I really have no complaints about the print quality or the setup of the wireless function, which is a great convenience in a home network. The reason this printer is going to the recycler is the cost of operation due to HP's decision to gouge consumers on replacement ink cartidges.
If you look up the unit price on replacement cartridges, it does not sound unreasonable: roughly thirty USD for the black cartridge and twenty USD each for the three color cartridges. However, what you need to be aware of is that the printer decides when the cartridges need to be replaced and WILL NOT FUNCTION until you comply.
This is a change from a few years ago, when you would receive a low ink warning but could still print until the cartridge actually emptied. This disabling of all print functions may be becoming a standard industry practice but, in my experience, is particularly egregious with this HP printer.
It is no coincidence that all four cartridges are flagged as needing replacement at roughly the same time. Even if you have been printing only black and white draft copies in the interval since replacement, the color cartridges will be flagged as empty after a few months.
As this happens, at the least, twice a year, you will be spending close to two hundred dollars a year to maintain even minimum function.
After literally a mere few months, using the "high-capacity" XL cartridges and extremely rare use (I rarely print more than a dozen pages per month), this printer is once again disabled due to an entirely fictitious low-ink warning. This function is clearly not triggered by actual use, the number of pages printed or the volume of ink remaining. It is based entirely on an algortithm combining some arbitrary time since cartridge installation and HP's greed.
Again: The resident software decides when you will replace the ink cartridges (of which there are four) and it will not print so much as a single page until you do.
If you print enough pages in both black and white and color, and exhaust the cartridges in a short period of time, you may consider this printer a good value.
Read many of the four and five star reviews carefully: "I've had this printer one month and I love it", "I've had it for one day...", etc. I'm happy for them, but I have owned this printer for fifteen months and am replacing it.
This will be my last HP printer.
UPDATE: I have received (11/18/2010) notice of a settlement offer in response to three lawsuits filed against HP alleging fraudulent practices related to the issues noted above. Quote: "HP denies all these claims" but will offer coupons redeemable at the HP online store (only) as compensation. One can therefore assume they intend to continue these practices. HP is offering an insulting maximum six dollar credit for qualifying printers. For more information: hpinkjetprintersettlement dot com HP Officejet Pro 8000 Wireless Printer
This seems to be a great printer. I am using it as a replacement for my old Cannon PIXMA 3000 which just gave up the ghost. When you read the other reviews that talk about a 30 minute set up time, don't look at that as a sign of difficulty or potential incompetance on the reviewer...this unit does do a 20-30 self diagnostic as part of the set up process. Images are clean and clear. And HP finally has the message to create separate ink carts for each color rather than having to toss them all out when you run out of one single color.
What I like:
- The wireless capability. Can print from any PC in the house on this one.
- Separate Ink Cartridges
- Duplex printing
- HP has pre-sent usage pattern ready for you - like fast utility print, duplex printing, printing for photos, etc.
- Tools that help you see what your ink usage will be like.
- According to the HP site, low cost per page printing. (fingers crossed here).
Dislikes:
-Big footprint on the desk. Oh well.
Bonus: If you act before year end, your old printer may qualify for a $50 rebate when you return it to HP. See the HP product site for details. This helped knock $50 off this price.
I have read all the reviews and would like to offer an opinion. I have had mine about a month, and I love it. Don't know what the other person was doing when doing the duplex (2 side printing) but my printouts have come out looking exactly as they do on the screen, no 50% reduction. I also experienced a 30 minutes setup time but I've come to expect that with new software. It prints great and fast, just wished the cartridges lasted longer. I have also had no pop ups under IE or Firefox. I suggest doing the custom install and choose what you want to install and what you don't. Hope this helps future buyers.
I don't usually do this kind of thing, but I'm going on this site to say something about this product. I've struggled with printers, ink, trying to use a little USB thing to talk to my old HP printer, fighting with firewalls and such - it was all a total disaster. I was thinking about getting one of the cheap color lasers, but then I went to look at ink and its not hard to see the consumer trap with ink for those things. After a lot of hand-wringing and looking around forever, I went to Office Depot and after standing in the printer isle looking lost and confused, checking sales tags and going back and forth to the ink isle for about an hour, I bought this HP Office Jet Pro 8000. First of all, when I brought it to the checkout counter, it rang up at about $70 for the printer itself, so I was happy with that but also wondering if the lady made a mistake or something. Then I got home and set it up, and installed the software, and it worked perfectly. Push "print" and it prints instantly, and surprisingly fast. I have some color graphics in my company logo and such, and the printing quality was outstanding. I was immediately super happy with the way this thing worked. Anyone in my family can push "print" from any one of their computers anywhere in the house, and walla, there it is. I've printed a bizillion things and recently I had to buy a new black ink cartridge. They make a high capacity one that prints several thousand pages, and it was cheap compared to all the other printer inks in the aisle. It is still working great for me. Best printer I've ever had, and I probably go through about a ream of paper a month. - Inkjet - Printer - Wireless Printer - Hp'
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