-
"A KNOWLEDGEABLE OPINION - EXPERIENCED USER" on
Pros: I use the 7310 which is the same as the 7410 without the wireless. It is hooked up to two desktops and one laptop. I run the printer through a d-link wireless router and this unit takes commands from all my computers flawlessly. I found the setup to be ve
Cons: Not having a dedicated photo ink slot.
-
"Return it - HP cannot fix the problems - timewasting" on by Christopher C
Pros: Print Quality, promises features
Cons: Bloatware unreliable software, bad support, unreliable faxing design, tiemwasting buggy installs,
Summary: Endless problems with HP multifunction products. I install multifunction machines professionally. HP should have fixed many similar problems found also in their earlier multifunction machines.
No background processing fax. Proper fax machines like the Brother MFC 5840CN - multifunction (color) machine scans the entire fax into memory before sending it, unlike the HP 7410, HP 7140Xi etc. This is a design fault because the HP scanners are not reliable and a miss feed multiage fax takes many minutes to resend.
Installing the above HP products you could spent a couple of hours per machine.. a great waste of time when you want to install the networked printer onto a few computers.
Software unreliable slow, very poorly designed (by the simple?) and released faulty. Massive time wasting downloads to upgrade the supplied software takes more time to install than XP and the updates. As this is a networked machine multiply that by the number of machines you expect to install.
After getting the software to install properly if you are lucky features drop off like the photo card reading. This even happens on new HP / Compaq computers! Their earlier software is totally incompatible (as released with other printer models) and numerous special fix programs have to be downloaded to try to uninstall earlier HP software. HP took little care to get the software tested.
Poor support, staff have little knowledge, little education ... Pay people $1.00 per hour to answer the phone.. What an insult to us the customers HP. You supply faulty product and faulty support. Trying to save money ... but not respecting our time HP even has cut the quality of the phone connections to the Indian based support center. Try reading out a number on a bad line.. Most sentences have to be repeated and the Indian support center staff have some absurd training program that does not teach them that we are not earning $1.00 per hour. Our phone call to HP support is losing us income and valuable time.
Ink system poorly designed for color users with two modes of Tri-color carts. Maybe much more expensive to run too?
Wireless should have had an access point option. Expensive.
Fax signal levels and equalization wrong on most units tested. Units may be unstable in high Magnetic / EMF field office enviornments. Run somewhat by it's own internal operating system in printer (user accessable), and machine does lock up requiring power down reset. -
"Does anybody read the directions?" on by dangerfish
Pros: I am in awe of this machine
Cons: You might be required to use your brain to set it up
Summary: I frequently find myself buying high tech products after doing research online where others have had no luck with the product. I get the product home and am able to set it and get it running without too much difficulty. My decision to buy this printer is another perfect example.
A review a few days ago said that his copies were "flying" out of the unit and there was no mechanism to catch the copies so he just had to stand there. Well, right there in the "start here" guide is a box with a pretty picture explaining how to flip out the copy tray extender to prevent this from happening. Another reviewer says he was not told to disable his antivirus software before beginning installation. Well, that is spelled out in the manual as well. In fact, it is step #1 under the "install the software" section. The only thing I can think is that most people think that you can just pull a computer type item out of the box and just start using it. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This is a $500 multifunction printer, not a pencil. You may have to engage a few neurons.
Here's how I got up and running. Following the directions, I first connected the unit wirelessly to my network using the front panel of the printer. Then I did an "express" install using the supplied CD on my 3 yr old XP home machine. The full install had all the photo editing bloatware and I dont need or want that so I saw no reason to install it. I also installed the Mac software onto my laptop at the same time. Installation on both machines combined took less than 15 minutes. Then, I did run into a little confusion. A wireless connection wizard came up so I went through that eventhough I thought I had already set that up. Didnt work. Then I remembered that I had implemented mac address filtering on my router and so I had to go make some adjustments there. I messed around with the wireless stuff for about half an hour (I had some trouble with my WEP key as well) and then it was working. Since then, I have just been playing with all the features.
Things I have tested, set up or noticed:
1. Scanned a picture right into Adobe Photo Shop Elements.
2. Duplex copy. Seems to work OK but the copy did seem to be out of alignment a little. Many have complained about this and I would agree that it may be a legitimate problem.
3. Transfered pictures wirelessly to my computer using the card reader. But it transfered them slowly when using my 6 megapixel camera. I have a b network and not g so that would probably improve it quite a bit. So for now, I will probably continue to use my usb 2.0 card reader. The wireless transfer WAS faster than if I were using a usb 1.1 card reader.
4. I put envelopes in the top tray and paper in the bottom tray. The printer automatically prints from the correct tray depending on if I am printing envelopes or regular documents.
5. This puppy prints FAST!!!!!!
6. In the fax software, I was able to fully customize the look of the cover sheet and put my company logo on it and then set it as the default. Nice.
So I give this guy a nine out of ten because of my little snafu with the wireless setup. It would have been perfect if it would have just worked right the first time, but I will admit that it probably was my fault because of all the things I forgot to change on my router. Potentially, I could have been up and running in 15 minutes. I think this machine is amazing and worth the money that I paid for it. You are going to be hard pressed to find another machine that offers as much as this one does. So go buy it. Take it out of the box and put it together. Then allow it to acclimate to its new environment for one day before turning it on. During that time, READ THE MANUALS!!!!Updated
OK, I have been using this machine for a couple of weeks and could not be happier with my purchase. I have used every function from both my Mac and my PC, both wireless. I have had very few problems. I have had a couple of "connection" issues, but both were resolved quickly. Once I restared the PC and the other time I restarted the print spool. Other than that, no problems. I find the speed of the printer to be exceptional. The photos I have printed have been incredible and I'm not even using the 6 color ink system. If you buy this thing, do yourself a favor. Read the direction. Do some google searches to find resolutions to problems other people have had and you will have very little problem with this printer. -
"Apalling software and zero support" on by logandc
Pros: Prints well when functioning
Cons: Functions sporadically and no support from HP
Summary: The HP Officejet all in one prints well and has very useful features (scan, fax, double sided printing etc) and would be a great machine if it actually functioned more than 20% of the time. The intial software install plays havoc with your computer, slowing it to a snails pace, making Internet almost unusable and throwing up error messages every few seconds. This is a known problem and HP have provided a patch but it doesn't work. The printer spends more time disconnected wirelessly than connected and it can take several hours for it to eventually print a page. I have tried getting help from HP but they dont reply to emails and the phone help (from India!) was unable to solve the problems I was having, said they would work on it and get back to me but I haven't heard from them since. There is zero backup given by HP for its products and I wont be touching an HP product again. As much as this printer appears to have great potential, stay away from it!
Updated
Since my last user opinion, things have improved with this printer. It prints, faxes, scans and copies well. The wireless functionality works well as long as the printer and computer are switched on together. Wireless finction fails if the printer is switched on after you have logged onto the computer (print spooler error occurs). Also, make sure you install the update patch available at the hp site as the software provided with the printer will screw up your system without this patch.
So currently, I am pleased with the way the printer is functioning (with the above points in mind). Unfortunately, my opinions about HP support still stand. Be warned that if you buy an HP product and there are problems, you are on your own. The people at the HP do not know the products well, give poor advice and will eventually fob you off, pretending that they will get back to you, but never do. -
"3 units: 3 dead faxmodems" on by taylorw
Pros: wireless (Mac and XP links); capacity; all features
Cons: bad fax hardware
Summary: We're about to return our 3rd 7410 in a week. Each machine supported wireless printing (Mac OS 10.3 VERY EASY to set up: XP a nightmare, needing specialist to find proper IP address). Each machine also showed same modem-based error message. HP tech support: a) came on the line quickly, b) identified the problem as bad firmware: each unit had to be replaced. These units came from 3 Staples stores about 20 miles apart, so an entire batch is probably bad. Last HP tech support offered to send a new unit, but the 7 biz days and the first reviews here discouraged us. We're off to try something else. I'd agree with the recommendation to wait 6 months on this puppy.
Write a Review
Online Stores
| Store | Promotions | In Stock | Price | Total Cost | Initial Sort Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GreatPrinterDeals.com | No | Yes | Tax: TBD Ship: TBD | $149.00 Shop Now | |
| See all prices | |||||
