, including the ink levels and allows for configuring printing, scanning, faxing and other capabilities such as the forwarding of documents to network folders (tested) or to email (not tested yet). In addition, the…
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|Another Opinion,
Recent reviews of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 Wireless were critical of noise, vibration, and ink usage. Here are what I have discovered since installing this printer.
1. On most surfaces the noise from the printer is minimal. Movement of the plastic gears on HP, Canon, and Epson are not silent. Perhaps newer versions of the 8500 by HP will address this minor concern.
2. The printer vibrates slightly compared to a laser printer, but not to the extent that it is objectionable. Perhaps HP can reduce or eliminate this in future models but probably by increasing the weight of the printer. Most users, I suggest, would not want a heavier printer.
3. Ink usage is part of the printer expense “game” but with HP you can continue to print in B&W even if any or all of the color cartridges are empty [Verified by HP Support] That may not be the case with some recent offerings from Epson or Canon, although I personally prefer Espon and Canon printers for color prints.
4. The ink cartridges are dated, but they will continue to function even after the “expiration” date. HP prints a date on the ink package, but it does not prevent the cartridge from working. As a matter of fact, ink will remain usable in a SEALED packet for an extended period without concern. This date code is not a rip-off by HP anymore than other companies who print a freshness date.
5. It is certainly less expensive to order color prints online than to purchase OEM ink and paper. For those with a digital camera who need a quick print now and then the quality of the HP is excellent.
6. Setup is easy. I would only add a note to the directions for Step 7 to input your choice of language and then follow the touch screen directions as the printer processes alignment. The directions are not clear on that one point, and you could wait for 30 minutes wondering why it hasn’t competed alignment of the print heads. Check this out if you purchase this printer.
7. I am punctilious concerning most purchases and, at least in this case, I feel that this printer is an outstanding VALUE even when other offerings from Canon, Brother, and Epson may be less expensive. I have seen printers on sale for less than $50, but the thin plastic housing and the print quality reflect the price. We wanted Print / Copy / Scan / Fax, although we will seldom use the FAX function. (I will only connect the FAX as needed).
8. Follow the directions CAREFULLY and install precisely and you will enjoy owning this printer.
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|Terrible Customer Support!,
I’ve had this printer for a week. While it has worked, it has seemed to work well. Print quality is good, fax and copy are nice. I haven’t used the scanner. I was a little annoyed by the set-up and lack of a manual, but it went okay. It’s a complicated product, so you really need a manual.
After one week and about 20 pages, one of the printheads failed. I tried an online support chat. The person was unhelpful and condescending. The chat lasted an hour. He kept repeating questions and implying that I did not know what I was doing. First, he was flustered that I could not print a test page. Told me to consult the manual if I was unable to understand his instructions. I would presume that would be the manual that does not come with the product. Of course, a printer will not print anything if the printhead does not work.
Then, he had me do a couple of different resets. That didn’t work. He didn’t know what to do. I suggested that maybe the printhead really was faulty. He disagreed. They don’t go bad on new printers. The problem is firmware or I don’t know how to operate. He told me to wait a few minutes while he researched. Then, he told me to clean the electrical contacts between printer and printhead. That did not fix the problem. Again, he put me on hold — so to speak. Finally, he said the printhead had to be replaced, but to do this, I had to call HP by phone. He gave me ticket number.
I call HP and wait about 30 minutes. I give ticket number. It is blank. I explain problem. I am told to repeat same steps as before. I decline. I am told that they cannot help me unless I reset printer, do semi-full reset, and clean printhead. I again decline and ask for supervisor. I’m put on hold. Finally, I’m told they will send me a new printhead — estimated delivery is 7-10 days, unless I pay $17 for expedited shipping and delivery.
I hope this works. If not, I will return printer. Either way, it is doubtful I will use HP again. They were rude, the first guy knew less about printers than I do, and I am now without a printer for over a week. But for those first 20 pages, it is a great product!
Update: The new printhead arrived, and the printer is working again. Hopefully, there will be no more problems because the features work well. This printer is easy to network, and I love the scan-to-pdf and copy functions (although copying is SLOW). For large jobs, you’ll want to use a real copier.
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