HP Officejet Pro 8500A

The HP Officejet Pro 8500A all-in-one printer is ourTopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner and as such should not be one to overlook, especially when it comes to overall speed and quality. HP has been in the business of making long-lasting, high-performance multifunction devices, such as this one, for a long time and they know how it's done. One of the first things that stood out about this printer over some of the others is how easy it is to use. The HP Officejet Pro 8500A makes hands-free printing a breeze with features like a high-capacity document feeder, USB port, memory card slots and of course wireless connectivity for use anywhere in the house.

Printing: 

The HP Officejet Pro 8500A is a great fit for anyone looking to equip their small business or home office. When it comes to getting the job done, you want a printer that is fast. This all-in-one printer is one of the fastest you can find for under $300. Black and white documents can be pumped out at about 15 ppm (pages per minute), and color print jobs are equally impressive at 11 ppm. These were some of the fastest speeds we found in our research of all-in-one printers.

Resolution is the other thing that most people look for when they buy an all-in-one printer. Everyone wants a printer that produces fine, high-quality documents and images. Nothing looks worse than a business report that is pixilated and unprofessional looking. That's why the HP Officejet Pro 8500A can print 1200 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch) for black and white documents and 4800 x 1200 dpi for color ones. Now those aren't the highest resolutions we found among the all-in-one printers that we tested, but it is still decent quality.

Scanning and Copying: 

When it comes to scanning things on to your computer, you want a scanner that can perfectly copy your existing work. This is especially true when it comes to photos. No one wants their scanned photos to look less vibrant, colorful or sharp. To ensure quality scans you want an all-in-one printer that has a high optical resolution and 48-bit color depth or higher. Most high-end all-in-one printers have 48-bit color depth, but the optical scan resolutions vary. The HP Officejet Pro 8500A has an optical resolution of 4800 x 4800 dpi, which is one of the highest we found among the all-in-one printers we reviewed.

Now with copying we found that the difference from one printer to another is in the speed of the first copy and the continuous copy speed. The HP Officejet Pro 8500A will push out the first copy around 15 seconds after you start the process. From there it should jump up to about 7.5 ppm. Those speeds are just averages of actual test results, so those numbers will vary depending on what you're copying, of course.

Features: 

In terms of size and style the HP Officejet Pro 8500A all-in-one printer is a little bit larger than you may be used to at 19.45 inches wide and 18.9 inches deep, so you'll want to make sure there is room for it in the office. The additional size comes primarily from the document feeder and large scanning bay. However, compared to an office laser printer it is still very small.

One of the big advantages of the HP Officejet Pro 8500A is the 2.4-inch touchscreen panel located on the front side of the printer. The front panel is set up in a way that makes scanning, faxing, copying or printing as easy as touching a button, literally. The easy-to-use display allows you to choose your printing preferences. The overall look and feel is user-friendly, which provides some ease of mind.

The basic setup of this all-in-one printer is easy enough, but some of the alternative methods of connecting to it might be a slightly confusing process if it's your first time. Printing directly, without going through your computer, is not only a possibility but is now made easy with the HP Officejet Pro 8500A.You can print directly via USB and memory cards or over a network via Ethernet or by using a wireless connection. The wireless connectivity allows for printing from the web as well as mobile devices such as a laptop or phone.

Each of these alternative ways to connect is pretty straightforward, especially with the steps that the printer gives you. Choosing to set up the printer on a network takes only a small driver download on each computer that you want to connect to the printer, then you are ready go. If by chance you do run into any major snags along the way you can simply contact HP over the phone or through their online service and they'll be glad to help you troubleshoot the issues.

Some of the features that make the HP Officejet Pro 8500A very user=friendly are the 50-sheet automatic document feeder for hands-free scanning and copying. There is also a very easy-to-use and durable 250-sheet input drawer that goes under the printer and holds any type of paper you need. Although there are other all-in-one printers that have larger feeders, 50 and 250 are plenty for most small businesses, unless you frequently print off larger quantities in your particular line of work.

Summary:

Speed, quality, convenience and ease of use are the key components of these multifunction machines. The HP Officejet Pro 8500A not only provides quality with quantity and amazingly fast print speeds, but it is able to provide a straightforward, easy-to-use experience. The ease of use is mostly due to the ability to access everything from the simple LCD touchscreen, which gives anyone the ability to get the job done in a timely manner. This is one of the main features that make this such a great all-in-one printer option. You add those all up and you get a printer that can single-handedly improve the productivity of your home office or small business; that is what the HP Officejet Pro 8500A is all about.