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74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Prior model is better - Missing document feeder renders fax virtually useless - Touchsmart Web is a gimmic, November 21, 2009
This review is from: HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer (Electronics)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I wanted to like this, but I just do not think that the Web feature really justifies doubling the price of the prior Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier and Fax. (Model C309a)HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One Inkjet Printer (CC335A#ABA). Since the C309a is the model I am replacing this review is really a comparison of this new model over the old one. The old one is still readily available for about half the price of this - which is a really big difference. Also, the C309a - at half the price - has one feature missing here - an automatic document feeder. Why is that important? It is important if you want to be able to easily scan multi-page PDF documents. I can put a stack of papers on the C309a and they automatically run through the feeder (never once had a jam) and a multi-page PDF appears on my desktop. This new model is missing that. The lack of the document feeder also renders the fax absolutely useless. To send a fax you have to stand there and "scan" each page of the fax on the glass. It is hardly honest to call this a fax machine.
The specs between the two printers are exactly the same, except the C309a has the automatic document feeder and this one has the web interface. Also, the old model holds 125 pages of regular paper, but this one is down to 100 - a move totally in the wrong direction. Why can't they just design a printer tray (for a non-commercial printer) that holds a ream of paper (500 pages)? Also, this one is missing the special holder for printing CDs, but I never used that anyway.
The new model is smaller (good) and black (instead of a creamy white). The new model also has better drivers - which were (and still are) a MAJOR drawback of the old model. You can finally install a basic set of drivers that don't cripple functions, and don't add a bunch of junk software. This is a MAJOR improvement.
Print quality on both is absolutely amazing. Prints look just like they came from the photomat. Yes. They are that good. (although, unless you use the little flimsy retainer arm, they will drop on the floor once complete.)
I have mine hooked up through wi-fi and that works great. It is easily seen on all computers on my network that run Win7 and XP.
One negative (on this and the old version) is that you still need a computer to be on to do scanning - even to a network drive. The scanning software runs on a computer, not locally on the printer. Copying, faxing and printing can be done without a computer.
OK. What about the web interface? Well, my personal take is that it is a huge gimmic intended to get you to print more and use more ink. Things take forever to find on the touch interface and it would really be about a thousand times faster just to use a computer. Of course, if you - for whatever reason - only have your computer in a far-off room, this might proove handy if the printer is in a more high-traffic area of the house. But is that really a problem? And would you really put your printer far away from your computer? Not likely. I found the touchscreen slow to respond and - although beautiful to look at - I just didn't get the need for the web interface. The only conclusion I can make is that HP wants you to print more stuff and use more ink.
The ink, by the way, goes VERY quickly. I printed a dozen or so 4x6 photos and a couple of 8x10 and the ink light warning started to go off. Of course, I really think the light goes off WAY too early. It does that on almost every printer I have ever used. I continue printing until I notice a problem with the output. I am guessing that the low ink warning is set to go off when you have used 40% of the ink. I was able to print another dozen photos (after the ink warning) before I noticed any ink deficiency. I could probably print another dozen before it wouldn't let me print anymore.
Overall, I really like the printer quality and the interface, but I can't get past the elephant in the room - the old model is half the price and has an automatic document feeder that this is missing.
The printer comes with a standard set of ink cartridges (not just starter inks), every cable you could need (including a massive power brick), and sample photo papers. It is all packaged in an eco-friendly cloth bag.
Overall, I can only give this three stars. If the old model never existed, I would probably give this four or five stars. The fact that they left off the automatic document feeder is a HUGE drawback for me. The "Touchsmart Web" is fun to play with, but really amounts to nothing more than a flashy gimmic. It fixes a problem that doesn't really exist - everything you would do through that interface is easier and faster on a real computer. Of course, I am also a person who would never just plug a memory stick into a printer and start printing - if you are, this might be a good printer for you.
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53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HP FINALLY got it right. Albeit at a "not so wallet friendly" price., November 10, 2009
This review is from: HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer (Electronics)
This is probably the 30th HP printer I've either personally owned or was directly responsible for purchasing and supporting, and it appears they've outdone themselves on this one.
Over the years, HP has put out some very nice units...and in contrast, some complete dogs, as well. That being said, I'm happy to report that this, along with last years Photosmart Premium (C309a) are pretty much the best AIO/MFPs HP has ever made with the OfficeJet Pro 8500 following very closely. There ARE, however a few things I wish HP would have carried over from the C309a to this years model, such as the ADF and the direct CD/DVD printing mechanism, especially for this price point, but since I still have the C309a, and find the touchscreen a complete joy to use I'm not too terribly upset about it.
Setup was a breeze and by far THE easiest install I have ever done. First off, HP put a lot of thought into the packaging, making it easy to remove the AIO from the box. The printer is wrapped in a big nylon bag with large straps, making it easy to remove. The idea is that you keep the bag and reuse it for other things to help cut down on the amount of plastic and paper bags floating around in landfills. Pretty thoughtful. Although it does have a big flower on both sides which could be a turnoff to those who prefer more "manly" carrying devices.
Once removed from the bag and after removing all the plastic protection, I plugged it in, inserted the ink carts, turned it on and let it do its pre-charging and setup. From opening the box, to it finishing it's initialization took about 15 minutes. I then had it connect to my 802.11g network, using WPA2 security, which went off without a hitch and was ready to install the drivers. I NEVER, EVER use the drivers on the included disc, as they're usually out of date and filled to the brim with crapware. Instead, I downloaded the "lite" version of the drivers for my OS (Windows 7, 64bit) and proceeded the installation. Once again, this went off without a hitch. It searched my network automatically, found the new AIO, and installed the drivers for it. Easy peasy. The lite driver pack, only weighs in at about 45mb vs 140+mb for the full version. I am able to do everything one would want (i.e. scan, print, fax, etc) via the network and dont have any crapware to eat up resources.
Print and picture quality is top notch. It's pretty darn fast, as well. I have an HP Color LaserJet and used the same source (Word doc with graphs and pictures), along with the same 105+ gram paper and did a comparison test. Although the laser is clearly better for prints such as these, the Photosmart definitely holds its own with text as small as 6 point still readable. Where it REALLY shines, however, is printing photography. Pictures up to 8.5x11 are simply breathtaking. I detected absolutely no banding or other artifacts. Do NOT let the fact that this unit is "only" a 3 color printer (CMYK) deter you. I printed the same photo on both this, and my main 6 color "photo workhorse", the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 (The only good thing Epson has put out in a long while) and had a hard time making out any discernible difference. Its really that good.
The touchscreen is simply amazing to use. There is a *slight* delay, but definitely nothing to get in a twist over and it makes configuration much easier than on previous models. Although the new web powered "widgets" are it's primary selling point, I find, for my use at least, they are more of a gimmick than a must have. They are definitely neat however and fun to play with.
Actually, come to think of it, The Fandango movie ticket widget may come in handy from time to time.....
Now for the negatives, although there aren't many:
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The first, is the price. I realize it's a first of it's kind and thus can generally demand a higher asking price, but even with everything it does, I still think $400 is a bit high.
And my last real complaint is the lack of an ADF. I really would have loved to see an ADF on this as on last years model and am a bit puzzled as to why they left it off, but no biggie.
I would also like to point out that as much effort as HP put into making this more "earth-friendly", I find it humorous that they provide an app to print out news, weather reports, calendars, etc. All of which can be done online without the need to waste any paper. But seeing as I will rarely use the widgets, it makes no difference to me either way.
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In summary, I would have no problems recommending this to anyone. This is a very capable AIO/MFP with an amazing touchscreen and complete ease of use. Just make sure your wallet can handle the sticker shock. :)
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wireless Powerhouse, November 25, 2009
This review is from: HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer (Electronics)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Review conducted with a 2x2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Mac running OS 10.6.2 - I installed the accompanying HP software, version 10.2, that came with the product, then upgraded that to 10.3 which took 4 minutes to download from HP's website. The upgrade enabled several features, such as scanning, that didn't work fully with the combination of 10.6.2 and HP 10.2.
Years ago, I bought an HP wireless laser printer and have wondered why manufacturers don't make all printers wireless. The ease with which the printer can be placed anywhere in the house, then accessed easily by any desktop or laptop, is far more straight-forward than hooking a printer to a single computer, then sharing it through software on that one computer. The latter hookup requires that a specific computer always be turned on. Ptui. So needless to say, I was interested in this new offering from HP, the tongue-twisting Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-In-One Printer C309n.
Opening the box, one discovers the printer itself, a phone cord for the fax, Ethernet cable, AC power brick and cord, and a USB cord. Since the printer is wireless, I'm not using either the Ethernet cable or the USB cord. The printer is packed in a large cloth shopping bag that can be used for convenient grocery shopping. The handles make it easy to unpack the printer since you can simply lift the bag and printer out of the box. No struggling.
Remove tape and protective covering. Plug in the printer. The screen on the printer instructs you as to how to proceed, showing videos in case you have difficulty with any of the instructions. Essentially, you install five ink cartridges (photo black, blue, magenta, yellow, and standard black) and then the printer takes about 10 minutes to align itself. You then hook the printer up to your Wireless. Don't worry about your protected network. You can enter your password on the virtual keypad appearing on the HP's screen. The screen itself works like an iPhone's: point to click, drag to scroll. All very intuitive. Once you're on the network, you can install your computer software. I quickly downloaded an app for my iPhone: HP iPrint 2.0 - this allows you to print 4x6 photos of pictures taken with your iPhone - while I was waiting for the software to finish installing.
The printer has two paper trays - one for standard paper and the other for photo paper. Neither is particularly large with the main bay holding 100 sheets and the photo bay holding 20. The photo tray can support up to 5x7 paper and the main tray can support up to 8.5x11 as well as #10 envelopes. There's support on the front panel for an incredible variety of memory cards, each of which can simply be plugged in:
Compact Flash Type 1; Memory Stick; Memory Stick Duo; Memory Stick Pro; Memory Stick Pro Duo; Memory Stick Pro HG; Secure Digital; Secure Digital High Capacity; MultimediaCard; xD Picture Card
Using those, you can easily grab photos through the interactive touch-screen for printing.
The printer itself works smoothly and is reasonably quiet. Standard black output for text is nearly laser printer quality. Laser quality could probably be achieved with better paper (I have cheap standard photocopy paper in there now and specific inkjet paper would be desirable). In any case, this could easily be used for business letters. Since the printer also works as a copy machine, it's nice to have what's essentially a color photocopy machine without needing to first scan a sheet into my computer, then send it to a color printer. Moreover, the HP displays the output on the screen, allowing you to confirm, fix the placement of the original, reduce/enlarge, etc. prior to the printer job taking place.
The fax works quickly and easily as well without requiring any input from you at your computer. The touchscreen makes the entire process simple. The unit will answer a fax line automatically after 5 rings. You can turn that feature off if you'd like from your computer.
The scanner is easily accessed through the Mac's Print & Fax preference panel, though you can also access this while standing at the printer. Scans can then be sent back to your computer or to a memory card or flash drive plugged into one of the front ports.
For some reason, I found the internet access capabilities of the HP to be fascinating. I'm not sure why, but having what amounts to an iPhone as part of a printer just seems interesting. I stood there watching a trailer for Disney's Christmas Carol (and yes, the HP has speakers so that it can play multimedia content) that I could have watched on my computer screen or iPhone. HP has apps that allow the printer to take advantage of certain specific types of content (maps, illustrations, coupons, for example). I expect this to be useful in unexpected ways as time passes.
Photo printing is more than acceptable. It's not up to the quality of HP's high end printers (B9180 series, for example), but you're not buying this for perfect color output. The quality is up to the level that you'd get from your corner store and you'll be very happy sharing photos with family members and friends.
The printer has a sleep mode and an off mode. If you use it for incoming faxes, you'll leave it in on/sleep mode; the sleep mode is useful as well for those who will be printing from multiple potential sites within the home or office.
Negatives:
1) The top panel has no damping on it. If you lift it up to place a page on the glass, but you fail to lift it far enough, the panel will fall rapidly to the glass. Most copy machines, scanners, and similar devices have a top cover that stays put, at whatever angle you happen to let go at. Not here.
2) There's no feeder for the fax or scanner, so if you have multiple pages to copy/scan, you'll be standing at the printer for a time.
3) There's one more negative, though this one is HP's own specification for the unit. The printer duty cycle is noted on HP's website as being up to 2500 pages for the printer and up to 1250 pages for the copier. This is actually pretty good in comparison to other similar printers, but is not good in comparison to laser printers, which will often easily allow for 10,000 prints per month over the course of years. But realize that a ream of paper is 500 sheets - this printer has a duty cycle of 5 reams of paper. If that will take you years to accomplish, this is not a problem, but if you go through a ream a month, you might be unhappy if the printer keels over in five months. That said, the 1 year warranty would still apply so it might not be an issue after all.
In summary, this is a novel printer with an interesting collection of features, HP's generally excellent attention to detail, and a well thought out software package that installed without difficulty on the latest Mac operating system.
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