HP OfficeJet 7310 All-in-One Printer by Hewlett Packard Office
|
Our Price: $798.88 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $125.00 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of HP OfficeJet 7310 All-in-One Printer
Digital camera Review: Buggy buggy buggy
Summary: 1 Stars
I wrote a glowing review of this machine just after I bought it. At the time I was very happy with it, but now that I've had it for a few weeks, I deleted the original review so that I could post this one.
This thing sucks. HP sucks. Do not buy this machine, unless its a present for someone you hate.
Here is a list of my problems:
- The scanner suddenly stopped working, giving weird and inconsistent error messages.
- The troubleshooting section of the manual is really, really bad, and so is the index. You have to read through the entire section to see if your problem is covered. Mine wasn't.
- The troubleshooting section of the HP website is even worse. Seriously. Chimps would have done better. Broken links, nonsensical instructions, and the drivers they tell you to install are solely for if you need to "print only".
- The website help suggested I move certain folders to the trash and then uninstall the software. Even that had problems: The trash wouldn't delete because some component was "in use", even after I had quit and uninstalled everything.
- In desperation I called HP support. The manual says help is available 24/7. That is a lie. But I didn't find that out until after I had spent way too much time talking to some guy who needed all kinds of information before finally transferring me somewhere else, whereupon I had to wait through several recordings until finally hearing that tech support for OS X is only available during normal business hours. You'd think the guy could have told me that first thing.
- After much hacking, I was finally able to scan again, but only through their awful ImageZone software. I used to be able to scan directly from the machine, which was nice, but now it only gives me weird error messages.
If you've seen the movie "Office Space", you know how I feel about this machine and what I want to do to it. That's how you'll feel too.
Digital camera Review: Completely Thrilled!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am VERY impressed with this printer, not only because its great to have such a wide variety of features on one machine, but because the print quality is excellent!
I have had Canon printers for the past 10 years or so, and have always been pleased with them. I knew HP was a reputable brand so I took a chance on them with this all-in-one unit because it was wireless capable. I could not be happier. I've heard that HP ink is expensive, and it is, but I'm also very impressed at how long it seems to last! I purchased an extra set of ink soon after getting the printer, thinking the original cartridges would run out quickly with all the printing I do, but they are still going strong! I've not been printing alot of photos, but I did do about 10 full-page color copies and have printed tons of internet pages in color. I've also used alot of black, but it hasn't run out either.
I like that the copier and fax functions both have the option of printing/faxing in color or black. I was also THRILLED to find out that this unit comes with a two-sided printing accessory! I have my printer settings configured to automatically print on both sides of the page, which saves me alot of paper.
I cannot attest to the scanning function as I have not had need of it yet. Everything else is great though. :-)
Just a word of caution - the only trouble I've had was in trying to make the printer wireless, but it was easily resolved. I didn't understand that the printer first has to be hooked up to your wireless router (I had it in a completely different room and had to carry it upstairs to do this!) when you are installing the wireless print server (that may be unique to the type of Print Server I bought - its a Linksys). Once I figured that part out, it was fine & now I'm able to print from anywhere in my house with my laptop! It's a great feature.
I would HIGHLY recommend this product.
Digital camera Review: Consolidate your assets!
Summary: 4 Stars
After using the printer for about five months, I guess it's time for me to write a review about my dear all-in-one. I will spare the details and give you an over-view.
First of all, we use this in a home-office environment. While we do print a quite a bit of stuff here and there, I am not sure how durable / efficient this unit will be if one is to print 100+ pages on a daily basis
- The hardware & console interface is great. All the basic copying, faxing functionality can be easily done, computer-free from the on-board panel in a clear, organized fashion. I want to get a lot done without booting up my PC and this unit does it well. This is great for guest and kids.
- We got a defective document feeder out of the box, and had to make couple calls to the customer service to get them to ship us a new one. While the customer service is not ideal, it is less painful than most
- Another reason we got this machine is the build-in networking. You can print to this machine any time you want without a computer. Since this thing have 64 MB of memory, you don't bump into any reset/buffer issue that some of the cheap print servers have.
- This brings us to the wireless/wire networking issue.... Chances are, if you have a wireless networking hub out there, you can free up one of the hardwire ports for your printer... Unless you can't stand the sight of a wire, and are willing to pay another extra $100 for it - you can't really take advantage of the build-in wireless network by moving this ~20 LB unit around.
- To be honest, today's inkjet printing and scanning technology is a bit beyond what the average homeowner needs, but this unit can do it! (and fast!) While this may not be the unit with the best print quality analytically speaking, it is up there. Sometimes, the difference is the specialty paper that one would be willing to spend money on.
- Read your manuals! Yes, this machine have a lots of functionality, and if you try to set it all up by your intuition - that's not going to happen. It took us a few try to figure out how the fax functionality works with our answer machine.
- Now the software - I hope that HP will come up with a better software update. Yes, it's big, ugly, and not very user-friendly - in spite of the cutesy, family friendly looking graphics. I tolerate it and it does get things done, but it is definitely the weakest part of the package. Come to think of it, the software also added extra seconds to boot up my computer for a boatload of stuff to initialize; I will have to look into this.
- Bottom line is, if you never fiddle around with your router's setting or never dare to touch your computer's control panel, I understand why one would have problem setting up this unit, so grab a friend to help you out if you are not tech savvy. It does take a bit of time to set things up the way you wanted, but the result / space saving is definitely worth it
Digital camera Review: Deep problems with all in one printers
Summary: 2 Stars
During the last two years, I have ordered four all in one printers, three had serious software problems shortly after arrival and had to be replaced.
Clearly, HP is having serious problems with all in one printers, and subtle changes in their customer service approach to these difficient machines seem to reflect a mounting problem. When my first two printers went approximately 1.5 to 2 years ago, HP's very cordial customer service representatives responded immediately and replaced the machines within days. When the third printer went, more recently, HP was still cordial. This time, however, they urged me to have the machine replaced by the retailer. Moreover, niether they nor the retailer were willing to deliver a new printer on an expedited basis. To do so was an added charge. The result is that it is now 1.5 months later after I first reported a defective printer and I have not yet received a replacement. That is no way to run a business.
Finally, when HP first acknowledged that the printer was defective, they attempted to convince me to buy an "upgrade" at a slight, unconvincing discount. These upgrades were rebuilt all in ones, apparently previously returned because of problems. The conclusion is all but inescapable: HP's warehouses are filling up with defective all in one printers at great cost to HP.
These machines are great when they work, but getting them to work is a problem.
Digital camera Review: Does everything-- but does everything badly.
Summary: 1 Stars
I have owned this printer/scanner for more than a year. During that time, it was the source of endless frustration. First, the sparse positive is that it does as it advertises:
It scans.
It prints.
It faxes.
It makes copies.
However, every single thing it does, if it accomplishes it at all, has major caveats, including some that are so mind-numbingly frustrating, I could only recommend it to my enemies.
The software is nightmarish and like most other HP products, is never updated. It has a well-documented bug which causes machines to freeze on suspend, but while documented, it has never been fixed. The solution is to disable the software, or give up the ability to have your machine go to stand by.
Even if you keep the software, it fights you every step of the way. God knows what it's doing, but when it's running, it chews up about 5% or more of processor time by itself, while the machine is idle and the software is NOT in use.
All the software foibles aside, the machine itself manages a so-so fax, poor quality scans which are barely adequate for copying a document, but do no justice to a photo. The automatic document feeder jams with regularity and its use is actually slower than just feeding the documents yourself, because you are forced to clear jams constantly, and the way the document feeder works, the scans themselves often smear and distort. It is a uselessly broken feature.
The print quality is just average, or below average, and is slow.
But the reason I am ready to bury this thing is as follows: every couple of months, whether or not you use the ink cartridges, it will demand a new cartridge with a vague "cartridge error". I don't know if this is intentionally to force the user to buy new catridges, or if over time, the cartridges themselves clog up and must be replaced, but most recently, a new cartridge with *3* pages of print went belly-up after 2 months.
And here's the clincher: you can't use ANY other function until you replace the cartridge. How's that for holding you hostage? Spend $40-$50 on a new cartridge which you haven't really used or forget about sending that fax, or making that scan.
Avoid this unit. I have also used the 7410, which is no better. If you MUST have an all-in-one, I advise you look elsewhere.
This is the most expensive paperweight I have ever bought, but will be the most satisfying piece of trash I will ever throw away.