Hewlett Packard 8500 Premier (CB025A) All-In-One InkJet Printer
- Black Print Speed: 35 ppm
- Color Print Speed: 34 ppm
- Output Type: Color Printer
- Technology (Detailed): Inkjet
- Printer Type: All-In-One Printer
- All-in-One Functions: Copier Fax Machine Scanner
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Poor paper feed, bloatware
Pros
Print speed, large paper trays, built in duplexing, excellent shared line fax function, color redition
Cons
Noisy, paper feed problems, Bloatware, inane screens, support not helpful.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Yes, I recommend buying the Officejet Pro as a good all-in-one. However, be aware of paper feed, the prospect of removing Bloatware and the patronizing, maddening user interface.
My recent purchase of the Officejet Pro came after the HP7100 was finally retired. I had high hopes for this all-in-one, but was disappointed in its ability to feed paper and the tedious, maddening extraneous software that invades all HP printers. This product could have received an "outstanding" in all categories except for two problems:
Paper Feed
Bloatware
The technology of paper picking is ancient, and after a score or more years of being a "leader" in the business, one would think that HP would be #1 in producing printers that successfully and reliably pick paper out of their trays.
Not so.
The familiar: click, click, clunk, clunk, rasp, rasp, rasp ... silence accompanied by a message "out of paper" evokes an emotion somewhere between hate and dispair.
HP Support on the Web:
So, clicking into HP.com, I search for my machine and click through to problems. I put in the keyword "paper feed, etc." and read the familiar HP advice. There was nothing specifice to the Officejet Pro:
"Align the paper guides, tap the pack to align the edges, don't put in too much or too little, don't use crumpled sheets or ones with bent edges, and if all else fails, always use HP paper, or try different paper"
None of this worked for me on this printer, although it IS good advice in general.
There is one fact that HP has never mentioned or advises: Paper has a natural curl. Pick up a stack of paper and hold it by one end, allowing it to hang free. You will notice a curvature of the stack. When you load the paper, load it with the concave side of the paper UP. If loaded the other way, in the Officejet Pro, the paper will not feed.
Now, for "plain paper" there is no apparent print side, either on the paper package (from HP of course) or anywhere else that I could find. HOWEVER, there is a "print side" for paper loaded into the Officejet Pro as I described above.
The issue is not with the printer, really, or the need to determine the print side. The issue is with HP manuals, support, paper documentation, the whole ball of wax that NEVER mentions this important fact when dealing with paper feed problems.
If you buy this printer use the process I have described and you will have little problem with the Officejet Pro. Overall, setup is easy, the functions of Copy, Scan, Fax and Print all work well. The printer is exceptionally fast, about twice the speed of my HP8250. Scanning resolution and color redition is right on. Copies are fast and as the original. I use the fax in conjunction with a normal phone line. HP has made this work just fine even with my answering machine. Good Job!
Bloatware is a term is used by many to describe layers of software that do little for the customer experience. Some of it resides in the background, some produces popups that encourage you to buy something (Buyware).
HP continues to be led by people that believe that all of this stuff on your machine will somehow make you love your product, HP and overall make you happy that you purchased this product. They call this "a solution". Not so. Bloatware makes people frustrated, angry, emotional and in some cases they just cease to use the product and throw it away. In my consultation with users over many years, I have discovered HP printers lying in corners covered with dust, never to be used again. There is nothing wrong with the printer...it is the Bloatware that drives people into irrational acts, such as throwing away a perfectly good printer and buying another in hopes of escaping Bloatware.
During a typical HP install there are many instances where you will get clues on what will ensue. The most insidious are those that will install "Buyware" on your machine. Once installed, Buyware will pester you to death about buying more paper, ink etc. It is a blatant, nagging, disgusting example of Bloatware Extreme.
My suggestion, is that if you have purchased an Officejet Pro...just let it install all of that stuff. When it is finished, you can delete it all by using the Control Panel (Windows) and/or finding "startup" programs, etc. It does take upwards of 30 minutes to rid your self of the junk.
In particular, the OfficeJet Pro job screen progressions, are, what I would call patronizing. When a user lives with a product for years, there should be a means to turn off all of the stuff that you might need the first time through. After many journeys through this labyrinth, I find the useless messages make my teeth grind.
There are formal "useability tests" and advanced Alpha and Beta testing that would ferret out these failures in Human Factors, but, evidently, HP missed this with the Officejet Pro. It is a shame that this is perpetrated on the Officejet Pro, truly a flagship for HP.
I am sorry that I am so harsh, but HP, the world leader in printers should be leading the industry in what makes the customer experience improve over time. I discover that I have become emotional about this product, but my review will now stand, albeit revised.
It hasn't happened with the Officejet Pro.
Paper Feed
Bloatware
The technology of paper picking is ancient, and after a score or more years of being a "leader" in the business, one would think that HP would be #1 in producing printers that successfully and reliably pick paper out of their trays.
Not so.
The familiar: click, click, clunk, clunk, rasp, rasp, rasp ... silence accompanied by a message "out of paper" evokes an emotion somewhere between hate and dispair.
HP Support on the Web:
So, clicking into HP.com, I search for my machine and click through to problems. I put in the keyword "paper feed, etc." and read the familiar HP advice. There was nothing specifice to the Officejet Pro:
"Align the paper guides, tap the pack to align the edges, don't put in too much or too little, don't use crumpled sheets or ones with bent edges, and if all else fails, always use HP paper, or try different paper"
None of this worked for me on this printer, although it IS good advice in general.
There is one fact that HP has never mentioned or advises: Paper has a natural curl. Pick up a stack of paper and hold it by one end, allowing it to hang free. You will notice a curvature of the stack. When you load the paper, load it with the concave side of the paper UP. If loaded the other way, in the Officejet Pro, the paper will not feed.
Now, for "plain paper" there is no apparent print side, either on the paper package (from HP of course) or anywhere else that I could find. HOWEVER, there is a "print side" for paper loaded into the Officejet Pro as I described above.
The issue is not with the printer, really, or the need to determine the print side. The issue is with HP manuals, support, paper documentation, the whole ball of wax that NEVER mentions this important fact when dealing with paper feed problems.
If you buy this printer use the process I have described and you will have little problem with the Officejet Pro. Overall, setup is easy, the functions of Copy, Scan, Fax and Print all work well. The printer is exceptionally fast, about twice the speed of my HP8250. Scanning resolution and color redition is right on. Copies are fast and as the original. I use the fax in conjunction with a normal phone line. HP has made this work just fine even with my answering machine. Good Job!
Bloatware is a term is used by many to describe layers of software that do little for the customer experience. Some of it resides in the background, some produces popups that encourage you to buy something (Buyware).
HP continues to be led by people that believe that all of this stuff on your machine will somehow make you love your product, HP and overall make you happy that you purchased this product. They call this "a solution". Not so. Bloatware makes people frustrated, angry, emotional and in some cases they just cease to use the product and throw it away. In my consultation with users over many years, I have discovered HP printers lying in corners covered with dust, never to be used again. There is nothing wrong with the printer...it is the Bloatware that drives people into irrational acts, such as throwing away a perfectly good printer and buying another in hopes of escaping Bloatware.
During a typical HP install there are many instances where you will get clues on what will ensue. The most insidious are those that will install "Buyware" on your machine. Once installed, Buyware will pester you to death about buying more paper, ink etc. It is a blatant, nagging, disgusting example of Bloatware Extreme.
My suggestion, is that if you have purchased an Officejet Pro...just let it install all of that stuff. When it is finished, you can delete it all by using the Control Panel (Windows) and/or finding "startup" programs, etc. It does take upwards of 30 minutes to rid your self of the junk.
In particular, the OfficeJet Pro job screen progressions, are, what I would call patronizing. When a user lives with a product for years, there should be a means to turn off all of the stuff that you might need the first time through. After many journeys through this labyrinth, I find the useless messages make my teeth grind.
There are formal "useability tests" and advanced Alpha and Beta testing that would ferret out these failures in Human Factors, but, evidently, HP missed this with the Officejet Pro. It is a shame that this is perpetrated on the Officejet Pro, truly a flagship for HP.
I am sorry that I am so harsh, but HP, the world leader in printers should be leading the industry in what makes the customer experience improve over time. I discover that I have become emotional about this product, but my review will now stand, albeit revised.
It hasn't happened with the Officejet Pro.
