Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 3/10/2006 10:54:03 AM EDT
The GF bought an HP Officejet 4215 al-in-one color printer, scanner, copier and fax.  It has printed about 10 pages on brand new cartridges, all but one being black text.  Ony ONE color photo that was standard 5x7" in size.

The cartridges are now SHOT or so the wonderful self-diagnostics indicate.  The printer says "Cartridge Error" and the software just says "See documentation".  

So I fork out $35 for two new cartridges.  No, it wasn't the cartridges.  So I call HP.  They cannot figure anything out while on line, yes, it was India I called.  Fortunately its a toll free number.  It is going to cost $100 to get it fixed.

So after 3 months, this printer/scanner/copier/fax is canned. And even the scanner function is inop.

Good bye HP because I cannot see anything from HP being a good buy.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 10:55:16 AM EDT
[#1]
Their commercial laser printers are the industry standard.

The cheap consumer stuff is cheap consumer stuff.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 10:58:38 AM EDT
[#2]

  Sorry, All printers suck.  It's a matter of degrees.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:00:26 AM EDT
[#3]

Quoted:
The GF bought an HP Officejet 4215 al-in-one color printer, scanner, copier and fax.  It has printed about 10 pages on brand new cartridges, all but one being black text.  Ony ONE color photo that was standard 5x7" in size.

The cartridges are now SHOT or so the wonderful self-diagnostics indicate.  The printer says "Cartridge Error" and the software just says "See documentation".  

So I fork out $35 for two new cartridges.  No, it wasn't the cartridges.  So I call HP.  They cannot figure anything out while on line, yes, it was India I called.  Fortunately its a toll free number.  It is going to cost $100 to get it fixed.

So after 3 months, this printer/scanner/copier/fax is canned. And even the scanner function is inop.

Good bye HP because I cannot see anything from HP being a good buy.



And sadly I've found HP to be better than a LOT of brands like Sony.

Avoid all in ones. They are as bad as DVD/VCR/TV combos. When one goes bad the it takes away from everything else and it is hard to fix.

Realize printers are disposable. Buy a "decent" color printer and realize you may have to chuck it after one or two years.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:02:11 AM EDT
[#4]

Quoted:

Quoted:
The GF bought an HP Officejet 4215 al-in-one color printer, scanner, copier and fax.  It has printed about 10 pages on brand new cartridges, all but one being black text.  Ony ONE color photo that was standard 5x7" in size.

The cartridges are now SHOT or so the wonderful self-diagnostics indicate.  The printer says "Cartridge Error" and the software just says "See documentation".  

So I fork out $35 for two new cartridges.  No, it wasn't the cartridges.  So I call HP.  They cannot figure anything out while on line, yes, it was India I called.  Fortunately its a toll free number.  It is going to cost $100 to get it fixed.

So after 3 months, this printer/scanner/copier/fax is canned. And even the scanner function is inop.

Good bye HP because I cannot see anything from HP being a good buy.



And sadly I've found HP to be better than a LOT of brands like Sony.

Avoid all in ones. They are as bad as DVD/VCR/TV combos. When one goes bad the it takes away from everything else and it is hard to fix.

Realize printers are disposable. Buy a "decent" color printer and realize you may have to chuck it after one or two years. used LaserJet 5 and use it for another ten years.



Fixed it for my plan.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:02:56 AM EDT
[#5]
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:04:02 AM EDT
[#6]
I got an old HP LJ4+ here at the house.  It is a workhorse.

All your home consumer stuff is pretty much throw away tech.  Just buy cheap... when it flakes out, pitch it.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:08:17 AM EDT
[#7]
I've had nothing but problems from my HP printer.  It ruins perhaps 25% of all color print jobs, the ink cartridges are stupid expensive, and they only hold a barely consequential amount of ink.  The software seems to have some bugs in it, also.

Refilling the cartridges with after-market refill kits is only a temporary measure.  The cartridges themselves will crap out after only two or three fillings.

I've spent hundreds of dollars on ink, and not much to show for it.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:08:28 AM EDT
[#8]

Quoted:
So, one bad printer means they all suck?



Make that two.  Mine did exactly the same thing.  Maybe a year old and very lightly used, and it can't recognize the correct HP ink cartridges.  
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:10:43 AM EDT
[#9]
HP has 90 warranty
Lexmark 1 year warranty

That says something right there.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:12:25 AM EDT
[#10]
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:13:20 AM EDT
[#11]
Let me get this straight your girl friend bought a "new" printer and immediately started having problems.  After 3 months you decided to throw up your hands and say the whole company sucks?  Um, you do realize that new printers come with a 1 year warranty don't you?  Take it back to where you bought it and get a new one!  Is that so difficult?  Unless of course she didn't buy it new, bought it "hot", or bought it under some other type situation where you wouldn't want to be caught with it.  The only problem that I see right here is the end user.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:13:38 AM EDT
[#12]
My 5MP and 8550N have performed flawlessly. The 5 is ten years old!
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:14:49 AM EDT
[#13]
I have a very old Office 500 all-in-one.  It's about 10 years old, works like a champ.  Same for my old Deskjet 660 that's even older.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:15:53 AM EDT
[#14]
It should be a warranty repair on their dime.  
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:16:10 AM EDT
[#15]

Quoted:
I got an old HP LJ4+ here at the house.  It is a workhorse.

All your home consumer stuff is pretty much throw away tech.  Just buy cheap... when it flakes out, pitch it.



Bingo.  I stopped caring about color printing.  The number of times I need it can be counted on one hand and photo printing at home is a looser.  Unless you plan media and print in batches it costs more than taking digital pics to a store and getting them printed.

I got an HP LJ5M for the house and put it on the network.  Know how many times I've needed a new toner cartridge in 3 years?



Zero.  

Printer was under $100 bucks from Ebay because of faulty printing.  Fuser was bad.... a $30 or $50 kit fixed that and I was rolling.  I'll buy another ink jet when cows fly.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:16:33 AM EDT
[#16]

Quoted:
HP has 90 warranty
Lexmark 1 year warranty

That says something right there.




Um wrong.  Plus if you think Lexmark makes better printers then HP you have no clue what you are talking about.  Lexmark makes and sells craps.  I've worked there, several people I work with have worked there, and their headquarters are just a couple miles away from me.  If everyone that works/worked at Lexmark says the product is crap...that says something right there.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:24:01 AM EDT
[#17]

Quoted:
Let me get this straight your girl friend bought a "new" printer and immediately started having problems.  After 3 months you decided to throw up your hands and say the whole company sucks?  Um, you do realize that new printers come with a 1 year warranty don't you?  Take it back to where you bought it and get a new one!  Is that so difficult?  Unless of course she didn't buy it new, bought it "hot", or bought it under some other type situation where you wouldn't want to be caught with it.  The only problem that I see right here is the end user.



There isn't a cheap ink-jet made that isn't crap.  Some work longer than others and some don't but not one is a work of art.  There are some decent high-end printers with good ink systems that are a decent value.  Cheap ink-jets are a disposable item.  Three ink changes will often cost more than the printer did.  They are a loss-leader to sell ink.  You can imagine how much quality is put into that.  

Some of the older stuff is good, but I never had a reliable ink-jet after my HP DJ-500.  That's when I switched to a old LaserJet.  They were tanks and handled print needs of entire offices.  They are just as serviceable today.


ETA:  And also.  How many of you who swoop in to take people to task for calling something crap go running out to purchase more from a company that sent you defective equipment that fails in 3 months and then charges you to fix the issue?  He has every right to comunicate the problem and to say he thinks it's crap and he doesn't want another one.  

I'm sure we'd be rushing to give glowing reviews to a company that produced a burr-filled barrel with pits inside that deveoped a crack after 500 rounds and were told it'll cost ya $100 for us to fix that.  
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:24:45 AM EDT
[#18]
I use a Canon for photo printing and a Brother for day-to-day stuff.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:25:38 AM EDT
[#19]
My favorite was an HP all-in-one printer that I purchased back when I had Win98 installed.  When I upgraded to Win2K I started getting BSODs due to driver conflicts.

Come to find out the Win98 drivers for the printer weren't working for Win2K.  No problemo, head on over to HP and look for Win2K drivers for this printer.  Ofcourse I cannot find them.  After a great deal of searching I found that HP decided not to update the drivers for this (probably the most popular model all-in-one at the time) 2 year old printer.  They basicly said, "Fuck all y'all lUsers.  Give us $300 more and buy a brand new one."  I bought an Epson.

Printer worked fine.  Indeed it still is working fine.  I gave it to grandma who is still using Win98 with a dialup modem and couldn't care less.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:28:23 AM EDT
[#20]
Printers these days are just vehicles for selling cartridges.

The last time my cartridge ran out it was cheaper to buy a new printer on clearance than it was to buy a new cartridge. Since my print volume is only a few pages a month, I pitched the old one and the current one has lasted a couple years.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:30:44 AM EDT
[#21]
My HP 722 finally died after 5 years.  I replaced it with a black-and-white Brother laser printer.  Much cheaper to feed.  I have no complaints about HPs printers other than the cost to operate inkjets.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:31:36 AM EDT
[#22]

Quoted:
Printers these days are just vehicles for selling cartridges.

The last time my cartridge ran out it was cheaper to buy a new printer on clearance than it was to buy a new cartridge. Since my print volume is only a few pages a month, I pitched the old one and the current one has lasted a couple years.



Usually the cartridges that come with new printers are "starter" cartridges that are smaller capacity than the replacement ones.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:35:28 AM EDT
[#23]

Quoted:
There isn't a cheap ink-jet made that isn't crap.  Some work longer than others and some don't but not one is a work of art.  There are some decent high-end printers with good ink systems that are a decent value.  Cheap ink-jets are a disposable item.  Three ink changes will often cost more than the printer did.  They are a loss-leader to sell ink.  You can imagine how much quality is put into that.  

Some of the older stuff is good, but I never had a reliable ink-jet after my HP DJ-500.  That's when I switched to a old LaserJet.  They were tanks and handled print needs of entire offices.  They are just as serviceable today.




Agreed.  The common theme at Lexmark was if they could legally get away with it they would give their printers away for free because they make so much money on the ink.  Lexmark used to make all their printers in Lexington Kentucky, hence the "Lex" part of the name.  But they stopped doing that, switched to all plastic gears, and shipped everything over seas.

About 4 years ago I went on a search to find a decent all in 1 printer.  Even though all my previous HP printers were excellent I tried every other company but HP because I was being a cheap bastard and didn't want to pay the premium for good HP machine.  Well I returned every single one of those products after wasting a lot of time and money and finally bucked up and spent the $$$$ to buy the HP and I've been happy ever since.  The bottom line is don't be a cheap bastard when it comes to buying a printer because you get what you pay for and no one beats HP when it comes to a quality printer product (those $99 and less printers don't count).
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:37:39 AM EDT
[#24]

Quoted:

And sadly I've found HP to be better than a LOT of brands like Sony.

Avoid all in ones. They are as bad as DVD/VCR/TV combos. When one goes bad the it takes away from everything else and it is hard to fix.

Realize printers are disposable. Buy a "decent" color printer and realize you may have to chuck it after one or two years.



I use to think that, but after having forked over $2000 for a panaphonic fax machine that was a total turd, I bought a brother all in one for the office.

Machine is built like a tank and I have yet to have any problems with it.  All in ones are good space savers and nice vehicles to do multiple tasks.

That said, if you want a quality printer, you're gonna have to pay lots of $$$ for it.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:40:24 AM EDT
[#25]
I've got a Laserjet 5p and its still chugging along after 15 years or so.  I've got a couple their inkjet printers and they are NOT too good.

Dennis Jenkins



Quoted:

Quoted:
I got an old HP LJ4+ here at the house.  It is a workhorse.



Amen to that.  Many years ago I worked at the local real estate multiple listing service and they would print the master copy of the MLS books on HP LJ4s to send off to the print house for mass production.  They had four printers, in five years and thousands of pages each week, never broke.  

Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:44:43 AM EDT
[#26]

Quoted:
Their commercial laser printers are the industry standard.

The cheap consumer stuff is cheap consumer stuff.




+1 That sums up nicely.


We have some HP printers here that have printed in excess of 7 million pages with very few problems.  

We have about 20 HP laserjet 1100, 1200, and 1300.  They average about 7,000 pages and only one so far has needed anything more than toner cartridges.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:47:20 AM EDT
[#27]

Quoted:

Quoted:
There isn't a cheap ink-jet made that isn't crap.  Some work longer than others and some don't but not one is a work of art.  There are some decent high-end printers with good ink systems that are a decent value.  Cheap ink-jets are a disposable item.  Three ink changes will often cost more than the printer did.  They are a loss-leader to sell ink.  You can imagine how much quality is put into that.  

Some of the older stuff is good, but I never had a reliable ink-jet after my HP DJ-500.  That's when I switched to a old LaserJet.  They were tanks and handled print needs of entire offices.  They are just as serviceable today.




Agreed.  The common theme at Lexmark was if they could legally get away with it they would give their printers away for free because they make so much money on the ink.  Lexmark used to make all their printers in Lexington Kentucky, hence the "Lex" part of the name.  But they stopped doing that, switched to all plastic gears, and shipped everything over seas.

About 4 years ago I went on a search to find a decent all in 1 printer.  Even though all my previous HP printers were excellent I tried every other company but HP because I was being a cheap bastard and didn't want to pay the premium for good HP machine.  Well I returned every single one of those products after wasting a lot of time and money and finally bucked up and spent the $$$$ to buy the HP and I've been happy ever since.  The bottom line is don't be a cheap bastard when it comes to buying a printer because you get what you pay for and no one beats HP when it comes to a quality printer product (those $99 and less printers don't count).



I agree.  The $99 stuff is total trash.  Even the more expensive stuff is (or has been for us) more trouble than it should be.

We have tried the HP all-in-ones here in the office and they have not been holding up.  Granted we put a lot of use to them but they still just seem to be a money hole with media costs, repairs, and general 'issues'.  I work with our desktop group and I hear lots about them.  I'm not saying they are absolute junk, but when compared against the tanks that are the LJ series they just pale in comparison.  Our printer folks will no longer buy them.  I don't think that is just because they are biased.

I just don't think any of them (ink jets) are built too well any more.  I previously owned four different IJ printers.  Canon, Epson, Lexmark,and HP.  I just quit trying to find one that wasn't a constant problem.  That HP was the only one that didn't clog up all the time or just flat out not work and it was a good printer.  They are not making stuff like the DJ-500 anymore though.  At least not that I have seen roll through here.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 11:53:16 AM EDT
[#28]
Good thing I bought the ex-g/f an HP printer for Xmas of like '04.
Link Posted: 3/10/2006 12:01:19 PM EDT
[#29]
I brought a $99 HP 920 3 years ago and it is still working fine.

That being said, I think HP is having quality issues with it's new printers. We have had 2 HP printers brought into the office in the last few weeks. Both of them had experienced technicians work on them without success. One called HP around two in the afternoon and never could talk to anyone. He waited on the line for over two hours without getting a hold of anyone. The whole time an automated voice was telling him how much they value his business and to please be patent. He now swears he will never recomend HP to anyone again. I don't think I would either.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 5:13:03 PM EDT
[#30]
HP printers used to be great.  To this day I'm still using the LaserJet III that I bought new back in the 1980s for a mere $2,750.

These days they suck.  Besides the horrible hardware failures I've seen, the drivers are incredibly invasive and there's no way to get rid of all the "HP Print-to-Web" crap that gets shoved onto your Desktop.  If I'm going to print out one page a week do I really need 14 different HP processes and 3 HP apps running in the background?

My old Epson Photo 700 finally died, and I replaced it with a Canon iP3000 because it was on sale, and it's working better than the Epson ever did.  It prints faster, with much better quality, and the cartridges are a lot cheaper.

On a related note, when my old $400 Umax flatbed scanner croaked, I replaced it with a Canon 1240U that was on sale for $70 and it works better than the Umax ever did.  Plus the fact that the Canon is about 1" thick compared to 6" for the Umax.  It's like the difference between a VCR and a clipboard in terms of stroage.  And the drivers for both scanner and printer are simple and don't load a bunch of  system-crashing, resource-hogging crapware.

I'm really starting to like Canon stuff.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 5:16:56 PM EDT
[#31]
I had one at my last job do almost the same thing a few months ago.  Turns out that the user forced a cartridge in wrong, and broke off a piece of plastic in the carrier... causing the cartridge to not seat correctly.  Open yours up and look long and hard at the carrier for any broken off pieces.

Either that, or just return it to the store and play dumb.

I use the same printer at home, my parents have one, and I had one of my own at my last job.  Once you get one that works, you'll love it.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 6:56:18 PM EDT
[#32]
I've got 2 old officejets sitting around that still work fine; they just out lived the technology.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 6:58:29 PM EDT
[#33]
I have had nothing but good luck with my HP printers.  Been using them for 9 years.  An inkjet, a laserjet, and an all in one Inkjet.  Used and abused.  They keep working.  The All in one inkjet has been especially reliable compared to other brands.   The only bitch I have is the cost of the ink cartridges, but that ripoff applies to all brands.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 7:00:17 PM EDT
[#34]

HP laser printers are awesome, and super-reliable.


Inkjet printers of all kinds are a huge scam, and are actually much more expensive than laser printers when you calculate in the ass-raping you take on short-lived ink cartriges compared to long life toners cartriges of lasers printers.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 7:00:37 PM EDT
[#35]

Quoted:
I got an old HP LJ4+ here at the house.  It is a workhorse.

All your home consumer stuff is pretty much throw away tech.  Just buy cheap... when it flakes out, pitch it.



+1  

I have 2 3 LaserJet 4 printers.  They may be old, but you can't beat their reliability and $15/toner cartridge.  
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 11:13:13 PM EDT
[#36]
HP Color LaserJet 2600N, here.
Hooked up to the network and it prints perfectly.
Link Posted: 3/11/2006 11:55:51 PM EDT
[#37]

Quoted:
The GF bought an HP Officejet 4215 al-in-one color printer, scanner, copier and fax.  It has printed about 10 pages on brand new cartridges, all but one being black text.  Ony ONE color photo that was standard 5x7" in size.

The cartridges are now SHOT or so the wonderful self-diagnostics indicate.  The printer says "Cartridge Error" and the software just says "See documentation".  

So I fork out $35 for two new cartridges.  No, it wasn't the cartridges.  So I call HP.  They cannot figure anything out while on line, yes, it was India I called.  Fortunately its a toll free number.  It is going to cost $100 to get it fixed.

So after 3 months, this printer/scanner/copier/fax is canned. And even the scanner function is inop.

Good bye HP because I cannot see anything from HP being a good buy.



HP is well known for ink scams...

The cartridges that you get with the printer are just 'starter' cartridges and are nowhere near full-fill...

Also, we are talking about a company that FREELY ADMITTED IN CORPORATE PRESS RELEASES THAT THEIR STRATEGY FOR INCREASING PROFITS WAS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF INK IN THEIR CARTRIDGES WHILE MAINTAINING PRICE...

Sorry, HP inkjets SUCK...

Now, their laser printers are another story... Considering how many HP 4M, 6p, and similar model printers are 'Still Gooooing', it's an entirely different world... (HP 4M -> big fucker, but you'd basically have to run it over with a tank to kill it).... For $25, I'd rather buy a used HP LJ6p  than a new budget inkjet
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 4:33:12 AM EDT
[#38]
my 1115 has been going strong for 5+years now no troubles print lots of color pics and docs...
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 4:39:19 AM EDT
[#39]
So the printer is 90 day's old and you're having to pay to fix it?

I smell
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 4:44:00 AM EDT
[#40]
My HP 2175 printer/scanner/copier is two years old and I haven't had any issues with it at all. It gets light-to-moderate use, though.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 3:57:49 PM EDT
[#41]
Inkjet printing is a scam, er, mony making machine for manufacturers. It is all about the ink cartridges which are designed with the lowest quality they can get away with. The only high-quality work that goes into a HP inkjet cartridge is the apparatus for patent protection. That is it.

Stay with dry toner. I have a LJ 4M that has been going strong for 13 years.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 4:16:11 PM EDT
[#42]
Cheap printers are cheap printers.. HP cheap printers beat the hell out of a lot of other cheap printers though, and as was mentioned anything with "Lexmark" on the side you should run from.

I know lots of people love the all in ones, but they're generally home office grade at best. They're expensive too, and when the printer fails (most likely), your scanner and fax are now DOA too.  Oh yea, and the software really sucks.  Too many eggs in a crappy basket.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 4:23:12 PM EDT
[#43]
I have had a HP-722 since 97 and it still prints like a champ.

Chances are you just got a Bad one, or the gave you a crappy starter cartridge.

FREE

Link Posted: 3/12/2006 5:38:49 PM EDT
[#44]
My HP All-in-one is about 6 months old and so far runs like a champ. Of course, I have a small office and it gets only moderate use. I'm still on the original cartridges as well.

HP support does suck eggs though. The day I got this printer I was confused by the Engrish as a third language documentation and called HP support (in New Delhi) and after a half hour on hold, got to speak to somebody who spoke english about as well as I spoke svengali. I eventually hung up onJitvanya Peshawar, or whatever her name was, went back to the store and looked at the functioning display model to figure out setup on my own.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 5:45:50 PM EDT
[#45]
My $500 8750 makes some of the nicest 13"x19" photo quality prints you will ever see
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 5:58:16 PM EDT
[#46]
I think the HP LaserJet III in my office is over 15 years old.  I have it literally locked to my desk so no one else can take it.  I'm keeping it until it eventually dies.  The other HP laser printers we've had the past decade I've been here have all been complete crap.  Over Christmas we bought five HP LaserJet 1160's from Staples.  All five have already quit.  HP so far has refused to repair them, and Staples wouldn't take them back since it's been over 14 days.  Like most companies now, HP does not honor their warranty.  They claim the warranty is for one year, but it's simply not.z
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 6:15:30 PM EDT
[#47]
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 8:06:07 PM EDT
[#48]
I wont buy another HP inkjet, got a PSC 1350 (printer/scanner/copier), print and copier function died after a year just after the warrany, just keeping it around cause the scanner function works.

Glad I kept my Dec 1999 vintange Lexmark Z51, still rockin' after all these years!
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top