HP Officejet J6480 All-in-One Printer by HP
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Digital camera reviews of HP Officejet J6480 All-in-One Printer
Digital camera Review: A Learning Experience (Updated 12/24)
Summary: 2 Stars
The bottom line: The J6480 offers a lot of features for the price I paid. Those features seem nice to have on tap, even if I probably won't use most of them. Plus, when the job is done, it's done pretty well. Also, I'm learning a lot about the state of consumer printer technology. Finally, I don't like admitting that I made a losing choice. All reasons why I'm toughing it out.
With a review like that, you know I'm not really loving it. You want some specifics? Fair enough.
The Good:
* Wireless set up went well. I followed the instructions in someone else's Amazon review.
* The CD install was long but succeeded on my WinXP desktop.
* My Vista laptop found the printer and installed drivers on its own.
* The HP Solution Center software is easy to use, though most activities can be initiated from the printer itself.
* I think the printer's multi-function interface is pretty easy.
* The printer's output looks pretty good to me.
* Printing, scanning, etc. is usually fast enough.
* Nothing has jammed yet.
Annoying Printer Tricks:
* Printer occassionally wakes up, cycles its internals, beeps, then goes back to sleep. Annoying when you're watching DVDs, concentrating, etc.
* Printer sports an ultrabright blue LED on the front, for those who would keep this in a bedroom or media area.
* Included cartridges are pretty low capacity. Printing 25 B&W pages has already used half my Black cartridge.
* Scanning activities are sometimes slow for no reason I can tell. Copying at low quality can run slower than copying at medium quality.
* Duplexed output is slow because, for each page, the printer has to wait for the front to dry before it can print the back. (A limitation of ink.)
* There is a "Copy 2 sided" option. Don't get excited about 2-sided input. It actually means "Two 1-sided originals -> one 2-sided output".
Degrading The Computing Experience:
* The included software causes slightly longer boot times.
* After boot up, I can't use the network until the HP software is done initializing. This takes several minutes.
* I know when it's done initializing because Windows tells me the firewall is DISABLED. In a few seconds, it's enabled again - but is this really necessary for printer software?
* The first time MS Word or MS Excel is launched, there is a ~3 minute wait.
* Sometimes IE, MS Word, and MS Excel stall while the printer software is doing something.
* Shutdown takes a few minutes. Windows displays message boxes saying it's waiting for various HP processes to close.
* If the printer is turned off, the above wait times get even longer.
* When printing duplex from Vista, I'm warned that the printer doesn't have a duplex module installed, even though it does. If I tell it to print anyway, it will print duplex afterall.
On balance, I admit I overbought and underpaid. I was young, it was my first time, I'll know better next time.
Update (12/24/2008):
I finally got to the point where I couldn't use the printer due to the rapid-fire power on/off cycle it did. It would go utterly spaz, enough to wake me up from another room.
HP replaced the printer. I contacted HP support over chat, described the problem, endured the diagnostic steps they required, and they sent me a new core unit. They were friendly and the process was easy and I appreciate that a lot.
However, the reps are obviously on a tight script and have little knowledge or flexibility. I thought the problem might be the power supply (jiggling the cord, etc. would make it behave fine). I offered to just replace that but they replaced the core unit, which didn't include the supply. It still resets itself and "flickers" (it's doing it now) but it's less of a problem than before. I usually unplug it when not in use.
Also, I recycled my WinXP machine so I had to install the HP software on my Vista machine. On the plus side:
* Installing the HP driver fixed the "no duplexer installed" message.
* The startup/shutdown/launch Excel lag is gone on Vista.
* The firewall disabling is not apparent on Vista.
On the negative side:
* The rest of the problems still exist.
* Many PDFs look fine on the screen but print as garbage. (They print fine on other printers.)
* The computer itself usually thinks the printer is offline, though going to Printers -> HP Office Jet Series -> Use Printer Online often helps enable it. (I have it connected via ethernet.)
* Even if the computer knows the printer is there, the HP software might not. I can initiate a scan from the PC or the printer, the device will scan, and it will launch the HP software appropriately. Then the HP software tells me there's no printer/scanner connected and abort the process. I haven't successfully scanned yet.
* Every day I get a message saying that an HP service was killed by "Data Execution Prevention".
New conclusion? I'm still living with it but couldn't recommend one.
Digital camera Review: A great Home Business Machine
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this printer for several weeks and I must say it has delivered everything that I have thrown at it. I upgraded from a HP 5600. Ink is $7 less per cartridge.
I don't normally write reviews but for the price of this item and the quality of the machine, I wanted to share my thoughts.
Digital camera Review: A little behind the performance of peers
Summary: 2 Stars
In all, this printer is on a par of slower machines and to pay more than a hundred dollars for it would be wrong. The Pro's: Good appearance, Well laid out and accessible front control panel, card readers, Wi-Fi access and fairly priced ink. The Con's: A disappointing scanner with extremely slow scanning, document manager is under par, double side scanning means double feed by page to preserve proper order.
In this class for less money the performance software and ink cost of the Brother 420(x) style and series is a significantly better performer, far more compact and paperport scan software is superior. While I will live with this choice of printer I would not buy it again for myself.
Digital camera Review: A lot of money for shoddy construction
Summary: 2 Stars
We have now owned two of these printers. The print quality has never been great on either, but both have broken within a year. The first started making terrible grinding noises during printing and eventually left large faint/blank areas on the prints. The second one's hinge snapped when the printer cartridge compartment was opened, and due to its design, will not allow me to close it, meaning that it will not print since it thinks the door is still open. Do yourself a favor and get a different brand.Digital camera Review: A total wreck...
Summary: 1 Stars
I've had many HP All-In-Ones, all with great measures of success. But this one may very well be my last. It's a complete dud. I haven't had it for even a year, and it just flat out sucks.
Several times a day, it fails requiring me to unplug it. Many time per day! A real clunker. I look forward to the day when I can take thing out on a highway and joyfully throw it out the window at a very high speed. Don't worry...I'll stop and pick up all of the pieces, but it'll be worth it to put this pile of shiz to rest.