The Cold, Hard FAX About the HP OfficeJet 700
Written: Sep 05 '00 (Updated Sep 05 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: multi-functional
Cons: none of the functions are anything to brag about
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| urwiller's Full Review: Hewlett Packard OfficeJet 700 All-In-One InkJet Pr... |
Anyone who knows me, knows that I like my all-in-ones, and that's exactly what the HP OfficeJet 700 is. Let's cut to the chase, though. It may boast multi-functionality, but the reality of it is-- it isn't all that great.
Fax, print, copy, and scan... whoopity-doo! I thought I was in HP heaven when I stumbled on this product. I was actually only looking for a plain-paper, stand-alone fax machine (for those not in the know, stand-alone is a fax machine that doesn't rely on your computer-- just the phone line and an electrical outlet). The OfficeJet 700 isn't really a stand alone, but I wasn't ruling it out since I'm such a sucker for all-in-ones. It can fax and copy (b&w) without a PC, but it can't print, copy (color) or scan by itself.
Okay, so I already had an HP printer and an HP scanner. I didn't have an HP fax machine or copier. So with that, I came to the conclusion that it really wasn't bad buy at $239... and who couldn't use an extra printer and scanner?
That was my impulsive thinking at the time. I have since reformed that train of thinking, especially since my HP OfficeJet 700 got the boot. I took it back to the store for a refund. I should have stuck to the original plan. In 'n out of the store with a plain old fax machine tucked under my arm... but nooooo, I had to have everything! And with that, comes the disappointment.
HP, Why?
The truth of the matter is that I knew the OfficeJet 700 wasn't going to be some outstanding printer and scanner, that would out perform my single-function peripherals. I was really only expecting it to fax and copy. Yet, I still feel let down. Most fax machines run around the range of $80-$150. Did I really expect to get all this quality multi-functionality out of something for as little as $239? Wishful thinking, I suppose.
(By the way, Epinions has this product listed at $700 but HP's retail is $249)
The Cold, Hard Fax
•Fax
As far as the multi-functionality goes, the only thing I can recommend on the OfficeJet 700 is the fax function and I still have minor beefs that I'll get into later. The faxing is fairly effortless. If you've ever laid your hands on a fax machine, you know how to work this one. You have two options: dial the number from the machine or use the HP OfficeJet Manager software to dial the number from your computer. Warning, it works pretty slowly. Since the machine is actually "scanning" the document before it faxes, it takes a bit longer that one would expect. Also, the quality of the faxed documents is sketchy, at best. I never tried the "color" fax since I don't know anyone that owns a color fax machine... but if it could be any worse than the b&w, I'm glad I didn't waste valuable transmission time.
+Other Misc. Tidbits: OfficeJet 700 utilizes a 14.4 Rockwell Modem Chip and the transmission speed exaggerates 6 seconds/page. It also has a 20-page document feeder, holds up to 50 speed dial entries, and stores up to 50 faxes.
•Copy
Forget about it. This copy feature may work well enough to print out some extra copies of this or that, but if you're looking for anything presentable, you better run down to Mega-Copies before they close. I tried to copy a grayscale form I printed on my HP Deskjet 932C and the text and gray color came out much lighter than the original. Don't forget that it's as slow as molasses with its "scanning" technique.
+Other Misc. Tidbits: OfficeJet 700 takes about 1 minute to make the first copy (text) and 30 seconds for additional copies. Color photos are copied at the rate of 2 minutes a page. It can make up to 50 copies at a time and has reduction/enlargement features.
•Scan
I loaded a 4x6 photo into the tray and from my OfficeJet Manager, proceeded to command my machine to scan. "No Document Loaded," it said. I spent about half an hour fidgeting with it. I eyed my flatbed scanner, which sat right next to the OfficeJet 700 and then gave up, yanked the photo out of the tray, and beckoned my single-function scanner. If it was this much trouble to scan something, it just wasn't worth it. But alas, I never truly give anything up. I tried later when my anxiety levels were lower. I'm not claiming to know a whole heckuvalot about scanning... but I know enough that if I were to set the dpi or resolution pretty high, it would scan decently. I tried to change my dpi to 1200 in the OfficeJet Manager but was warned that it would freeze my computer up. I heeded HP's advice since I had other problems already with freezes caused by this devil machine, and switched to 600-- same warning. What's the point of having a scanner if you can only scan in 300 or 150 dpi? I scanned anyway and it surprisingly came out looking like... complete garbage.
+Other Misc. Tidbits: The OfficeJet 700 scanner is TWAIN compatible and also has OCR software. It has a basic image editor to crop or transform scans and is able to scan-to-fax/e-mail.
•Print
What surprised me the most about the OfficeJet 700 was that the print quality was sorely lacking. I took a previously scanned (by single-function flatbed scanner) photo and printed it up on the 700. I compared the same print with my single-function printer and it came nowhere near being half as good. In fact, I could barely make out my face in the print done by the 700. It was pixelly (is that a new word?) and the color was extremely flat. As far as text printing goes, I suppose it passed on that. Same basic quality as the copy function produced and I'll say it again-- slow as molasses.
+Other Misc. Tidbits: The OfficeJet 700 can accommodate a variety of media sizes (including legal, A4, and labels) and has a large 150-sheet paper tray with a nifty envelope slot. It exaggerates 5ppm b&w/2ppm color.
Slow All Around
I mentioned earlier that I had a minor problem with the fax function. Actually, it isn't just the fax... it's the software that aids in the communication. Yes, the OfficeJet Manager. Not only did it slow all of my operations down, it froze my computer up numerous times. I took it off my start menu and removed it from my system tray because it was causing my computer to lag upon initial start-up. When I removed it, my computer was normal again. As far as I'm concerned, this simply shouldn't have happened with a PIII-600, 128MB RAM, and over 25GB of free space. I may have had conflicting software, but I somehow question any software that goes that haywire on a regular basis.
I can't even believe I'm writing such a negative report on an HP product, but the fact remains that the OfficeJet 700 isn't all its cracked up to be. It claims to do a ton of stuff, but only does a few mediocre things. If you're looking to get an all-in-one, skip the OfficeJet 700. I'm afraid to ever try a multi-function again.
I got my $239 back and bought a cheap stand-alone fax machine that works twice as good.
Recommended:
No
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urwiller
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