Customer Reviews

HP OfficeJet 7410 All-in-One

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

When they say All In One they're not kidding with this device. I have owned this device for a little over 2 months now and have put it through its paces. First of all this beast is HUGE. Its about the size of a 17-19" monitor width wise. It will fit snugly on top of a standard filing cabinet. Its fairly easy to assemble and get up and running. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS as they're printed or you'll have issues with your computer recognizing the drivers, especially if you're not using XP.

The print quality is outstanding! I have never seen a printer print such vivid colors or such realistic fleshtones. Especially one not considered a photo printer. But this is where the device shines. WIth a photo cartridge and HPs photo paper, I cannot tell the difference between a photo printed on this device and a professionally printed photo. The media slots are a plus. You can use them to open photos on your computer as well so it does act as a card reading device for your computer rather than hooking up your digital camera directly to the computer. It will NOT print a document from a media card however. You must print from the opened document.

Its copying abilities are good with minimal jamming in the feeder tray. Plus its so easy to open and pull out a jammed paper. You can specify how many copies and what quality you want them from either your computer or from the LCD panel. Very nice!

Its scanning capabilities are average to very good. There is no notching or markings as to where the page is oriented so getting started is a little tricky, but once you get it, very easy and fast scanning. Make sure you have a decent sleep mode time set or you'll be blinded by the scanning light that is always on unless the whole device is off or sleeping. Minor annoyance at worst.

Its faxing is well... faxing. It does the job. Its easy to set up, its easy to program, and it sends faxes. Need I say more.

Now the device also comes with some photo editing software which for someone who's buying a device like this, you should already have Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro or other editing program. The HP photo editing program is non-intuitive and cumbersome. The software is a serious resource hog on your computer. I would not install the software if you have a 650MHz dinosaur like I originally installed this on. It severely slowed down my computer. On a 3GHz with 1Gb RAM computer, no issues with the software at all. You are not forced to install the photo editing software, you can choose minimal install and it'll only install the drivers and the HP updater

Overall, if you have the means and the need for a powerhouse like this, I'd recommend it highly. Its sturdy, big and professional in appearance. Its wireless capabilities are a nice plus even though I dont use that. The 2 paper trays and the duplexer make it even nicer. A small minus, no override paper tray. So printing a single envelope or a single odd size sheet of paper is annoying. I had hoped that HP would have added this feature on such a feature rich product

UPDATE November 14, 2006: A couple months ago I downloaded the latest version of HP's Mac software for this product, and found the new software very user-unfriendly. Also, it apparently eliminated 2-sided scanning, among other problems. After a couple hours on the phone with HP I gave up and reverted to the older version of the software. Unless they fix these problems, I cannot currently recommend this unit for Mac users. Latest rating: 4 for hardware, 1 for software. Overall, 2 stars. Sorry I can't change the star rating I gave originally that appears with this review. (The older version of the software does fix the first problem noted below.)

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As a Mac user, my experience of the 7410 may be different than those using Windows machines because the software and drivers are different. I'm currently using this All-in-One with a first generation iMac G5 running Tiger, Mac OS 10.4.4 and the two generally work well together. I used to use it with Panther, Mac OS 10.3.9, and it also worked will in that environment.


On the Software

The scanner comes with a suite of different applications that each have a single function, like scanning from the document feeder, scanning from the glass, choosing a printer on the network, printing (drivers), faxing (drivers), scanning to OCR software, setup assistants, etc. I've run across 4 problems with the software.

First, if you choose book-binding style 2-sided printing, the top margin on one side is about twice what it should be, and the bottom margin is almost zero. This occurs when the top and bottom margins are set at 0.5 inches. This problem has been reproduced by HP support and should be fixed in the next driver version, whenever that comes out. The temporary work-around is to use tablet-style 2-sided printing. The problem doesn't occur in that case. (Addendum February 12, 2006: This problem has been fixed.)

The second problem I've encountered is that (using Word X) text like a page number in the footer is cut off about half-way up each character, as if the printer can't print that low on the page (although it is well within specifications). HP support has reproduced this and are looking into whether this is a driver issue or not. The temporary workaround is to put a return after the page number, so there is an empty space under the page number. (Addendum February 12, 2006: I don't think HP ever "fixed" this; the work-around above still works.)

Third, the printer specs say it can print within 0.2 inches of the bottom of the page, but the driver only lets you set a bottom margin of 0.56 inches minimum (in Word X). I haven't reported this to HP support yet. (Addendum February 12, 2006: Eventually, HP explained that when printing text 0.56 inches is the minimum margin at the bottom of a page for reliable printing. Accordingly, a "fix" was never issued.)

A fourth problem concerns the latest software version only, 7.7.2. The Scan and Archive application doesn't show double-sided scanning as an option unless the document to be scanned is in the document feeder BEFORE the application is launched. The double-sided option should be displayed whether or not the document is in the feeder, as was the case with earlier versions of the software. Also, the Scan and Archive app preferences no longer stick. HP tech support has confirmed these problems and forwarded the report to the software engineers. I just hide the application instead of quitting it, so I don't have to change the resolution preferences every time.

I should note that faxing from the computer through the OfficeJet is hit-or-miss. Sometimes I just can't get it to work, so I have to print out the document then fax it manually through the document feeder.

It's interesting to note that I had the first and second problems when using an early OS X-compatible driver for an HP DeskJet 935C printer. Driver updates from HP fixed these problems, so I think the second problem is an HP driver problem. The real question is, how long will it take HP to release a driver update? If these are, in fact, the same problems that occurred in the first driver release for another printer, I'm disappointed that HP didn't avoid these problems in new drivers for their newer printers. It's like they aren't learning from their mistakes made a few years ago.

On the Hardware

I've used the printing, scanning, faxing (both in and out), and copying features of this printer, and I'm very pleased with how it works. It prints very quickly. I only scan text (printed and handwritten) for medical records, but it does a good job, though it's noisy when scanning. The copies are fast and accurate. Faxes have been sent and received with no problems. I do all of this wirelessly, using Airport Express and an iMac G5, and I really like the wireless capabilities of this All-in-One. Initially, it worked best with a static IP address, which I set up with HP support after having a few connectivity problems. Lately, I haven't needed the static IP address. One hint: If your Mac and this unit lose contact with each other when running wirelessly, and the problem isn't that you've lost your wireless connection with the Airport base station, usually turning the HP off and then back on solves the problem.

When I first wrote this review, I recommended this printer to Mac users. 4 stars for hardware, 2 stars for Mac driver problems noted above: Overall score, 3 stars. Assuming all the Mac driver problems are fixed, I'd give this printer 4+ stars. Unfortunately, HP seems to have fixed a few problems and then took a major step backward with the software. I cannot currently recommend this unit for Mac users. Latest rating: 4 for hardware, 1 for software. Overall, 2 stars. Sorry I can't change the star rating I gave originally that appears with this review.


On HP's Support

HP support on the whole has been helpful. As you might tell from the above review, I've called them several times. I had a problem with the HP Communications background software repeatedly quitting for no reason, and their recommendation to completely delete all HP software and reinstalling worked. The one time I spoke to a "Level 3" support person, I found him very knowledgeable and helpful. The first person you get to speak to is more at a beginner level, and not always very helpful. If you don't think you're getting the help you need, ask for a more senior person.

Addendum February 12, 2006: I've had at least two more issues with this printer for which I called HP tech support. Twice they had no solution for me, after several hours on the phone, but for one I found the solution in the HP knowledgebase (don't the tech support people know about that?) and for the other I stumbled across the solution myself. Despite this, my experience has been that the tech support personnel in the Mac department really do try to help.

I love this printer, except for 2 things:

1: The Margin issue addressed in another review but there is another problem that is extremely vexing if you use this as a Stand-alone copier:

2: If you buy this for the 2-sided copy feature (copying a stack of 2-side documents automagically) you are in for a surprise.

If you insert a stack of say... 10 documents, and copy them 1-sided, it works fine. It will copy the entire document and print to the minumum margins that the 7410 will do.

BUT: if you have a stack of 2-sided documents and let the 7410 copy them as 2-sided documents you will find that the front of each now has been "cut off" at a margin of .625" at the top and bottom and the back of the document is cut off with a margin of .625" at the top.

If you are copying a stack of Real Estate Contracts, you will now find that your copies don't have the Signatures at the bottom! They are cut off!
And you cannot reduce the size when using 2-side copying to get around this. The only way to get around it is to treat them as single-sided documents, run them through, then put the printed copies back into the paper tray upside down and copy the other side.

This is using the 7410 as a stand-alone device. I believe this is a problem with the firmware of the printer itself, as HP sent me a new one and it still had the same problem even after spending 2 hours on the phone with tech support.

If you don't plan to use the 2-side copy function, then this will not be an issue for you and it should be a great printer.

I have owned this printer for a little more than one year. Some people have had enormous problems with this product and I am one of them. Whether you will have problems or not depends on your network configuration and OS/Service packs. If you have a wireless network in your house and you need to connect this printer to it, you could be in for some unpleasant surprises! The problems that I will describe have been documented and acknowledged by HP and has not nothing to do with not following instructions.

So ignore those who dismiss negative reviews with statements like "read the directions stupid and follow them EXACTLY". Later in this review I will give you some information for those of you who have been unlucky enough to encounter the well known problems with this product.

First, even though I like the print quality of this device I have some complaints about hardware problems I encountered. The first two printers I bought did not work due to hardware issues, right out of the box, so I returned them to the store. However, my third printer worked. However, it broke on the day my warranty expired. I called the next day and the HP representative noticed that my warranty expired the day before. However, he was kind enough to still honor my warranty which I am very grateful for. Therefore I am not giving this product one star but two.

Because I switched networks, and network configuration, had a hard disk crash, switched printers, and other issues, I had to install and reinstall the software several times. This in itself is a negative (having to reinstall the software). However, I also encountered issues with the software on the CD, and these issues have nothing to do with not following instructions as acknowledged by HP. If you need to install the printer as part of a wireless network you could end up having the following problems;

-- svchost.exe will start throwing exceptions when you open internet explorer or even windows explorer, and you will get four svchost exceptions every time you restart your computer (this is very bad).
-- If this happens during installation, your installation may fail and some capabilities will never be installed (you may not be able to scan or print). If this happens it may not help to re-install the installation software.

So if you need to install this printer on a wireless network instead of using the installation CD you should down load the updated installation software from HP. HP support staff will tell you from where you can get this, I am not allowed to you give the url here.

It is possible that this update is on the newer installation CD's but you should check that before you install. Also verify everything I am saying with HP support (HP support is good). If you have already installed the software and you are getting strange svchost.exe exception errors or the printer is missing some features, then you need to do a complete uninstall and use the installation update mentioned above. What I mean with a complete uninstall is that just uninstalling the software from the control panel is not good enough. You also need to clean out the registry and delete some files located in the windows operating system.

You need to do the following:

A. Remove entries from Add/Remove programs.
B. Remove entries from Printers and Faxes folder.
C. Remove entries from Registry.
D. Remove folders from C:\Windows

I could give the elaborated steps if someone wants me to do so, however, you could just ask HP support for these instructions. These instructions will work, but nothing else will (experience).

However, my major point is, if you are not prepared to do this every time you need to change your wireless network you should look for another product.

Reasons I bought the 7410:
a) Wireless printing capability.
b) Speed vs. my older Xerox printer.
c) Better print quality than my Xerox (although photo quality was not a deciding factor - I use a HiTouch dye-sub printer for that).
d) Better software support than Xerox. After all, this is HP's cash cow so they should do it right, right?

After about 3 months of use, I love this printer. Here are my pros and cons so far:

Pros:
> Speed - this thing flys, especially in comparison to my older printer!
> Wireless - works perfectly, especially after the latest software upgrade. (But see note below on sofware loading, etc.)
> Easy double side printing. I have cut my paper usage tremendously with the double side priting feature. And it works beautifully.
> The features I have tried all work perfectly the first time. (I have not yet used the camera card reader function, but I expect it will work fine.)
> Automatic software updates: Other reviewers have noted software issues and I had some as well, as noted below. BUT, and this is important to me after my Xerox experiences, you can set up your HP software to check for updates weekly and install any updates released automatically. The one issue that i did have initially has been completely resolved with the patch issued in December.

Cons:
> Software loading worked on my laptop but was a problem on my desktop. Others have cited this problem and it is what kept me from giving this printer 5 stars. If you find that your software fails to install from the CD the first time, I found this to work: Instead of installing the recommended 'complete' software package, select the 'minimum' software installation. When this installs (I had no problem installing this on my desktop unit), try installing the full installation again. This worked for me.
> Initial printing glitch from the desktop. Perhaps related to the above, my laptop worked perfectly via the wireless connection (which was easy to set up) but the desktop worked sometimes but not others. This, however, was resolved by a software update that HP posted. Since then, no problems.

Wish list: I was surprised that the 7410 allows you to choose either wireless, ethernet or USB printing, but not a combination of these methods. For a number of reasons, I had wanted to install both ethernet and wireless connections, but you cannot do that. You need to choose one method and use it for all of your printing needs. I wish HP would change this to allow all input types to be utilized.

Bottom line, now that the software appears stable, this printer is great. I would give it 5 stars right now, but unless the indluded software CD has been updated to eliminate the initial bugs, many consumers may find the initial effort required to get the software loaded, updated and working far less intuitive and automatic than it should be.

I was very nervous buying this printer off the consumer reviews but went ahead anyway due to the professional reviews prom PC Mag and CNET. I was not disappointed. This is a fantastic machine.

I did take the reviewers' advice to make sure that my anti-virus was diasabled. As it turns out I was missing the installation instructions with the printer but went ahead anyway. I did receive a warning during the install and went in to the services in XP Professional and stopped anything related to Symantec. I added the wireless sytem to my network without any issues and I have to say that adding this printer was the best move I could have made. I have tried every aspect of the "ALL-IN-ONE" and everything works great.

My one qualification would be if you are looking for a photo printer, that you pick a unit that is specifically suited to printing photos such as the Epson 2400 or Canon i9900 the photo quality is decent but it doesn't hold a candle to a proper photo printer.

12-Mar-2005 Update...
Been using for a few weeks. Would I buy this again? in a heartbeat. Since last writing, I've installed the hp software on a 2nd networked (wired) computer. I made sure to uninstall McAfee and the hp software installed perfectly. Reinstalled McAfee and 2nd computer was up & running.

My main use has been paper reduction; scanning existing documents to PDF format. It's very simple - really, load originals in Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and either initiate the scan from any computer on my network or from the 7410 front panel. From the front panel I can select the destination, if I care to. The hp software allows scanning to multiple formats (I use PDF) and allows selection of scanning double sided or single sided, color or B&W, etc, etc. Double-sided from the ADF flys & you can walk away or do something else on your computer. If you place an original on the flat glass, cropping (when desired) is simple & intuitive. Merging pages is simple & flexible. Paper passing through the ADF is smooth - hardly a jam, and when it did (a) I should have scanned the wrinkled original on the glass & (b) jams are easy to clear. If you too would like to cut back on saving paperwork, this All In One does a great job of converting your paper into electronic format.

Copying and printing work great. Right now my focus is scanning, so after using more features, I'll attempt another update.
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1st writing:

Had I written this the day I got this machine, I'd be writing a much different review. As other reviewers have mentioned, I too suffered from an incomplete software install on a wired Peer-To-Peer LAN (Home Office Network). I spent 4.5 hours (non-stop) on the phone Sunday afternoon, and the Level 1 Tech was VERY good. We got almost everything working. It was this tech who suggested he now turn me over to a level 2. Unfortunately, none available. He urged I call back around 8 PM, which I did - provide my case # and request an L2. I got another L1, and this fellow immediately knew the root problem - McAfee tools. You THINK you disable them (Start> Run> Services, then stop & disable, etc.) but they are not really turned off. I didn't have enough energy to do a McAfee uninstall, HP uninstall, HP reinstall, then McAffe reinstall. I did this Monday night, w/ a Level 2 HP tech from 7 to 10:30 PM.

The problem IS McAfee Privacy Service - this prevents the final install from completing. Bottom line: 1) UNINSTALL, not disable, ALL McAFEE >>> BEFORE <<< putting the HP CD in your drive. Then and only then perform the HP install.

Bcause of reiteritive install attempts, we had to perform much diagnostics, and repairs. It worked.

I went from 100% negative to 100% positive. I have NEVER had this type support - HP took ownership of the problem and would not give up - they would not quit!

OK, so how does this beast work? Unbelievably good. It is such a pleasure to have a duplex scanner and duplex printer, and one which can be controlled via the computer when you don't care to be at the machine's front panel.

Having two trays is a luxury. The scanning goes pretty quick, as does the duplex printing. I own quite a variety of color inkjet HP 7960, Canon, Epson, etc.) & B&W laser (HP) printers, and have had a number of large (D and E-size) color pen plotters (HP). The quality of the All In One (AIO) is, at least to me and my needs, every bit as good as the HP 7960, if not better. And faster.

I have NO complaints w/ quality as I do a side-by-side printing from HP 7960 and AIO 7410.

I cannot comment on Wireless, as not having a need for it, I shut it off. I'm a wired network thoughout 4100 sq. feet and 5 computers which is the max. # HP recommends for either wired or wireless.

This is my 1st review at Amazon, so if updates are allowed, I'll post back after I have adequate time to thoroughly investigate.

For the moment, other than the software fiasco (McAfee's doing - NOT in my mind HP's fault), I am NOW pleased w/ my purchase.

Expensive at $499? yes - but a heck of a lot less money than the Fujitsu $1300 duplex scanner I would have bought Sat AM if the store was open! Thank goodness thay were closed - saved me $800!!

SO - IF YOUR PROBLEMS ARE SOFTWARE RELATED, get on the phone to HP Tech Support. They were fantastic.

I noticed in several of the reviews that the HP 7410 was not rated very high when it came to installing a wireless network. Well, let me assure you it is very easy to do. I think what the problem is, is that people do not know how to properly disable their firewalls. The Ethernet portion of this printer will not install until all firewall are deactivated. Once that it is done, it works perfectly. From out of the box to running wireless on three networked computer, about 45 minutes, and that includes putting the machine together. Software is not bad as some say, but rather quite good. Take the time, don't get too anxious and follow the instructions exactly, and you will have no problems. Printer is wonderful. Very pleased with the performance.

Totally agree with Thomas Wikman's assessment. I've spent 2 days now with HP, MS, and ATT trying to get HP to acknowledge the many problems with their over-reaching, under-performing software. Earnest HP support staff sends you down the primrose lane pursuing every conceivable excuse to deflect blame on HP's software.

I've had a defect opened up by HP to address 1 of their problems, but am giving up on the others, whose numbers are increasing, on a 7410 connected to a new, virus-free XP Service Pack 2 Dell PC:

1) The wireless function won't support uploading digital images from the memory card drives on the front of the printer back to a PC (works if printer is USB-connected to the PC)
2) Every day, more and more simple, benign print jobs fail with error messages asking to restart windows and download new HP software. Doing both does nothing.
3) More and more of my clients and vendors complain that their faxes aren't going through - far more than I experienced in my previous 10 years with my old HP fax machine
4) The HP Director software lets you control your default settings for the administrator's desktop, but you have absolutely no control over settings for any other desktop on a networked PC, even if you grant the other desktop admin priviledges. This is a real problem when you have kids in the house - I can control my use of color ink, but there is no way for me to control any other desktop's print settings, from the admin desktop, or from the other desktops. Those users simply print in color single-sided, no matter how those users (or the admin) want to print from those desktops.

In summary, it almost looks to me, as a technology professional, that HP didn't bother testing much against the Windows XP Home Edition. My lifelong support and enthusiasm for HP products is being lost. This was not a good purchase.

I bought this for the dual trays, the wireless printing, and the scanner with the document feeder. It seems that the HP software that should bring it all together...does anything but that. The software and the document scanner are the two biggest let downs. About the software; its cumbersome, some 800MB worth of bells and whistles that only highschoolers would find useful. Software also has issues installing. Software is not user friendly and photo gallery interface is force-fed to all users. Oh and it sometimes crashes. The Hardware; the document feeder is designed for 2-7 pages. I have 30 page reports I need to scan and they always, yes always Jam. The irritating part is the software crashing when a document jams. The software has to be exited out of and restarted every time there is a paper jam. Duplex printing works great and the speed is also fast (B/W is almost as fast as a warmedup laser). Great for a fancy home printer but If you are looking for a business machines, with a working document feeder, spend the extra money and go for a standalone document scanner like the fujitsu (Which I will have to do after spending almost 500 bucks). Other smaller issues are the low yield and expensive ink cartridges. All in all, for a home printer this consolidates a lot of functions. Too big for dorm rooms and small desks so size is something to keep in mind. Good machine but could be better. HP should not only change the machine's name from OfficeJet to HomeJet but also train their software programmers to design crash resistant user friendly software.