Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a good machine, but as many have pointed out the software can be a problem. Here's some software install advice (below) to make it work well for you.
I have a Brother laser AIO at my office that I love, but I chose this HP for my home for several reasons. The WiFi Brother unit has a 10 page document feeder compared to HP's 25 page. This was important to me, maybe not you. I really like the styling of the HP better. The HP rep was in Best Buy and printed off a photo for me. It was fantastic. I've reproduced the same results at home, though I didn't buy it as a photo printer. The Brother has a phone handset hanging off the side that I will never use. The HP looks & feels like a higher quality product, though the Brother reviews are good.
Follow the quick start guide to set up on your LAN. I have WEP and had no problems...literally a couple minutes to setup.
1st, in general, never use photo manipulation software that these printer companies provide. If you need to work with photos invest in a good commercial product. There's some reasonabally priced products.
2nd. Trash the disk that comes with the printer and go straight to HP.com and download the latest drivers. That have fixes most of the problems the other reviews point out. You have two download options, drivers only or full software. I did drivers only and it worked fine, however you loose control of some of the units settings, so I went back and got the full package.
However, I highly recommend this installation method that I used.
Unzip the download and run. then...
1. Choose the custom (not the "easy" recommended) installation option.
2. Choose "NO" on the next pages which asks if you want to do auto updates. Anytime you select this for any product you now have another application running in the background all the time polling the internet. It will slow your computer down.
3. On the next screen select "custom". Don't be afraid, ever if you're not an "advance user" as it recommends.
4. You get a screen with a bunch of options to install. The first one you have to select, the drivers. Then uncheck "shop for HP" (just crap), "HP Updater" (memory & bandwidth eater), "customer particapition program" (memory & bandwidith eater), "smart web printing" (you can try it, but more resident sw to eat up cpu and memory), "HP photosmart essentials" (not essential and from what I read it's crappy software. You can try it, but it'll save you 40MB not to install), "OCR" (unless you really use OCR. If you use it a lot, buy a good program, this will save you another 80MB).
What you do select is obviously "drivers" (it makes you & you do need this), "Solution Center" (no actual solutions here, but it does give you some control over your settings), "imaging & device functions".
Choose the default directory it recommends, unless you really know what you're doing and want another directory.
Choose "connect through network", if you are connecting through the WiFi. Make sure you get the printer on the network first, as the directions tell you.
Don't sign up for the HP offers crap, unless you like spam.
I'm used to the Brother scanning SW, but now that I'm getting used to the particulars of HP's it's not too bad. I do have a problem scanning from the plate glass from Adobe Acrobat. It works fine with the doc feeder, but for some reason not the glass. I just go to the "solution center" and tell it to scan to a pdf and it works fine.
I did jump on the HP support site around midnight and have a live chat with a support person. He's the one who informed me I need to install more than basic drivers to gain some control over settings. I found the support helpful, but I didn't exactly have a brain teaser of a question either.
Good luck...and don't install that darn auto updater.
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If you're looking for a single device that prints, faxes, copies, and scans, the HP Photosmart C7280 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, and Copier is your answer. The printer has a built-in 2.4-inch display you can use to easily print photos without a PC: Simply put your memory card into the memory card slot (compatible with Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, xD-Picture Card), preview it on the display, and print. Enhancing your photos and removing red eye is as simple as pushing the HP Red-eye Removal button.
The HP Photosmart C7280 produces lab-quality, fade-resistant photo prints by using a six-ink color system for accurate color reproduction. Photos will always print on the correct side of the paper with the right quality settings because of HP Auto Sense technology. And coupled with HP Advanced Photo Paper, the C6280 is sure to produce photos that are smudge and smear-resistant right from the printer. Print speed is outstanding as well, at up to 34 ppm black and 33 ppm color. For those looking to save paper, an included duplexer lets you print on both sides of the paper. Sharing the printer with everyone on your network is simple with both built-in wireless and Ethernet connectivity.
The fax functionality is performed by a 33.6 Kbps modem at speeds up to three seconds per page. The built-in memory can hold up to 90 pages and the fax is capable of color faxing, delayed sending, and auto-redialing with a maximum of 48 broadcasting locations. The scanner uses a Contact Image Scanner (CIS) for scans at up to 4800 dpi optical resolution with a scan size of up to 8.6 by 11.7 inches. The copier supports pages up to this size as well and you can make up to 50 copies in one pass. Color copies are supported and there are settings for enlarging and reducing from 50 to 400 percent. HP Photosmart C7280 supports Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP Home and Professional, and Windows Vista as well as Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4.x. It is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box Photosmart C7280 all-in-one, power cord, phone cord, 02 black ink cartridge, 02 cyan ink cartridge, 02 magenta ink cartridge, 02 yellow ink cartridge, 02 light cyan ink cartridge, 02 light magenta ink cartridge, set up guide, user's guide, paper sample pack, installer CD, and two-sided printing accessory.
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