Customer Reviews

HP OfficeJet H470 Mobile Printer

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

This is a very good portable printer and comes in three versions. The printer for all 3 versions is identical, but difference is in the rechargeable battery, the wifi wireless, and bluetooth communicator.
There are some negative reviews for this printer stating poor photo print quality or subpar text. But this is due to the user not reading the manual which clearly explains that the supplied cartridges are for general use. If you are going to print photos, then you need to purchase the photo cartridge for superb prints. If you want deep crisp text, then Cartridge #88 does the job. So the negative reviews are not fair to HP or the prospective buyer.
This is a great little printer which can go on the road by either powering it through the car adapter or rechargeable battery (not included with the basic model)
Also, this printer can print from cellphone pics, and other handheld devices such as PDA (via bluetooth technology). The photo's are clear, crisp sharp images
and the text prints are also good. Not a bad investment at all, just buy the proper cartridge for the job and you'll be a happy camper. Not a bad choice at all.

I just received mine. The device is about as light but somewhat bulkier than I had expected. Also, the parts are made of very light weight plastic, so its not nearly as rugged as a laptop. For example, that top panel could be irreparably broken off by an errant elbow. I was able to get a third party bluetooth adapter working in just a few minutes, although I had to install the print drivers from the included DVD. I was fairly pleased that the power adapter is the same model used by HP pavillion laptops - so road warriors only need 1 power adapter for both printer and laptop. Also, the print quality is outstanding. Whether b/w or color, its producing prints that are just as high quality as full size printers.

I've got a bit of a love-hate relationship with the H4700. It's a necessity in many cases, and has saved me a few times with last minute print jobs that I overlooked or the ability to print out drafts in a hotel room, conference center, or even airport. However, there a few things that really frustrate me about the printer. The primary of these is that HP should have named this the H4700-ala-carte printer because everything aside from basic functionality requires the use of a dongle (for wireless and blue-tooth, both of which cost nearly fifty dollars each) and if you want to print photos or graphics, you need an additional ink cartridge. Then there are a few functionality issues:

1. The blue-tooth connectivity is a bit sporadic, and each time the signal is lost, it takes some messing around to get the print job started back up.

2. The loading tray for the paper is a bit prone to jamming, but I suppose nothing worse than most printers with a top loading tray. This of course occurs at the worst possible moments; but that's probably just Murphy's law and not HPs fault.

That said, once it is printing, it does a fine job of it. Text looks fantastic with the supplied cartridge, and is indiscernible from text printed on a standard printer. Set up is easy as long as the blue tooth connects, and the printer will churn out its 14 pages per minute without complaint.

For a portable printer it's good but not perfect. Make sure you factor in the cost of either a wireless or blue-tooth dongle if you want to use it that way, as well as a print cartridge for photos/graphics if you're planning to print more than text. Even with a few complaints, the usefulness of the printer speaks for itself.

4/5 Stars.

Although this product is listed as compatible with Windows, it is not compatible with Windows 7. I have a new HP Windows 7 computer, but this printer will not work with it since they have not yet created a compatible driver. Waste of time, and HP does nothing to make up for that little advertising error, just sends you back to Amazon.

I love this printer. It has such a solid build. It is attractive and prints out beautifully. I am so happily surprised at the quality. It is just the size I needed to take along. It solves so many issues that have inconvenienced me in the past. I love this printer

I've owned many HP printers over the years and have come to expect a certain level of quality and performance. This printer fails on all counts. The carriage is constantly getting stuck. The software is extremely obtrusive, frequently popping up notification boxes that I don't want and can't get rid of (and they don't tell you how to turn that off). In draft quality, many lines are blurred (the bottom half of the line is shifted from the top half), and the normal quality is very slow. When I start a print job, it sits there and churns for a minute or two before printing. And for a "mobile" printer it is big and heavy. This has got to be the worst printer I have ever had, and I wish I had just returned it and bought something else.

I hesitantly purchased this printer about 2 months ago [actually I paid $169.00] because I kept remembering the thought of inkjet prints smearing at the drop of a bead of sweat or water. That is no longer a concern. Apparently, HP [which I have not like in 20 years] has developed the magic ink solution that prevents the smearing. You can even use a highlighter without issue. That's huge.

The printer was shipped very fast. As soon as I opened it, I downloaded the driver from the HP site [since I had read reviews speaking of the nightmare of using the included driver cd]. The drivers loaded without a hitch. The installation was quick and uneventful.

I printed some test pages and then started working it. The print speed was definitley not 18 pages per minute [more like 6-7 ppm - it may depend on the print mode], but the print quality was awesome, even for legal pleadings and important letters. I'm very satisfied. I had previously purchased a Planon Printstik PS905 thermal printer. It is now officially a paperweight. I don't know if I will ever use it again since I purchased a Targus neoprene bag for $20.00, and I used it transport this printer. It fits very snugly, and I am completely mobile. There is no need to accept the extremely low quality thermal print of the Planon Printstik when you can have near laser quality prints from this unit without much bulk.

I also purchased a 3-Year Square Trade warranty plan. I hope I do not ever need to use it. I dread warranties, but I guess I'll have to write a review if, and when, I ever get there.

Lastly, the price of the ink cartridges. I would not ever recommend refills, but there are many, many folks selling OEM ink cartridges on the net for under $15.00 delivered [a real bargain compared to HP's $20+]. So, I purchased some spare cartridges to make sure I am not left high and dry when I need it on the road. I do not have a need for color printing, so I will not comment on that.

Right now, since I am absent any difficulties, I am completely satisfied, and I would recommend this printer to anyone who has a mobile need. Hope it helps.

Alan Alvarez
Miami, Florida

I think of myself as a fairly savvy PC user. However, I was amazed when at the end of the install, the install program reported that the H470 does NOT run with my Windows 7 operating system. I figured the install disk was old so I Googled and found the windows 7 drivers. Installed them, reconfigured the printer to use the new drivers - yet the printer did not respond to the test page. So deleted the printer, reinstalled the drivers, reinstalled the printer, and still to no avail.

After 2 hours of effort, I finally gave up trying to install this on my current PC and installed the drivers on an old XP laptop. The printer still would not print a test page. How frustrating!

It's going back to the store.

I've set my management team up with mobile offices in their trucks to manage their teams in the field. In route work, you need to be able to hand out a map on the spur of the moment. This printer is a much needed answer for our supervisors' requirements. Running on a battery means no power concerns or cord tangles and trip hazards out there alongside the truck when the tailgate of the truck is made an instant desk. With the optional bluetooth or wifi configuration, (all three configurations are available on this unit) you have no cords at all. Just pull it out, turn it on, load some paper and you're ready to print. It spits out pages in good quality at up to 22 pages per minute, prints in color or grayscale, and does it with no fussing about. Not bad performance for an office printer much less a battery operated, no wires printer on the tailgate of a truck. I logged onto the HP website to download the drivers from the net rather than the included discs because we're using netbook computers to command the printer, so no optical drives are in these computers. HP's site was easy to navigate and the drivers were easy to find and the download went without any hitches, plus HP sent me an email after this visit and registration to have me review their service. Seems like they care about the customer experience though I didn't have any issues which would have required any special assistance. That's kind of the ideal, isn't it?

The only negative I have for this unit is the price of the ink cartridges. However, weighing the cost of ink against the convenience of easy loading cartridges and the cost of having team members wandering around neighborhoods looking for a specific street this is much more cost effective.

I purchased the HP H470WF recently and returned it ... I was disappointed to find the WIFI wireless printing option was by a supplied WIFI USB Dongle .. I had assumed by the description the WIFI option was built in.

The Dongle sticks out one side threatens to hook in the case when transporting this mobile printer .. this was not my reason for returning it though ... First off the WIFI option would NOT WORK with my Sony UX280P computer ... I spent 4 HOURS trying and a half hour on hold with HP Help before I hung up...

... even THIS setback was not my reason for returning it though I planned to buy a Blue Tooth Dongle and test that option .. after printing 5 test sheets the printer simply stopped working all together .. every sheet the printer would issue a dialogue box that indicated the print carriage was jammed.

I boxed it up and returned it at that point .. problem is there's not much selection in reasonably priced mobile printers if you don't want HP.