HP Officejet Pro 8500 Premier Wireless All-in-One Printer

I thought I would make what is normally the conclusion the beginning section because not everyone may have the time or the disposition to go through all these paragraphs unless actually interested in making a purchase. I am providing more detail that should support my conclusions AFTER the evaluation section.


Evaluation
----------
This is, esentially, the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-In-One Printer with an extra paper tray, 3 extra ink cartridges and some promo materials. The unit I reviewed did not have the extra paper tray.

The reviewed unit meets the claim of it being a all-in-one solution. While it is not likely that any individual user would take advantage of all its features on a regular basis, it is reassuring to know that the features are there. The supplied software and the...Read more

The build quality on this is TERRIBLE.

The first unit I received wouldn't print from tray #2. HP wanted to replace my brand new printer with a refurb unit, but thankfully Amazon immediately sent me a new one when I told them this.

The problem is that the 2nd unit is more broken than the first. Now it will print from tray #2, but the top right corner of every page that comes from tray #2 is bent and dirty as if caught on the print head. Pages from tray #1 don't have this. I've removed the duplexer from the back to let pages get spit out that way from tray #2 and none had the bend. That means the problem isn't tied to the external tray, but rather to the main printer.

I called HP, and their helpdesk in India dug through their books until they came up with the genius idea to "clean the rollers". Sure. Of a new printer. They refused to transfer me to anyone in the US, or to anyone who actually had seen this printer for themselves...Read more

I use this printer in a home office environment and it does a very nice job. Printouts are very crisp with good quality. Colors are vibrant and sharp. Copies are fast and of very good quality and faxes are very easy to send and receive.
While this printer is a bit more than other available "all in ones", I felt that the cost per print with the new, higher yielding cartridges will over time provide a much better cost of ownership. The "Premier" version of this printer offers the extra cartridges for colors (not black!) and the added tray. Since the difference is about one hundred dollars and the regular yield cartridges are 20 each, I figure the real difference is that you are paying 40 for a the extra tray. Well worth it for me. Other than the three extra cartridges, the extra tray, and some marketing software that I thought was not that valuable, the printer is the same as the "wireless" version.
Overall the printer is fast, but not blazing (slow in duplex mode)...Read more