Customer Reviews

HP OfficeJet G85 All-in-One

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This wonderful machine has so many advantages over using my printer and scanner that I barely know where to start. Here's what I fell in love with in my little home office:

1) Stand-alone fax and copying. Even if the PC is completely turned off, or busy doing something else, this is a "real" copier and fax machine. It makes my office feel all grown up.

2) A document feeder that didn't feel cheap or added-on makes a big difference. This thing doesn't just do what a copier or fax is capable of doing, it does it the same way. It has a 100% intuitive, sturdy document feeder and stacker.

3) Really good print quality, and good speed. The color print is better than my Epson (which was very highly rated) and quite fast. The 600 dpm black and white is almost like a laser, although no inkjet has ever truly matched a laser yet.

4) It's got all the serious features, like a decent-sized paper tray, that my printer never had. Unlike the scanner/printer solution I'd been using, I can copy and fax without storing files on the PC. And when I do scan, the software is smart enough to do things like re-orient the document a little when it's not scanned squarely. Cool!

5) The setup was trivially easy on my 3-year-old PC (which, admittedly, is running Windows 98).

6) Even though it LOOKS big, it's really no bigger than my printer was - just taller. Frankly it's got a certain "real office" cachet that's very appealing.

7) Obvious, well-labeled controls that never required me to read a manual.

8) Smart features abound. I noticed that as a copier, it starts printing the portion of the page that it has scanned already even before it finishes scanning the entire page. This makes the output (or faxing?) faster - very sensible.

For me (and my wife) this was the one multi-function gizmo worth waiting for. For those of us who used scanners and printers separately for years, we learned the hard way that they just weren't very good at being fax machines and copiers. Having one device that can do ALL those things and still be a great home printer is just wonderful.

One quibble, though - the scanner top is not legal sized. The copier can copy legal documents and accept them through the document feeder, but you can't scan bigger than A4 paper.

For what this machine does, and the market it serves, there's no better equipment out there. There are many office situations where having a separate scanner, printer, and FAX is simply impossible. For reasons of sheer space allocation alone, you need to compress all three into a single unit. If you're in such a need, it's doubtful you'll find a better overall solution than the G85.

There's a lot that's great about this machine. I love the front panel button array, and the vast extent to which the device can be used without referencing the computer. The computer doesn't even have to be on for you to get faxes. The printer is, as you'd expect from HP, entirely top-notch. It's very cool, too, that you can choose to fax and copy in either black and white or color.

Still, it falls short in a number of mostly minor, but hugely frustrating, ways.

First, I personally think it's ridiculous that it only scans letter-sized paper. No other combination product I've seen does any better, of course, but clearly an office needs to be able to scan legal sized paper.

Second, this printer doesn't support DOS applications. In fact, no modern "combination" product does. And that makes sense, I guess. DOS is a non Y2K compliant operating system, so why bother maintaining it? Well, you bother, it seems to me, if there are still businesses out there who could possibly be running critical DOS-based software where the Y2K problem has been overcome, or where it was never relevant in the first place. And there are a lot of programs like that, really--especially for smaller businesses.

More frustrating than the fact that it didn't support DOS was DISCOVERING that it didn't support DOS. I would have preferred some disclaimer in the manual in large type saying, "Hey, don't try to hook this thing up to a DOS program. But if you really, really, really have to, here are some ideas." As it was, I had to find, buried on page three of the "read me" file, that it didn't print from DOS, and HP wasn't gonna try. That cheerful note sent me to the web, where I discovered one of the great things about owning an HP: their extensive self-help support site. And, fortunately, even though they again say that they don't officially support it, HP does give an idea of how it might be possible to juryrig the G85 to accept printing from DOS. But you really have to search their website for it. And even then it might not work.

Third, it requires more than just a few drivers to work. Like many advanced HP products, the G85 takes a big chunk of system resources because it needs both drivers behind-the-scenes, and software in front. The G85 pops into your System Tray from the first instant you use it, and it doesn't leave just because you go on to other things. You can turn it off, if you remember to. But if you don't, it will be sitting there, draining some amount of system resources the whole time. If you like to have lots of windows and programs open simultaneously, expect that this device will make you need to reboot slightly more often. Just because it needs to load in that software, it will also add some time to boot-up. Again, though, it's not like other combination products by other manufacturers have a better solution.

Finally, other reviewers are correct when they report basic problems with scanned images. It has indeed taken several revisions of software for HP to get it more or less right. Even so, it's still very clearly the weakest part of the product. To be sure, with enough fiddling with graphics software, you can compensate for the problems, but why should you have to? Given the exceptional performance of HP's other scanners (and, indeed, of the G85 while faxing and copying), it's odd that they've had such a devil of a time bringing this one up to speed.

With the possible exception of the scanning issue, none of these problems is so great that a star should be taken away from the rating. After all, it's not like there are other products out there which do a better overall job than this one. Still, be forewarned: despite the general quality of this product, there are some niggling problems which may be significant for your specific use of the product.

I am now on my third OfficeJet G85 in the last three months. The first had a faulty modem for faxing. The second had a scanner fault. The third is having problems with delivering a reliable power supply to the unit.

When it worked it was a fine unit and performed all the functions one would need in a home office.

HP needs to work out a few bugs in their product before I could recommend it to friends. Also, Customer support takes up to three weeks to ship a replacement unit

Hi, I wrote the review above entitled 'Great except for one fatal flaw'. I wanted to write back to say HP has improved the software in a big way since my first two versions.

After returning the first two, I waited a few months, and spoke to an HP tech support expert. She was no help. Finally after doing another comprehensive research project I saw that the G85 was still my only choice. So I went and bought a THIRD one hoping to get lucky. And I did! The version number of the software was higher than the ones I had earlier, and many of the problems were fixed.

There are still streaks in the high resolution pictures, but they are not as bad. Also the driver software doesn't lock up my laptop anymore. So now I'm happy. It would be nice if they would come out with new firmware that could fix all problems, but I'm not holding my breath.

Steve

HP's 685 All-In-One scanner, typical of all-in-one devices, combines the functions of multiple office machines into one (fairly) easy-to-use device. The 685 is a combination printer, copier, scanner and fax machine. While it is a convenient, simple to use, affordable solution for these multiple office products, you may want to carefully consider purchasing this based on the QUALITY of how it handles these various functions.

THE RUNDOWN:

Ease of Use: The 685 is fairly easy-to-use. It's copy and fax functions are operable independent of the computer. The computer DOES NOT need to be on for the fax or copier to work. The actual software that comes with the device for your computer works very well as well. I have had minimal problems with it. In this sense, it is about as buggy as another other printer/scanner/fax machine that connects with a computer.

THE FAX: The fax function works about on par with just about any other fax machine on the market, in my opinion. I personally would have liked to have the convenience of a phone handset and a call monitor function, but overall, the fax works well or just as well as any other fax machine.

THE SCANNER: This is one of the few All-In-One's that actually has a flatbed scanner, so that puts this product up in points in my book compared to others in the All-In-One category. Previous combo All-In-One's lacked the flatbed for scanning which made me suspect of how well they could handle scanning more sensitive documents like photographs. The actual scan quality of the 685 is decent. If you are not doing high-end scan jobs this product will do it for you, but if you require high-end scans, you may look into going with a regular scanner.

THE PRINTER: The 685 is basically a glorified Ink Jet printer. It takes both a black ink and a color cartridge to run. As an Ink Jet the speed is basically non-existent. It is just as fast as any Ink Jet on the market (meaning not very) so if you are looking toward doing a lot of multiple print jobs in one sitting, look elsewhere, this is too slow. However, if you are looking toward small volume printing with a good quality color job, the 685 is right up your alley.

THE COPIER: Again, this is a glorified Ink Jet and thus is VERY slow so if you're copying requirements are for fast, high-volume copying LOOK ELSEWHERE as this machine's copying speed is agonizingly slow. If you're copying requirements are at a low-end where speed and volume are not a factor, this machine should meet your needs fine (and hey, it can copy in color!!!)

THE VERDICT:

Again, it depends what you are looking for. Being able to print and copy in color are a major plus for this machine. The print quality is decent. The biggest drawbacks to this product are basically it's lack of speed and it's "okay quality." Being an All-In-One machine has the advantage of combining all of these various office machine functions into one solution but the trade-off is in quality. It can do a lot of things, but it does those things marginally well. If you are looking for a higher quality scanner or black-white copier/printer, look elsewhere.

I personally recommend this product more toward the average home user who needs a good/multi-function product. The 685 should be able to handle the requirements of a home office well or a small office that does not need to do a lot of printing or copying. Any other organization could probably take a pass on this and invest in a real copier or printer for those functions.

GRADES:

Fax: A-

Scanner: B

Printer: B+/A- (color is a plus, but lack of speed hinders it)

Copier: C (unacceptable for high-volume printing. Good for limited copying).

I own and operate a very busy financial services business with my husband. We have a small LAN and use the standard HP4SI and HP5 laser jet printers all of which are networked. We often need to scan documents and I also wanted a backup fax machine so I went looking for a machine that had both these functions. I found the HP g85 and what a gem. I don't use XP so I can't speak for all the problems some of the other reviewers have mentioned but we use Windows 2000 Professional version and have had absolutely no problems.

It works like a charm.

I have seen some of the other scanner/printer combos out there and the big difference is that you don't see this one going through the motions, it just does it. For instance if you are scanning, it just does it. Simple concept but with other machines you see it read the document, then you see it scan and this the same thing with copying. You hit the button and it works and nothing beats that. I love not having to go out to the main office and use the fax machine. I can fax immediately from my PC or put documents through the document feeder and fax them out immediately. Mind you it doesn't receive faxes as fast as a stand alone fax machine would but for the extra 30 to 60 seconds I don't mind.

The color printing is great. I love the quality and the versatility.

My only complaint is the cost of the color cartridges... That's major. I usually pay... for the black ink cartridge. The other thing that's annoying which is related to the cartridges is the warning mechanism to indicate you are getting low on ink. It comes on way too early but then maybe some people need the extra time. I found I had a lot of printing left even though the warning was always coming up.

It's fast, efficient... it has been trouble free. I do wonderful color brochures for various rental properties I own, office stationary and various other projects that don't use standard paper. All have been successful so I have no complaints.

1)The stand-alone fax portion of the unit is better than my previous dedicated fax machine. 2)The fax director software makes faxing documents directly from the PC a breeze. 3)The copy function is intuitive and simple. 4)The color copies are fantastic quality. 5)B&W printing isn't quite up to laser quality, but what ink jet printer is?

I was in the market for a photo printer at first, I saw this and thought it would be nice to make more space on my desk by having one unit on my desk rather than 4. This unit prints some great photos and is worth a few dollars more to have the ADF. I have been very pleased so far and have had it for about a month. The only downside is this: Since it prints such great tru-to-life photos, you can expect to spend more on the color cartriges. Price the cartriges first.

I have had my G85 for about 6 weeks now and what a great machine. It was easy to set up (great poster with step by step instructions) and it worked right the first time I used it. I set it up using the Windows ME operating system - I was a little hestitant about whether it would work since this operating system is relatively new and wasn't sure if the HP printers were compatible...but it was so easy to set up!!

I have used all of the functions (printing, copying, faxing and scanning) and they all work like a charm. This machine has provided me with a fully functional office at home!!

UPDATE:
After almost 1 year of constant use this machine is still running great! I have not had any problems with the machine - the ink cartridges are easy to replace, there are great messages warning you when the cartridge is running low, the scanner works like a charm for adding pictures to MS Word and Powerpoint work. I highly recommend this product!!

As a general rule, I find that HP makes good hardware, but poor software. The G85 is a case in point. I've been using this printer+ in a networked configuration for almost two years now. When it works, its great. But it has been a high-maintenance product that has required frequent reinstallation of the drivers, and I have gotten very poor technical support from HP on it.

After I first purchased the product, it would work fine for a few weeks and then simply disconnect for not apparent reason. After a year and a half of troubleshooting this with HP's G85 support team, I finally found the answer elsewhere - a problem in how the G85 software configured the network settings. For users connecting their printer directly to the computer, this will not be a problem. But if you plan on a network installation, don't expect much help from HP on it.

As far as the interface is concerned, I have found it to be functional but clumsy. Simple printing from within an application is seamless and I have not complaints there. But scanning or faxing can present you with a sometimes difficult set of options and illogical layout of configuration settings, for which the online help is of little use.

From a hardware standpoint, I have few complaints. Standalone copying or faxing is simple and speedy, scan and print quality are good. My only two gripes are that you can't fax directly to your computer, and the automatic document feeder which jams frequently and must be watched. Don't put in 10 pages and just walk away.

On the whole, I like this product when it works, but it has taken a lot of my attention to keep it so. I would have thought it would be an easier product to use and maintain.