What constitutes a printer has changed radically over the last few
years: once a printer printed and that was it! Today printing is just
one of the functions as the technology contained has morphed into a
scanner, fax machine and Internet-capable device. HP’s OfficeJet Pro
8620 e-All-in-One Printer stands out from the others not so much due to
its competent and efficient technology, but because it loses the worst
bugaboo of any inkjet printer: running out of ink just when you need it
most.
The 8620 has a fairly large sized chassis with a decent sized
“footprint.” This is due to it not just being an inkjet printer, but
including a number of office-caliber devices (although its use for the
SOHO or even the pro-sumer individual shouldn’t be discounted). Because
of built-in WiFi, placement is freed from the cable and it can be
located pretty much anywhere within a reasonable radius: for my testing
it was over 50 feet from the WiFi transmitter (including a wall) and the
connection was never lost, most likely due to the use of the “N” WiFi
standard. Nor must you first attach a computer to the 8620 — a bright
4.3 touch screen can be used to do the overall setup as well as operate
all of the functions possible (complete with colored lights and icons to
indicate what the printer is up to). The screen provides help menus
and, during the initial setup, text that details what must be done — for
example, attaching the optional duplexer that does double-sided
printing. There’s even includes animated sequences to provide a visual
confirmation of what’s to be done — such as inserting ink cartridges. So
for those looking to avoid reading manuals, it’s pretty much of a fast
ride.
The top loaded flat bed scanner holds material up to 8.5″ x 14″ inches
and has an optical resolution of 1200 (interpolation can take it
higher). That is more than sufficient for scanning documents at 300 dpi
or greater. There’s also a built-in 50 sheet document feeder which will
take sheets and run them through automatically. HP doesn’t provide OCR
software, but the standard sw provided for PC and Mac use is sufficient
for everyday uses and, at a basic level, doesn’t require an learning
curve to speak of. Mac computers, such as mine, automatically recognize
the correct printer driver, while procedures for loading the right one
in for PC use is no more difficult either. There are also dedicated icon
touch buttons that will activate printer apps; these include being able
to “send” a scanned image directly into an email, send a file to a
network folder and more. The printer will also work as a fully
functional bxw or color fax machine, necessitating the addition of a
telephone line connection. The fax portion of the printer can also
automatically receive faxes. For those without landlines, this feature
is defunct, although faxing through the Internet is an acceptable
alternative.
The resolution of the printer is more than sufficient for documents
and for casual photo printing (but not what is needed for high-quality
color printing of photographs). As the printer was not designed for
photos specifically, as some are, it shouldn’t be held to account
because of that. As an example, I compared a high resolution scan of a
scenic printed on a photo-specific color inkjet printer with that of the
8620: the OfficeJet didn’t come in first place but wasn’t so far behind
as to be told to sit in the corner. For the occasional and non-pro use,
it does fine. The resolution of the printer also makes it less useful
for scanning negatives or slides, and since it doesn’t include the
hardware for doing this, it’s fair to say that it’s not designed to
handle such work.
Printing is certainly an important “function” of a printer, and one
that moves along at a better than reasonable speed — especially when
black and white is being printed instead of color. The 8620 can print up
to 21 bxw pages a minute, with color far from far behind at 16.5.
Realistically this speed was never quite attained, but short of massive
print documents hogging the use of the printer, the “wait” time for any
queuing will be brief enough not to cause a conniption fit. But for
those who are impatient, I say just stick with black and white printing.
The paper trays consist of a 250-sheet input tray and 150 output.
All of the features noted above can be duplicated through use of the
built-in color LCD touch-screen panel, as opposed to using a computer or
sending a file to print from a mobile device’s app. One nice feature of
using the panel is the ”Help” function noted earlier, and it’s a quick
press to select from the setup or initiate the WiFi settings through
the Setting menu. Additionally, using the panel is the most direct way
to access files placed on a thumb drive which have been inserted into
the USB socket.
We now come to the ink cartridges, arguable the more expensive and
replaceable part of this $299.00 retail printer. Similar to most color
inkjet printers now on the market, there are separate cartridges for
cyan, magenta and yellow, along with one for black (and which is about
twice the size of its companions). These cartridges fit easily into
their designated slots and, following the loading procedure, result in
the printer being ready for action within a few minutes. The normal
procedure that now follows is to use the printer, doing color and black
and white as needed, until one gets a warning that a color or the black
is running low. Then you try to squeeze out every drop you can until
it’s time to replace the cartridge with a fresh one purchased earlier
and that’s lying in a drawer (versus the more “green” method of waiting
till the cart expires and then going to the store to get a new one and
give them back the old for disposal). HP, however, has another idea and
it’s a doozy.
HP sells a
subscription service called Instant Ink. What it does is to place you in
monthly plan. For a set amount, you are “allowed” to print a designated
amount of sheets (color and/or black and white). For example, the basic
plan cost $2.99 and lets you print 50 pages. If you print less than 50
that month, it rolls over into the next month’s total (up to 50 sheets
worth) and if more, you pay a $1 fee per each additional 15 pages. The
real value of the plan is that you’re sent a replacement ink
cartridge(s) before you know you need one. The ink cartridges you’ve
installed (and which are “geared” to the printer) transmit their status
to HP which sends out a replacement through the US mail when needed. You
get the cartridge(s) in the mail, replace that which was sent with the
one in the printer and then return it in the postage-free box for HP to
properly dispose of (although I think it likely they reuse it). You
never pay for the ink itself, which saves money like billio. Since HP is
not monitoring WHAT is being printed, just the volume of ink outputted,
even those leery of the NSA shouldn’t take umbrage. Just don’t toss out
the aluminum foil hats, they’re hard to make! Also, don’t toss out the
starter inkjet cartridges that come with the printer — you have to
install them as normally before applying for Instant Ink replacements.
Additionally there’s a bit of a time lag between signing up for the
service and getting the cartridges, but once they’ve come and been
inserted, the service charges begin as the printer informs HP that all
is now in progress.
Bottom line: The HP OfficeJet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One
Printer is a moderately sized printer, scanner and all around useful
office e-device. Taken into account with the Instant Ink service, the
sum of its parts is well worth the cost of the whole.
2 comments:
Thanks for the 5 functions of a printer
Love my Formax paper shredders!
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