- ISO Speed: Up to 20 ppm black, Up to 16 ppm color
- Scan Resolution: Up to 4800 dpi
- Copy Resolution: Up to 1200 x 600 dpi
Hewlett Packard upped the ante with this All-n-One (AIO) unit by including wireless and giving the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus Inkjet Printer an e-mail address (@hpeprint.com address) from which one can print from any computer, iPad--or other mobile device--via a technology called "HP e-Print." One can also print wirelessly to an Apple mobile device like an iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone etc. via Apple Air Print.
Un-Packing
Make no mistake the "HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus" is a hefty printer checking in a 21 pounds. And while the unit does not require a two-man lift, it will require some finesse to get it out of the box and onto a flat surface. One unboxed it took me a little less than 15 minutes to completely assemble the printer including the duplexer unit. Thankfully the power supply is built-in, so no heavy power brick to find a place for.
Network Setup
Before connecting the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus network via Ethernet (RJ-45), or Wireless the decision must be made to utilize one or the other communications medium, but not both. USB can be utilized with either configuration. Since I wanted my iPad to "speak" to the printer and print I installed the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus utilizing wireless and USB and I can print either way as well as utilize the scanner to print-to-computer. Wireless set-up was effortless using DHCP; all I needed to know was the network WPA2 passcode.
Wireless Printing & e-Print
One of the selling points of the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-AIO is of course the ability of the iPad to print to the device either wirelessly (Air Print) or via e-Print. I am happy to report that both work!
As I stated above Apple IOS version 4.2 shipped with Air Print, which allows the iPad to wirelessly "talk" to Air Print enabled printers like the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus. Once the printer was set up on the wireless network I could see the printer on the iPad from Air Print enabled applications like Safari, select the printer and print. G that was it, no setup needed on the iPad.
HP's e-Print also works like a charm, most of the time. With e-Print the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus is assigned a customizable e-mail address to which one can forward e-mail's to be printed from iPad, iMac, iPod, or PC as long as the printer is connected to the Internet. This feature works reasonably well; it is supposed to be able to print attachments, but this is a hit or miss proposition; i.e. sometimes it works, sometime not, sometimes it print half a page. However, overall, I am pleased with e-print.
Software Installation
My HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus is connected primarily to an Apple iMac 2.7GHz machine with 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive running OS X Lion Version 10.7.2. Out of the box the software disc will not work with Lion 10.7.2, so I had to download a software update from Apple and another from HP, but both worked seamlessly and I was able to get up and running with full functionality (including scan-to-computer) in under 15 minutes. And I have to say for the record I like the iMac interface for the printer better than the Windows 7 interface.
Printing
Pretty straight forward; the software installation process installed a full set of print drivers which in turn give you complete control over the printing process, including two-sided printing. The HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus can also print from inserted USB flash drives and or MMC/SD Media cards.
Scanning
The HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus offers up both a 50-sheet ADF and flatbed scanner for use. Initialing the scanning process can be accomplished from the included software, inserting a page(s) into the ADF, or the units control panel. Once an item is placed into the ADF or on the flatbed scanner glass surface, you can push the Scan button on the front panel, at which time you choose where to scan to: Computer, USB Flash Drive, or Memory Card. Once a destination is chosen, you can then chose to scan to file (.PDF is an option), e-mail, or photo.
Copy Process
This process, like printing is pretty straight forward; both color and black & white copies can be made, up to 99 at a time. Because there is a duplexer installed two-sided copies can be made in a number of different configurations, including 1-side original/ 1-side copy; 1-side original/ 2-side copy; 2-side original/ 1-side copy; 2-side original/ 2-side copy. Copies can also be enlarged up to 144%, or reduced down to 25% of original.
Working with Photos
As stated above, the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus will accept input from a number of commercially available portable memory storage devices, slots for which are located on the left hand side of the printer underneath the cartridge insertion flip down panel. Simply insert the memory card and the photos it contains are displayed on the small 4.6" touch-screen color display on the right hand side of the unit.
Conclusion
Overall I like the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-AIO, because it works seamlessly with my iMac and I can print to it from my iPad. The design is a little austere; there are no buttons to push because everything is controlled from the color (touch screen) display panel, which might prove problematic if it ever decides not to work. But, there is always the control set on the computer, so...
The built-in wired Ethernet capability, coupled with USB and wireless make the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-AIO Inkjet Printer a versatile, flexible unit that is ideal for a small home office setting and well as workgroup setting. If you or your small workgroup need a scanner/ copier/ printer/ fax, and need to print from your iPad--or other mobile device--in some form or fashion the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus should be given serious consideration.
Buy HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Wireless Color Printer Now
I'll start by saying that I think this is an excellent machine.My journey of buying a multi-function printer started with purchasing an HP Officejet Pro 8500 all-in-one. This was a top-rated machine, and I was excited when it arrived. Unfortunately, the particular 8500 that we received, although easy to setup, jammed constantly. After a week of jamming headaches, I headed online to Amazon to arrange for a return. When considering a replacement, I saw that the 8600 series OfficeJet printers had arrived, so I needed to consider them as well. At only about $25 more than I had paid for the 8500, I took the plunge.
The first decision with the 8600 was which of the three models to order. The basic model was quite attractively priced, and has features similar to the Plus and Pro models. The Plus model's big advantage (in our case) was the larger display. Other features separating it from the basic model are the larger automatic document feeder (50 vs 35 sheets) and a slightly faster print speed (20 vs 18 ppm black and 16 vs 13 ppm color, according to the HP website.) Had we upgraded to the "Premium" model, we could have added an additional 250-sheet paper tray. The Premium model might be appropriate for a small workgroup which does does lots of printing, but in our case, would be extreme overkill based on our printing volumes -one ream of paper can last us many months!
Display: This printer went to my mother-in-law's house and she's not the most tech-savvy consumer. We chose the "Plus" model because of the larger display and it was a great choice! The display is great large, bright, and intuitive. My mother-in-law has no problem completing most tasks and following the very good on-screen video instructions.
Configuration: The printer was easy to configure without even connecting to a computer using the on-screen display to connect to the wi-fi network. In all, it probably took about 10-15 minutes, most of which was allowing the printer to complete its self-configuration checks and print head alignment. The software was easy to install on the computer, and the computer was able to discover the printer on the network almost instantly using the drivers on the included CD-ROM.
Printing: Print quality is quite good and very fast -the last time I purchased an inkjet printer was about 7 years ago, and the one this one replaced was 8 years old. Speed has come a long way in that time!
Copying: Again, this was quite simple. I especially like the easy on-screen options for dealing with two-sided originals and copies, allowing for all duplexing options without any additional fuss or difficulty.
Faxing: Also a straightforward operation, there were a few points worthy of comment. First, the fax self-configuration was great, and I appreciated the self-check during the setup process so that sending a "test fax" to someone was not necessary. Also, it worked fine with the AT&T U-Verse digital phone service -not all fax devices play well with digital phone services, so this was very nice. My mother-in-law also commented about how she appreciated that you can enter the destination fax number before inserting the document to be faxed into the feeder a nice feature as the destination fax number is usually at the top of the front page, which is often hidden by the document feeder once inserted.
Scanning: The network scanning was quite easy, and worked seamlessly something not true of all network scan devices. My previous experience had been that devices scanning over the network have some usability problems, and that they work best when connected directly to the computer. No issues here, however it worked great right out of the box with no physical connection to the computer.
Driver: The included drivers on the CD-ROM worked just fine, as well as those downloaded from the HP website. My one small complaint is that when auto-discovering the printer using Windows 7, Windows fails to install a usable driver. The user must first go to the HP website, download an appropriate driver, then install the driver directly. These extra steps were time-consuming and annoying but not enough for me to deduct a star.
Ink: The ink cartridges were very easy to insert and replace. I particularly appreciate that they are simple units and don't have the tape-covered electrical contacts common on the older generation of cartridges which could sometimes come off during installation.
Overall: I give this printer a strong recommendation, and 5 stars. You may need to decide which model is best for you -depending on pricing, the larger display of the "Plus" model might not be worthwhile, and the price of the basic model is quite attractive. For us and our given user, the larger display was key and worth the extra cost. I'd buy one again!
Read Best Reviews of HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Wireless Color Printer Here
Purchased this printer to replace another HP printer that had served it's usfullness. This printer obviously is a work horse and prints out quality prints and photes without hesitation. Have tested it on almost everything without a glitch. Was easy to set up and meshed into our wireless system without hassle. Set up menu has been designed for folks like me that are not experts in the field. You won't go wrong with this purchase. Highly recommend. So far this has proven to be a quality product. Using for iphone, ipad and wireless computer printing.Want HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Wireless Color Printer Discount?
If you do not plan to use any NON-HP photo paper,you can stop reading here.
I initially was so pleased with this printer:
1) easy to install/setup.
2) very fast.
3) duplex printing.
4) wireless.
5) etc...
UNTIL... I tried printing photos.
I have two type of photo paper Home:
1)Genuine HP "Arm&Leg cost" photo paper.
2)The very popular Costco (kirkland) premium photo paper.
I had no problem with the HP paper.
The only way I managed to have the printer feed the kirkland paper,
was by sticking a piece of masking tape (as found on a forum), on the
back of the paper. This gave enough grip to the picking roller, to
make the paper work with this printer.
The same paper works flawlessly in other HP printers and other brands.
If you plan on using this printer for photo printing without using HP photo
paper, I suggest you to google "hp 8600 will not feed photo paper"
Feel free to share your experiences (successful or not) with me.
Ben
Save 33% off
Within two months of purchase, the touch screen does not funtion, thus can not use copy, scan or fax funtions. Only option is to print from computer. After contacting Hewlett-Packard, they were only willing to ship a re-conditioned printer to replace the new printer that is only 2 months old.
