HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One Printer

Other products by Hewlett-Packard

Product Details

• Item Weight: 36 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 37 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001PO6JA0
• Item model number: OJ PRO 8500
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #25 in

  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Printers > All-In-Ones

• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 15, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Want laser-quality printing at prices your business can afford? Save money without cutting corners using the HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One. Print professional color for up to 50% lower cost per page and less energy use than lasers[1]. When you add up the savings, your bottom line could increase up to $576 per year compared to lasers[2].

Create your own marketing materials like flyers and brochures, plus print everyday business documents like invoices and meeting notes. To make sure your documents look sharp and vibrant, choose Original HP Officejet Pro pigment inks. These inks even let you highlight your documents without smearing the text. Want to do more? That's easy. This HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One can print, fax, scan and copy. Save paper and time with automatic two-sided printing, and if you need to print from multiple PCs, get connected using built-in wired networking. Want a printer that's simple to use? Conveniently print up to 250 pages without reloading the paper tray. Plus, let the automatic document feeder do your busy work—fax, scan and copy up to 35 pages at a time. Want to add photos to your documents? Just slide your memory card into the card slots and push the "Start Photo" button on the control panel.

Create custom marketing materials in your own office.

Boost your business image and your bottom line with the HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One Print professional color without going over budget. For up to 50% lower cost per color page than lasers[1], create custom marketing materials in your own office. Print only what you need, whenever you need it, so you can avoid keeping outdated documents and storing extra copies. Make your own brochures, flyers and more using HP Brochure Paper and HP Tri-fold Brochure Paper. Find business templates and project ideas at www.hp.com/print Save energy in more ways than one with an HP Officejet Pro Get high-powered business printing without burning up power. HP Officejet Pros use up to 50% less energy than lasers[1], and you'll reduce energy consumption by using one machine instead of four separate products. Plus, this all-in-one is an ENERGY STAR® qualified product.

Save energy in more ways than one with an HP Officejet Pro.

Remember compatible ink, paper and accessories Say it best with Original HP. The HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One uses four individual inks: 940 Black, 940 Cyan, 940 Magenta and 940 Yellow. You can save money on ink by choosing optional XL high-capacity cartridges (not included; please purchase separately). Print all your business documents, from brochures and presentations to invoices and emails, using HP paper. To easily connect your PC to this HP all-in-one, you'll need a USB cable. See all the compatible inks and recommended papers here. Get the specifics PRINT SPEED: Maximum speeds of 35 ppm black, 34 ppm color[3] FAX: Up to 125-page fax memory, up to 99 speed dial numbers SCAN: Resolution up to 4800-dpi optical; maximum scan size 8.5" x 11.7" COPY: Reduce/enlarge 25%-400% PAPER HANDLING: 3" x 5" to 8.5" x 14"; up to 15,000 pages per month

What's in the box?

• HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One
• Automatic two-sided printing accessory
• HP 940 Black/Yellow Printhead
• HP 940 Cyan/Magenta Printhead
• HP 940 Black Officejet Ink Cartridge
• HP 940 Cyan Officejet Ink Cartridge
• HP 940 Magenta Officejet Ink Cartridge
• HP 940 Yellow Officejet Ink Cartridge
• Power supply
• Power cord
• Phone cord
• Setup poster
• Getting Started Guide
• CD-ROMs (for software, Windows® and Mac printer drivers, and User's Guide)

HP Officejet Pro Business impact for up to 50% less cost[1]. Give your business the best of both worlds Looking for a laser printer? Buy the affordable alternative—HP Officejet Pros. You'll get the best of both: the laser quality your business needs at the low inkjet prices you want. Print professional color for up to 50% lower cost per page and less energy use than lasers[1]. Print impressive documents using new HP Officejet Pro pigment inks What's different about these inks? You can print water-resistant documents[4] with sharp-looking text and bright color, plus highlight your documents without smearing the ink. Four individual ink cartridges mean you replace only the cartridge that runs out, so you have more control over your print costs. Want to get more ink for less money? Buy optional XL high-capacity cartridges[5] for up to two times the number of pages than standard cartridges. Reduce, reuse and recycle Want to help your business go green? Easily save paper with automatic two-sided printing. Plus, use HP Smart Web Printing[6] to select what you want to print from multiple websites—and print it all on a single page. Since HP Officejet Pros are ENERGY STAR® qualified products, you can be sure you're saving power. Did you know HP recycles your print cartridges for free? Visit www.hp.com/recycle for details. In 2006, HP recycled more than 164 million pounds of hardware and print cartridges—the same weight as 600 jumbo jets.

Print professional color for up to 50% lower cost per page and less energy use than lasers[1]. Multiple websites all on a single page with HP Smart Web Printing[6].

Choose the right product for you. Want all of these features plus wireless, networking? Buy the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One. Want even more? Get an extra set of color inks, an additional 250-sheet paper tray and marketing software. Buy the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Premier All-in-One.

[1] Majority of color laser all-in-ones under $600, June 2008, OJ Pro with highest-capacity cartridges. Energy use based on HP testing using the ENERGY STAR® program's TEC test method criteria. For details, see www.hp.com/go/officejet
[2] Majority of color laser printers under $300 and color laser all-in-ones under $600, June 2008, OJ Pro with highest-capacity cartridges. Color page volume/coverage estimates for businesses with 5-19 employees from February 2009 InfoTrends Report. For details, see www.hp.com/go/officejet. Based on published yields and continuous printing; see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies. Results may vary.
[3] After first page; see www.hp.com/go/inkjetprinter for details.
[4] Based on HP internal testing, using papers with the ColorLok logo.
[5] Not included. Please purchase separately.
[6] Requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.

ENERGY STAR and the ENERGY STAR logo are registered U.S. marks.

Product Description

Looking for professional-looking printing that's also affordable? Our Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One offers impressive results at up to 50% lower color cost per page and using less energy than with laser printers. You'll be able to print, copy, scan, and fax, plus cut your paper usage in half by printing on both sides of the page.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars HP Ink Rip-Off, Unbelievably Bad Tech Support, Communication Issues, Some Design Improvements over Predecessors, May 5, 2009

By	Patrick S. Pope "Scott Pope" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Note that ink for this printer will set you back One Hundred and fourteen dollars!!!

Before purchasing the Officejet 8500, be aware that there appears to be compatibility issues with the current drivers (as of 5/5/2009) and Windows XP. Basically, the user gets the following error: "The printer has not yet responded, but the Microsoft Office program may be able to proceed without printer information". I have spent hours on the phone with their India-based tech support and with their chat technical support. Sadly, HP provides the worst technical support that I have ever experienced. The telephone reps barely speak English and the chat reps serve multiple customers at the same time, leading to long delays between their responses. Moreover, I have been cut off during chat sessions five times, which leads me to believe it is intentional as this always seems to happen when I attempt to corner them on difficult questions. Before getting cut off today (5/5/2009) the chat technical support rep acknowledged that there are known incompatibilities between the drivers and Windows XP. Presumably, this means the software was written for Vista.

Also be aware of the astronomical ink cartridge prices that will set you back half the cost of a new printer.

This is the third HP multifunction printer I have purchased. Historically, I have purchased top-of-the-line models from the HP Officejet line for my home office. Generally, I have been rather pleased and impressed with their ability to work for years with few paper jams, either in the printer or document feeder. My primary complaints with HP and these printers are twofold: 1) the ink prices are exorbitant (i.e. pay as you go) and 2) HP has atrocious tech support. The Officejet 8500 appears to have all-around better construction than the other HP Officejet multifunction printers I have owned. Yet it hasn't been without problems.

Looking back at my other purchases, it is striking how much prices have come down. Yet HP continues to gouge its customers on ink with the four cartridges costing $[...]+ tax. The first Officejet (d155xi) worked almost flawlessly for three years. I finally decided to sell it when moving. The second Officejet (7310xi) worked extremely well until one day it would not power on. Apparently, something had gone wrong with its main processor. The printer was on a surge protector the entire time, so I have no idea why this happened. I do turn the surge protector off every day before going to work to save electricity as this severs vampire loads from the electrical system. Perhaps the on/off cycles were not good for the printer. After determining the 7310xi was beyond repair, I purchased an Officejet 8500 from HP direct. The printer appears to be well made, but it has problems with communicating with my notebook in addition to having issues with photo printing that have been not fully resolved.

The timeline of my Officejet purchases:
2002 - March Officejet d155xi (HP Direct) 800 + tax/shipping
2006 - March Officejet 7310xi (Sam's Club) 368 + tax
2009 - April Officejet 8500 (HP Direct) 269 + tax/shipping -fifty buck trade-in rebate for 7310xi

The 8500 does not come with a USB cable, which was not an issue [at first] since I have so many surplus cables. Apparently, the 16ft cable I used with the 7310xi was not compatible, possibly because it may have been a USB 1.0 version, which I can't determine. So I tried one of the dozen or so shorter USB cables I have, some of which were in fact USB 2.0. While I got the printer to work, I repeatedly get errors such as "The printer has not yet responded, but the Microsoft Office program may be able to proceed without printer information". So, I purchased a new 16ft. Belkin USB 2.0. Unfortunately, I still get the same errors and freezing of the computer. I have not resolved the problem and don't look forward to calling HP's tech support. Their Indian support reps have the worst English I have ever had to deal with in a tech support setting. I do appreciate their new chat tech-support option, which allows the customer to select his skill level such as "novice" or "expert". Yet, the chat sessions abruptly severed communication with me multiple times with a red warning message, "we are having technical problems, please call tech support". What a ridiculous headache!

PRINTER DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
Despite HP's less than acceptable tech support, HP's engineers deserve credit for improving the design and build quality of their multifunction printers. Even though the previous printers never had a problem with broken paper trays or document feeders, these plastic pieces seemed extremely flimsy. The 8500 seems to be better constructed in that thicker, rigid plastic was used. Additionally, the parts that require interaction by the user, such as the receptacles for the ink cartridges, are much more accessible.

SPEED
While I have not conducted a side-by-side test, both printing and scanning appear to be faster than my most recent Officejet prior to this one, the 7310xi. Despite the increased speed, the 8500 doesn't shake my printer stand as violently as the 7310xi did, suggesting the engineers used a lower-inertia print head. The scanning appears slightly faster, but really not fast enough for large jobs. Truthfully, I would pay a lot more for much faster scanning. I have a grown accustomed to using a Ricoh 6500 copier/printer/scanner at my day job. The ~50 page/minute scan to pdf capability really changes the utility of the printer.

STILL NO DOUBLE SIDED SCANNING
One of the features that really attracted me to the original Officejet was its double-sided printing capability. Unfortunately it doesn't provide true double sided scanning. Some of scan options suggest the 8500 can perform double sided scanning but this appears to be more of function to interleave the second (back) set of pages. For larger double-sided documents, I find myself using the industrial strength Ricoh 6500.

PRINT QUALITY
The black text quality appears to be slightly better than that of the 7310xi. In fact, it appears indistinguishable from laser print quality. However, there have been some problems printing in color. First, when printing on plain white paper on regular ink volume settings, the colors appear a bit less vivid than the prints I made with my 7310xi. In fact, I have a few samples of color documents printed on the 7310xi that I was able to compare side-by-side with the output of the 8500, which clearly showed the difference between the two prints. Yet, this may be a result of HP's strategy to market this printer as being more ink efficient.

When printing on photo paper, there appears to be some issues when selecting the photo quality settings and "HP Advanced Photo Paper" as the paper type. Using both HP photo paper and Kodak "everyday" photo paper, there were striations across the center of the page. It isn't clear if the HP photo paper I was using was truly their "advanced" paper as this was a sample pack from HP. When using the "other photo paper" option, there were no striations. With certain other papers, however, I found that the ink would run with the slightest exposure to water - even after drying for more than one hour. Barely visible drops of water would cause easily visible spots on the page. While it isn't clear precisely what was done with the ink and requisite paper compatibility, the 8500 does appear to be more fickle than the predecessors.

In summary, the 8500 appears to be better designed and constructed than previous Officejet models but is less user friendly. My guess is that many of the problems I am experiencing will be resolved when new drivers are made available. However, as a fairly technical user, I would not expect so many difficulties getting the printer to work. Moreover, HP's consumer tech support is so unforgivably bad the company does not deserve your business.

Cons:
*Tech support is totally unacceptable, off-shore reps have both a poor command of the English language and weak technical skills
*Online chat tech support is disjointed with reps chatting with multiple customers simultaneously
*Printer communication problems unresolved as of 5/5/2009
*Photo printing requires more adjustments of settings
*Still doesn't have a true double-siding SCANNING mechanism
*Drivers for XP seem to have compatibility issues


Pros
*Fast printing and scanning for a piece of home office equipment
*Sturdier construction than predecessors
*Reasonable price for the performance/functionality
*Smoother/quieter than previous Officejet printers

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comments on HP Officejet 8500a, April 15, 2009

By	Dave R - See all my reviews

I have been looking for a networked color laser printer suitable for home and small office use for some time. Then I received an ad for this printer. I was convinced to try it because of the new ink technology, the relatively low cost of replacement ink cartridges and the duplex printing capability. So far I've been completely satisfied. It's easily fast enough for my use. Print quality is high. It seems to have good color accuracy; I've printed a couple of photos on high quality photo paper and been quite pleased. It was a breeze to install (we are a Mac household). The scan and copy functions are easy to use. Duplex printing is slow but adequate for the times it is used. I've yet to have to replace a cartridge so I can't speak to the cost per page of printing.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AweSome Printer, April 24, 2009

By	M. Terrill (San Jose, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In our small office we print over 5000 sheets a month and share the printer over a USB switch with 4 of us. We use it also for scanning and sending out customer documents. Speed for faxing and scanning was important as we often scan and fax 20 to 40 pgs.

The price per page was excellent due to the oversized ink cartridges printing 2 or 3 times the number of pages as we had previously obtained with other HP ink jets. For every day printing we have further cut printing costs by 75% by using refilled cartiridges from ebay. Overall the best color printer we have purchased in the last 4 years.

Only drawback that we have found is that for pdf scanning, a direct usb connection to a PC is required. Bottom line: Its got speed and the initial price is higher, but with much lower ink costs, payback is in a couple of months.