1 terrible service
My wife and I wasted hours and hours trying to get HP service. HP has outsourced customer service to several developing countries, and each time we called, the representatives were unable to locate the record of our previous call. We were told time and again that we would be contacted by a "case manager" but that never happened. After weeks of trying, it became obvious that we need to discard the product (still under warrantee) and buy a new (non-HP) product ourselves.
2 David Weeks MyMac.com Book Review
HP Photosmart 2710 multi-function printer scanner copier fax
Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price:$399.00
(...)
I've been a big fan of multi-function (printer-scanner-copier-fax) units for quite a while. The Weeks division of MyMac.com labs has been using HP's Photosmart 2710 for several weeks, and is quite impressed with it.
Multi-function units have two main disadvantages compared to a collection of standalone units:
You've got all your eggs in one basket. If the one function of the unit requires service, because you can't scan, for example, you're dead in the water until the unit comes back.
The individual functions may not be as good quality as a stand-alone device. Compromises may have to be made to get printing, scanning, copying and faxing into one box at a reasonable price.
The upside to owning a multi-function device is that you don't have to maintain three or four separate devices. You've got far fewer setup and connectivity headaches. A well-designed multifunction unit integrates all the different features. Having separate boxes may result in one box not playing nicely with another.
The HP Photosmart 2710 is HP's top-of-the-line consumer MFC (multi-function) unit. Retailing for $399, it can be found for as low as $350 from reputable on-line dealers. The Photosmart name indicates that the print engine is capable of photo-quality printing. We'll look more at that claim in a minute.
The 2710's specs are impressive; this unit comes loaded with almost any feature you'd want in a MFC. The best features are the many built-in card reader slots and 802.11g networking capability, and the ability to use regular and photo quality ink cartridges.
Tech Specs are here.
Unpacking the printer was easy, just make SURE you remove all the various bits of tape and Styrofoam that lock the moving parts during shipment. Some are well hidden; you're advised to follow the setup instructions.
Annoyingly, no USB cable is provided. While HP doesn't hide this fact, you'd think that for $399 HP would toss in a USB cable.
Software installation was relatively quick and painless. I installed the software on both my dual 2 GHz Power Mac, as well an a old Gateway Pentium II that I keep on my network for running the odd PC-only application. The software bundle includes ReadIris Pro 9 for optical character recognition, which normally retails for $129.95. The software installs the HP ImageZone application, which is a central location for controlling the various functions of the 2710. The installer was well behaved, and placed the various applications controlled by ImageZone in a HP folder inside the Applications folder. An Uninstaller is included in case you need to remove the various pieces.
Since one of the prime features of the Photosmart 2710 is its ability to run on a network, I skipped the USB setup, and configured it via the built-in 10/100 Ethernet port. I chose to set up a manual IP address for the printer, although the 2710 can easily use DHCP. Manual IP addressing involves setting the desired address via the control panel on the printer, and then using the setup wizard from the computer to find the printer on the network. Setup worked the first time, even with the non-standard manual addressing.
Since the 2710 also allows wireless operation, I disconnected the Ethernet cable, and set up the unit for wireless operation. I found both manual setup and the Network Setup Assistant easy to use. Most users will choose the DHCP option, but network gurus can choose manual IP addressing and also turn on wireless WEP encryption.
As expected, the 2710 initial setup requires a cartridge calibration. One nice touch is the 2710's ability to remember if a cart has already been calibrated, and not require a subsequent calibration. This feature comes in handy when you swap a regular cartridge for a photo-quality cartridge, and the replace the regular cartridge to resume normal quality printing. You won't need to waste time and ink recalibrating the regular cartridge again; the HP already knows the settings.
Once up and running, I began to print. Right away, the HP print driver impressed me. I formerly owned a HP PSC 750 multi-function, which I learned to hate, mostly because of driver problems. Previous Macintosh OS X drivers by HP were, in a word, horrid. While print quality was good, the PSC 750 driver used way too many CPU cycles, did not play well with multiple users, and required reboots when the Mac lost contact with the printer. While I loved the 750 when I could get it to print, I eventually put it in a closet. And that was because I could not even give it away!
HP now has dedicated Macintosh programmers writing their Mac drivers and software, and it shows. During all my testing, I had no trouble with the HP stealing CPU cycles, and I could reliably print after switching from one user to another.
Digital camera cards
Before you can print, you've got to get your digital images into your computer. You can use your 2710 instead of a camera dock, if you prefer. The 2710 has slots to accommodate CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Memory Stick¨, Secure Digital/MultiMedia/Secure MultiMedia, and xD-Picture Cards.
My Kodak Dx7440 uses Secure Digital SD cards, so that's what I tested.
Pop the card into the slot, and the 2710 scans the card. You can print a contact sheet, print images directly from the card, or transfer the images to your computer. Personally, I can't imagine printing directly from the card, as I always tweak my photos before using expensive photo paper!
Image transfers via the 2710 are started from HP's ImageZone application, but use Apple's Image Capture (included with OS X) to perform the actual transfers. HP includes a small application to funnel the images right into iPhoto, if that's your photo management app of choice.
Printing
Getting good quality prints requires telling the printer what paper will be used. The print dialog lists over 20 different kinds of paper. You'll find settings for N-up printing, reverse print order, double-sided printing, and ink density. Interestingly, there are also driver settings for contrast adjustment, sharpening, and red-eye removal.
Print quality from the 2710 was far better than the old PSC 750, and was immeasurably better than the Brother MFC 3810, which I used before the 2710. While it's not as good as a stand-alone photo printer like the Epson Stylus 9000, the print quality is solidly good. I found the colors to be rich and saturated. Best-quality printing using the photo cartridges on HP glossy photo paper was generally excellent.
The print driver includes a setting to optimize photo printing on plain paper. I've often been disappointed with inkjet color printing using plain paper, but the 2710 does better than most. You're not going to be framing a color print on plain paper, but it's a great way to get quickie color output without using the expensive glossy photo paper. The 2710's plain paper prints are, well, much less ugly than most. Kudos to HP for including this print setting.
Copying
One reason I've always like multifunction units is that they make good copiers. The 2710 can make both black and white and color copies, up to 99 at a time. You need not have your computer on to make copies, as you can access all the copy functions from the 2710's front panel controls. Copying was trouble-free. I used the 2710's ability to change the default copy settings to "Faster" to save that expensive HP ink.
Scanning
Scanning can be a whole subject of its own, especially photo scanning What DPI to use, what bit depth to scan at, and other questions spring up to confuse the average user. The 2710 has capable hardware; it up to you to exploit it to best advantage.
Like almost all other 2710 functions, you begin the scanning process with the ImageZone application. Choose Scan Picture, and the HP Image Scan application launches and begins a preview scan. Once the preview is done, you can crop it before scanning, and do basic straightening or rotating. You can choose from several settings (Text, Photo, Mixed Color, or Mixed Grayscale) or choose custom to pick your own resolution. Scans can be directly sent to the application of your choice or saved to disk in one of twelve formats, including Photoshop, PDF, TIFF, and JPG.
Test scans were generally good quality, but not as good as those from a dedicated scanner. The average user should be happy with the 2710's scans.
Faxing
While I'm not a heavy fax user, I found the 2710's fax capabilities easy to use. Like copying, the fax features do not need the computer to be on; it's a perfectly capable stand-alone fax machine. I was extremely impressed with the fax setup instructions. People who struggled with fax-phone splitters, answering machine settings, DSL lines, and other impediments to easy faxing know how hard it can be to get a fax machine to play nice with other devices. HP provides very detailed flow charts that walk the user carefully through the various setup options. My setup went flawlessly the first time, with the HP instructions not missing a step.
Actual faxing was uneventful. In light testing faxes came and went with no problems.
Connectivity
The 2710 has USB 2, 10/100 Ethernet, and wireless connections. Given that less expensive HP multi-function models provide the same features without Ethernet or wireless capability, I did not spend much time using the USB cable.
Both wired and wireless networking was a breeze to set up. The Network Setup Assistant was quick and easy to use.
Wireless throughput drops as the distance from the base station to the receiving unit goes up. Most of my testing had the 2710 located only a few feet away from the base station. At these close distances, there was little significant difference between wired and wireless operation speeds. Wired was faster, but the difference was not annoying. Only when making la
3 Rated #1 by Consumer Reports and I Agree!!!
How did I know this unit was the best one for me?
The PhotoSmart 2710 is the ultimate all-in-one for the home user who wants to print brilliant photos and laser sharp text. It prints, scans, copies, faxes. It has 802.11 wireless built-in and makes it easy to print photos with a 3.5 inch LCD photo display and camera memory card slots. Consumer Reports says its the best and I know people using Mac and PCs that love this device. The photo quality is simply amazing!
If you don't need the wireless capability save yourself some money and get the PhotoSmart 2610. It has all the features of the 2710 except the wireless. My neighbor has that product and she loves it.
If you don't need fax capability the HP PSC 2355 and HP PSC 1610 are perfect for printing photos, scanning and copying. I give a slight edge to the PSC 2355 because it comes with a photo image display. Both the PSC 2355 and the PSC 1610 print brilliant photos and have memory card slots to easily print photos from any digital camera.
People who know what they are talking about know HP delivers the best photo quality in addition to laser sharp text for your important documents. HP products are easy to install and easy to use.
4 pretty good, with exceptions
I've had my printer for 5 months now. I find it to be a great piece of equipment. I only have two exceptions:
1. No feeder tray. The printer does not have a feeder tray for multi-page faxes or copies. You must load one sheet at a time on the flatbed screen.
2. I just recently ran through 5 color cartridges in an attempt to print 150 color copies. The kicker is that my document's main color was green. So, when that ran out, I had to replace the entire cartridge. That was pretty irritating to me.
5 Miserable, timeconsuming drivers
The printer is fine. Fast and clear.
But ... setting-up the printer (for network connectivity) was miserable. And what motivates me to write my first ever review is the "Update Wizard". Today, out of the blue, it asked me to update. Then it proceeded to beat on my hard disk for 2 hours. I called Support, and they instructed me to kill the "Update Wizard". Then they informed me that I should have checked the HP website to verify that there were updates for my make and model, before I allowed the "Wizard" to proceed. After a reboot, the "Wizard" wanted me to update again, but I was told just to cancel that.
I've had other configuration hassles, but I've forgotten the details.
So, this is a fine printer, if you don't mind periodically spending a couple of hours hassling with the configuration.
6 Software is so bad that Photosmart 2710 is painful to use
Based on the specifications, I thought that the HP 2710 all0-in-one would be a great product. Now that I have it, the software has been such a problem that I often can't use PhotoSmart 2710 as advertised.
A few times, the printer stopped working from my computer. I had to uninstall and reinstall the printer software to make it work. Installing the software takes well over an hour even though my computer has a 2.6GHz processor.
The software even causes problems when I'm not trying to print. I sometimes got error messages from the software when I was doing tasks totally unrelated to printing. In summary, the specifications are great, but the software is so bad, that the specifications advertised are irrelevant for someone really using the printer. If I have to spend an hour uninstalling and reinstalling software to make printing wirelessly work, I would rather just have a simpler, more reliable printer.
7 Software is a pig, hardware is good
The reviews are all correct - if you can install the software the first time you will be fine. I did the full install (780Mb! - nothing should be that big) and it failed to see the scanner leaving me scannerless. My brand new P4 3.3Ghz with 512Mhz of RAM running XP started to freeze and crash. I had to uninstall everything and reinstalled the minimum install and everything worked. The majority of the full install is HP's image software which you don't need if you have any other photo software - it takes up about 300Mb. Now that everything works I really like the printer but HP needs to wake up and hire some programmers who are not as fat and lazy as their software.
8 Simply awesome with Macintosh
Just bought this printer today and I love it!!! Setup with an existing 802.11b network (Linksys) and my Macintosh was seamless. Total setup time was less than 20 minutes, including installing software. I was able to scan immediately, print photos from iPhoto and a memory stick and print regular documents wirelessly right after setup. Looking forward using all the features. The interface on the printer is easy to use and the integration with Mac OS X is fluid. Highly recommended.
9 Too much software!
It makes a great printer, photo printer, fax, and scanner. But the software you must use is garbage. Even a "minimal" install takes 45 minutes and installs countless programs on your PC. I now have HP Director, HP Image Zone, HP This, HP That--- all kinds of crap I don't want. For a minimal install, I just want the printer driver and maybe the scanner driver. Now HP has taken over my laptop. I have system tray icons, program groups, desktop shortcuts, UGH!! I just wanted a printer! HP really needs to rethink their software strategy. This is obscene. Guess what HP: the fact that I bought a new printer doesn't mean that I print all day and night, and certainly doesn't mean that I want your dumb brand stuck all over my computer. I just want to print once in a while. My computer is not dedicated to printing, at least it wasn't until now. Sigh.
10 HP Photosmart 2710
I have been using this all-in-one for about four months and am very pleased with it. I do not use the scanner function, but have used the printer for everyday printing as well as printing both color and black and white photographs. The quality is impressive and amazing across the board. I have used the special photo and B & W ink cartridges with success.
I have used the all-in-one in both wireless and USB modes. In wireless mode I have had some problems getting it to communicate properly withmy notebook. When I first set it up, I had to call tech support. The offshore help was quite good, prompt, but it took quite a long time talking with the fellow to get it up and running, about one hour. Sometimes I still have to fiddle around with the wireless part, but it is worth it. Being able to work in a wirless environment is great!
Another compaint is that the software gives a lot of pop-up messages. I just close them all and continue with my work.
I highly reccommend this product even though I've had a couple of bumps in the road. The advantages far outway the negatives.
11 Great All-In-One Device
I wanted to post this as a counter to all the posts from people on here that apparently are weak in following basic instructions and using basic logic.
Out of box to having the software installed on two macs and a PC, 60 minutes.
Print quality is really good. I bought the #99 Photo cartridge and haven't used it yet as I am satisfied with the quality as is (for now).
Copy function is excellent, color and black and white, very crisp.
Scanner function works very well also, but I am having a slight issue here as a result of some buggy software by HP. When I try to export the scanned file to a computer on my network , it only sees one of the machines. I have only tried this wirelessly as of now....but one tip I highly recommend for wireless users is to SETUP the printer INITIALLY with a STATIC I.P. address.
I haven't used the Fax function and don't really plan on it but there appears to be detailed documentation.
Overall I am very impressed with this device and the only reason it didn't get 5 stars is due to the software being rather redundant (twenty different ways in different places to do the same thing). I highly recommend it.
12 Great all-in-one wireless printer
This printer installed as documented and has worked flawlessly ever since. I have multiple laptops, even PDA's printing to the 2710 and the response time is as immediate as a direct-connect printer. Faxing, scanning, and copying also work nicely, but the beauty of having a fast wireless printer that was a breeze to hook-up makes this printer my pick.
13 This printer is simply garbage! Stay away from it.
This will be the last time I buy a HP or any HP products.
Thier customer service lacks on top of it.
This printer is the worst!
First of all it has problems with any PC...and its primary function does not even work right.
How HP gets away with selling stuff like this is beyond me but they will never get me again.
It was fun running over it wih my truck!!!!
HP you suck!!!!
14 Terrible Software Makes Using A Nightmare
I bought the 2710 to eliminate other devices in my home office. While the print quality is quite good and functions fairly flawlessly, scanning is a nightmare. The machine, when used as a scanner, is horribly slow. The bloated software install involves something like 8,000 files that get dumped into your system folder. Are 8,000 files really necessary?
Once installed, sometimes the software launches the scanner, and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, you need to first turn off the 2710, then restart your computer (I use a Mac), then turn on the printer, then try again. Not my idea of efficient or practical.
My other main problem using this machine is that the HP software does not allow you to save any system settings... it lways automatically resorts to its defaults. So, for example, if I want to quickly scan something in low resolution that I can easily send thru email, I must first scan at the default setting of 300 dpi. After this machine performs this function, I must manually override the results and re-scan at 75 dpi. But the fun doesn't stop there. I must manually re-check the type of file I want saved and manually indicate WHERE the file should be saved. If I don't do this, the scan will be saved as a TIFF file inside the HP scanned images folder.
All in all... it can take several minutes to complete what should be a quick scan. I could practically draw a duplicate copy faster with some crayons and tracing paper. As a point of reference, my old Canon flatbed scanner launched effortlessly, make a scan at my chosen resolution with a single click, and saved a jpeg to my desktop...all in a matter of seconds.
If I had it to do over again, I would not only not buy this machine, I would specifically avoid Hewlett-Packard because of the buggy, cumbersome software.
FYI... the manual does not provide adequate trouble-shooting help. HP's online tech support does not respond to inquiries. And phone support, when I finally reached them, was unable to solve any of my problems.
In short, using a piece of equipment and its corresponding software shouldn't be this difficult and aggravting. But with the PhotoSmart 2710... it is.
15 Beware! Will not even do its primary function!
An ordeal of many months finally comes to an end with me paying for the machine's return to HP and still looking for a printer. That is after 3 replacements and even a second model which ultimately failed as well.
The machine worked fine with only minor glitches which finally developed into total failure. HP's support simply had me resetting the machine over and over taking several hours before replacing it with a machine which didn't work either. HP's support then agreed to pay me back for the purchase of a replacement model (it was discontinued) but then decided not to pay me (after I purchased).
Result: I returned all machines involved, one at my expense, and am looking at an Epson.
Summary: Out of the box, it is not reliable and HP has no reliable support to help set up its primary function: wireless printing.
Never HP ever again. 2 Printers, 2 iPAQs, 2 Laptops: all needing to be shipped back over the past 4 years. Total failure.
16 Great All-in-One
I ordered the 2710 despite the nightmare installation stories in these reviews. I'm happy to report I installed it using the wireless option on 3 PCs and 1 Mac on my network without a single issue. It only took 15 minutes to do the minimal install which is all I believe you need. I'm very impressed with how well this device works and the wireless functionality is great.
I recommend doing the minimal software install. You can still scan, fax, print and everything else you just loose HP's photo editing software but I'm betting everyone has their own they like anyway.
17 BUYER BEWARE
[...] If you are a pure MAC user and will be happy with reasonable photo quality, buy this product. If answer to any of these two questions is NO, stay away or you will regret. I am a Mac + PC user, and hell is what the printer is for me.
I have been so badly duped by the HP 2510, and then my friend got duped so badly by the 2710 - that for both me and my friend I'll sum up what you will get by throwing 300+ bucks in one word - CRAP.
All that you read here is true - the software is pure junk, HP technicians are so dumb they can't even fix a lawnmower, forget the electronics, and to top it all, photo quality is average at best. Just like the world of digital cams vs camcorders, just like the world of sedan vs sports cars, and just like the world of audio seprates vs receivers - nothing can be a pleasing all-in-one. I learnt it the hard way, sold the crappy machine, brought back my four year old Deskjet-T45 from the basement, and bought a canon I960 for under a 100 bucks. The new solution is far superior, works with any software, and photo quality is at least 25-40% better. So I dont have the wireless ease anymore - I can live with it. But i cannot live with a software that automatically launches itself and eats my RAM, eats 1GB (!!!) of hard drive space, refuses to work most of the time, and then bites my OS till it bleeds.
So how can HP screw up like this? Well - ever owned a BMW X5? You will know what I mean then :)
Hope this helps.
18 Save your money - buy a different printer!!!!
This printer is very disappointing, mostly due to the very flawed software. Installation was horrific, crashed my computer a few times. Had to totally disable Norton Anti-Virus and Internet Security during the installation. Scarry...Doesn't seem to matter if printer is connected wirelessly or to a hub/router, doesn't function properly either way. Printing is ok, but forget about scanning. I can't even scan from the scanner itself even though the printer finds the network. After uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers and many calls to tech support, still doesn't work.
I don't see why anyone should purchase this printer. It prints decently but is severely flawed as an all-in-one solution.
19 Great hardware, ok software, horrible support
This is truly a great piece of hardware for a home office or home network. It's compact. It lets you directly print (and minimally retouch) photos from any digital camera memory card without a computer. The built-in wireless/ethernet network interfaces allow several people to use the printer, scanner & fax machine from anywhere in the house. The quality from both printer & scanner is more than suitable for most SOHO needs. All of that is great, and it's a big step up from the OfficeJet All-in-One that I've used for years.
As you can tell from many people's reviews, the problems start with the software. It's certainly bloated (the full install is 700+MB. When those HP engineers write a printer driver, they don't mess around!), and it takes a long time to install, but it works ok if you're able to get it installed. I'd recommend the "minimal" install - all you're missing out on are HP's image editing tools and you don't need them if you've already got, e.g., Photoshop on your machine.
The real problem is the abysmal state of HP's documentation and support. Many people seem to have problems getting the software installed and configured. HP's website suggestions basically boil down to "reinstall" or "uninstall all your USB devices and reinstall" or "remove 80 zillion registry keys and reinstall".
There were two problems with my installation:
(1) The scanning software requires the "Windows Image Acquisition" service to be running, but it was disabled on my machine.
(2) Only one computer can use the scanner over a network at a time. If you have multiple computers, you'll have to quit HP Director on one before using it on the other.
Both problems resulted in cryptic errors in the software. Neither problem was discussed in the user's guide, the network setup guide, or the HP website. Nor could HP tech support pinpoint either problem in two support sessions. Eventually I figured out both things by a combination of fiddling around + Google.
I'd easily give the hardware 5 stars, but the rest of the product doesn't rise to the same level of excellence. If you're comfortable with computers and willing to spent some time getting it set up, I think you'll be pleased with the product. But if you're more of a computer novice, I'd suggest you look elsewhere.
20 Worst Install experience of my life...
Please read and believe the emphatic negative (and positive) reviews about this product. YES!!!! This is a wonderful piece of hardware!! If you ever witness a working demo - you'd be convinced best solution performance you could expect - worth the relatively high price tag. REALITY: depending on computer OS you are using (not even HP can tell you exactly which kind either) - May very well be THE WORST INSTALL/SOFTWARE-FAILURE - DISAPOINTING PURCHASE OF YOUR LIFE!!! It certainly was for me. Believe the reviews when they said they spent hours and hours - reinstall after reinstall - horribly uninformed HP customer service reps. (Spoke with "highest level there is"(his words) HP tech support guy - who actually told me has never heard of ANY problems! with this printer. When I suggested he read the amazingly severe problems documented on their own(HP'S)web site - he actually told me- The problem is with Windows XP software - not the printer and suggested I change operating systems. I am not making this up!!!!
HP released a patch in Dec 04 that DOES NOT WORK!! (XP service pack2 has most amount of problems) Be warned!!!!! This is a Russian roulette situation - If it installs cleanly - you win. If not......
21 So far, so good
I pondered long and hard before ordering this printer because I'd read so many bad things about its software and setup. But for what I wanted - lots of black and white printing, occasional scans and copies, some color and photo printing and a wireless setup - this machine was one of the few out there that did everything I wanted. I was worried, though - the Mac reviewers seemed happy, but I had a Sony Vaio laptop PC from 2002. I knew Netgear people had problems - what about my Linksys Wireless G router and notebook card (hooked up to DSL)? I am also running XP with Service Pack 2, which is notorious for not playing well with other pieces of software. Would it work?
The good news is that I set it up yesterday and had only one glitch doing so, which was easily remedied - my Norton AntiVirus and Firewall interfered with the software installation at first and had to be shut down for the installation to work (just had to remember to turn them back on after installation).
HARDWARE SETUP: Worry free. The box does not provide a USB cable, but I didn't need one since the printer "found" my computer very easily in wireless mode once I got to that step in the hardware installation. As recommended to me by others, I began setup for the printer on its own - not linked in any way to my PC (and in fact had my PC turned off just to be sure) until prompted to connect wirelessly to my computer. The hardware process was painless and quick.
SOFTWARE SETUP: Agreed, this is more cumbersome. HP gives you the option of recommended installation (about 780 MB of software) or limited installation (I think around 350 MB of software). I crossed my fingers and loaded the full software. I was about 25-30 minutes into the first round when it crashed. The error message identified the source of the crash as a Symantec/Norton incompatibility. I allowed the HP software to go through a "recovery" process, shut all AV & FW down, rebooted, and began the re-installation. After about another 20-30 minutes, it was finished, no problems this time whatsoever. I turned the AV & FW back on, opened a Word document, hit Print and the HP sprang to life.
I've only started to use the machine - wirelessly printed with no problems both color and B&W on plain paper, and made a quick couple of copies, with perfectly fine inkjet/plain paper results. I haven't tested a photo cartridge in there (sold separately) with nice inkjet or photo paper, but I have some high hopes for that. Also have not faxed or scanned yet. But it's working great on the basics so far.
Hope this helps others who are trying to figure out if this will work with their needs and their systems.
22 Exceptional Printer--Good Value
This printer literally does it all:
1. Six ink photo printing--great photos.
2. Wireless printing--supports my 4 computers--the most impressive feature and it works superbly.
3. Fast copies--look as good as the originals.
4. Large 3.5" screen--makes it much easier to read and use.
5. FAX is easy to setup and works well.
6. Very fast general duty printer.
7. Cool Blue Wireless indicator.
My wife was skeptical until she used it for the Family Christmas letter--now she wants it in her office. She said it was a snap to use and super fast.
Software took 20 minutes to install and configure-it was painless.
My last HP Printer was a 4L laser some 12 years ago (and still going strong).
23 Good hardware, software sucks
Prints well and easy to setup. Good quality printing, no complaints there. But problems show up after a couple of days with the internet browser. The HP programs that run during start up create issues with the browsers. I've windows XP.
I uninstalled and installed it several times to isolate the problem to HP software. Called their support center but they were just trying to pass it off as a PC problem without doing any kind of diagnosis. Since I had purchased a 3 year next day replacement warranty I threatened to return the product. Then they had a supervisor talk with me.
This person was more experienced with PCs. He worked with me for an hour asking me to disable several programs from the startup and test the browser. Nothing worked. Finally I disabled only the HP programs and that did the trick.
I learnt from him how to disable programs from windows start up and he learnt that HP products are NOT thoroughly tested before release.
If you buy this product run "msconfig" and disable all the hp programs under the start up tab.
Now everything works fine...but I will obviously avoid HP products in the future.
24 Great for my Macs
After reading the information on the HP site, and then comparing it with the reviews here, I was leery of buying this product (great info from HP, not so good info from reviewers!) However, I desperately needed to replace my bulky g85 OfficeJet All-in-One, so I figured I'd give this a go. I'm VERY glad I did.
The setup--from the time I opened the box to the end--took about 45 minutes, and I'm the type who carefully reads the directions and lays out each cable, so I'm slow. I uninstalled my old All-In-One software, then installed this software. It was a breeze. (Perhaps this is the difference between a PC and a Mac?) I had no problems at all. The directions were very easy to follow, and I have a fairly complicated setup (a two-line phone with voice mail as part of the fax setup, plus DSL and a wireless Airport network for internet access.) It was incredibly easy. I was able to do a test fax right away, and by opening the HP ImageZone (part of the software), I was able to scan immediately and did several test scans. By choosing the "Custom" button, I could adjust the resolution.
I also have an iBook that's on my wireless network. It took about five minutes to install the HP software on the iBook, and I was able to print to the new printer immediately (from the other side of my house.)
All in all, I've been pleasantly surprised. This is a wonderful product. No glitches, no problems at all. Again, however, this could be because I'm on a Macintosh.
25 Great Hardware Horrible software
I agree with the others about the product hardware and concept - multi function and wireless are great --if they work! have spent hours and hours with HP techs and still have same issues - the software conflicts with certain networks (especially Netgear routers) and crashes the PC or at a minimum screws up internet browser and USB ports. HP says it is not their issue if it conflicts with wireless network routers such as Netgear but isn't that the point of the product? to be used with mainstream wireless networks? all I know is if I uninstall the software my pc works fine -on any network. If I reinstall it the problems re-occur. I have done a partial install of the software where I have removed the digital imaging monitor and some other unneeded software but I still run into problems now and then and have to uninstall and reinstall. Didn't think I had to become an IT expert to have a wireless printer. Had to spend over $300 for a tech to help with this and I'm still not at the point where I can say it is fixed. Not sure if I would buy HP again as they are certainly aware of the issues -these same problems are detailed on many threads on the internet - yet they say (and act) like they have never heard of it before.
26 Software for this totally stinks...
I was leery of buying HP because in the past they just haven't seemed to have it together as much as Canon and others. But, I was so impressed by the features of this HP 2710, and I couldn't find anything just like it by Canon, so I bought this. The good news is, the hardware part of this works like a dream and is very impressive. The bad news is, the software package that goes with this is a mess and IS bloated. I have WIN ME, and what a disaster...the HP software installation blew up the first time I tried to install it and gave me registry errors. I have installed and uninstalled the software probably 15 times. About half the time you try to install, it blows up without totally installing. Leaving you to once again uninstall and install. And the fix to everything according to HP is to uninstall and install again, which takes about an hour round trip. I never did get the software to totally work with an ethernet (no scanning or file transfer capability), so I ditched that and did USB. After several uninstalls and installs again (which finally corrupted explorer.exe and I had to reload WIN ME), I still cannot scan and HP DIRECTOR is giving me script errors (and no - not any script errors listed on HP support - and I already did what they said to do to fix script errors). DIRECTOR runs the whole show and without it I am without useful ways to use and change parameters on my printer. I'll give really, really high marks to HP support, they were easy to get ahold of and they will sit on the phone for hours with you trying to fix things, but it doesn't do much good, because they cannot fix these problems at this time. I would think long and hard before buying until they update the software, unless you want to spend HOURS working on it and be left with a partially working application. Especially around Christmas...
12/06/04 - I want to add that I did a lot of research on this software installation problem, and at this time it boils down to this: It will either install with very few hitches and run flawlessly, or you will have several problems with installation and be left with an AIO system that doesn't totally work. For example, I cannot scan or change any of my scan resolution settings (or use anything with HP DIRECTOR - not because all the icons are missing - but because of script errors), or use the one button scan or file transfer features of the hardware because it doesn't recognize my computer. And mind you, this is with an installation that at the end said it installed successfully (it went through fax set-up, registration, and everything). I have seen posts of problems very similiar to mine in Windows XP (even SP2 - one guy had one computer it would work on, and one it would not) so it doesn't appear to matter if you have ME or XP. And nobody, including TECH support, seems to have a reason for the problems or a fix for this at this time. The software version I have is 4.2.0 (Photosmart 2600/2700 series) for WIN 98, ME, 2000, and XP. Again, if you want everything to work correctly, I would check the HP web site and make sure they upgraded this software or they have a fix for the problems I described (which they do not at this time) before buying, otherwise from my experience and research, you are playing Russian Roulette as to whether the software installs correctly on your system.
12/07/04 - AND...one more follow up and then I'm done...do yourself a favor and read ALL the reviews for the HP 7410 (which should be using the same software), or the HP PSC 2410, which is a forerunner to the 2710...you'll find plenty of references to the "bloated software" and installation problems. In fact the more I read reviews about all-in-ones in general, the more I read about problems and the "bloated" HP software. My favorite line was "it infects your registry like cancer". Boy, that is the truth, you can see that when installing. I swear it makes 300-400 registry entries. The software is way too complicated and puts junk everywhere in your system. That's why it gets into trouble. I have changed my chipset driver, downloaded VBSCRIPT 5.6 (even though I think I had it already), downloaded WIN Installer 2.0 and MDACS 2.8 (even though both I think come on the software disk), done this and that, and I am completely convinced I am never going to get the software to run right unless by great fortune they update the software and do it right. I've spent a whole weekend and several nights on this, and it's crazy, just to install a printer. And I'm not an idiot, I'm in IT. If you don't need fax, and can hook up USB, I'd look at the EPSON RX600. From reviews their software is simple and excellent. I know this HP 2710 has on paper a lot of cool features, but the other guys will match those soon. HP has proven both to me and via reviews on forerunner products that they write really terrible software. If you buy, I hope you're one of the lucky ones it works for, but if not, don't say you weren't warned...
27 ...it cant possibly be this bad...OH MY GOD IT'S EVEN WORSE
Over a month on and off with tech support. Its so much fun to chat with a "tech support rep" in India that can only read the terrible manual back to me! I connected it both with wires and without to my existing network and couldnt get a single computer (WIN 2000 and XP PRO) to successfully install the HUGE bloated software package. I tapped every resource I could find and nothing helped. When I forced the install with a USB cable the software installed but then crashed more times than not. I am so completely disatisfied with the entire ordeal that I will not even consider buying another HP product for myself or for my company. HP was a half way good and reliable company before they caught that Compaq virus. Now nothing with the HP name is worth the powder it would take to blow it straight to hell.
28 The HP 2710 on my iMacs
I was a little hesitant to buy an HP given their notoriously bad Mac software implementation and the installation was not without its moments (like when you repair persmissions and like a thousand of them need repairing -- just find the printer on the network using the HP finder after you are done and all will be fine).
I set this up using an Airport Express as a bridge and it just works flawlessly. Printing, Scanning, faxing and copying. Of the four, only scanning was a little difficult to set up, as it is with any scanner I have ever used with the Mac system. Copy and Fax work out of the box and setting up the wireless printing was a breeze, with the assistant doing all of the heavy lifting.
The design of the 2710 is just stunning, with a smaller footprint than the 2550 I got for free with my last computer purchase. It has a cool blue light on front that I think indicates the wireless is on. At any rate it is one cool looking machine. Print quality was good out of the box, though set to a much lower inking level than is possible. I just left it there. The printer found the network and all my computers without a hitch. Printing was fast with the new airport cards. Just like it was plugged in to the computer. I think they say 20 color/30 bw.
In scanning mode some adjustments were needed. The scan resolution out of the box was set too low for photos, but this is easily changed. I think that other than printing I will be using this primarily as a scanner (though it'll be nice for the occasional copy or fax too). At first I was disappointed that the scans didn't go directly into iPhoto, but quickly got used to editing scans using the HP software before importing them into my iPhoto collection, which was just fine. I will probably give customer service a call to see if this step can be eliminated and the manual is pretty detailed and may offer some suggestions. Overall, the documentation was very good, but you are setting up 4 functions so it does take a little time to get them all set to your preferences on multiple computers. But once you get there you have replaced 4 machines.
This all in one works great and I am just happily wirelessly printing, scanning, faxing and copying with really no major problems at all...Go for it -- you will have no regrets.
29 Best on the Market
There is no better home printer available than the PSC 2710.
The setup is amazingly simple, although the installation of the software took over 30 minutes.
The wireless is awesome, as I have multiple computers in the house and we can finally all print!
Pro's:
* Setting up WEP was a breeze
* Overall setup is so smooth
* Scanning is very fast and simple
* Huge display
* It's wireless!
* Print Speed via wireless is very fast
* Flatbed copier is great! You can easily copy small documents like insurance cards for proof of auto insurance.
* Fax is easy, but scanning is better, as you can just scan your document and email instead. This also gives you an electronic copy and proof that you sent the document.
Con's:
* Only drawback for me is the 2710 does not support VPN.
Tech support confirmed this. You do receive an error note that at least informs you that the problem may be due to being connected via a VPN. I would have never figured this out. I also tried connecting an ethernet cable directly into the 2710 while connected via VPN and it still did not work. As soon as I disconnected the VPN, voila! It printed.
The benefits far outweigh this 1 negative for me. For anyone with more than 1 computer at home and want copy, fax, photo, etc, the 2710 is the answer.
30 Awesome Wireless Printer
After doing some research, I purchased the HP 2710 and I only have one word for it: A W E S O M E. There are 3 connection options - USB, Ethernet or wireless. I chose the latter and it's great. I use both a desktop and notebook computer and I enjoy the convenience and flexibility of being able to print through a wireless connection. I have also used it to make crisp copies, but I have neither used the scanner nor photo printer. I highly recommend ths product.
31 Simply Amazing
I had the chance to see this at an HP demo show, and WOW, it is cool. I have an older psc2510 and this is the replacement model and it takes the best of the 2510 and makes it so much better. The first thing you will notice is the huge screen, it is very large which would make it easier to work from. Also the setup for the wireless is easier, I never had much problems with my 2510 but I have read that many have, well I think that HP has got this nailed. I photos that we printed out of it from my memory card were simply amazing. I think that this would be a wonderful all in one to own.
