As a freelance writer who is always on the go, I like my technology to be both efficient and effective so I can do my job well. The HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 Inkjet Printer ticks all the boxes in terms of form factor, performance and user interface.
This printer definitely displays a more attractive design than the run-of- the-mill office inkjets. From the sleek curves of the off-white casing, to the obelisk-like slab of deep grey surrounding the colour touchscreen, HP have taken great care to make presentation a priority for the OfficeJet Pro 8730. It looks good, and made for an excellent addition to my study.
Although a full-depth desk is required to support a printer of this size, but this compromise is small compared to the full gamut of multifunction conveniences that this device delivers e.g. a 50-page document feeder, 2-sided scanner, copier, fax, Wi-fi, mobile device access to name a few.
When printing learning materials for a training course, having a high quality printer is key and this is also the case when processing a lot of larger complex documents, especially in my technical domain, being able to scan in or duplicate 50 pages in one hit is a welcome capability.
The print quality is surprisingly sharp and good enough for the majority of office printing tasks. It seems better than the inkjets I have used in the past and superior to some colour photocopiers. Printing was fast and quiet, which is conducive in any environment where people need to think in close proximity to the printer.
As to speed, it spits out pages at 20 pages per minute in colour, (24 ppm in black) and scans at a rapid pace as well. The ink dried at a comparable rate to other inkjets, and seemed relatively smudge-resistant. Finally, the generous 500-page paper capacity means reduction to my costs of operation.
The printer is definitely easier to set up compared to other contemporary models, assisted by the 10.9 cm touchscreen. Most administrative functions can be quickly set up or rectified from there, and the interface is user friendly and intuitive. Well-designed colour icons and clear, plain English instructions in just the right doses help to quickly get the job done. Anyone should be able to immediately start using this printer.
Being able to print from a mobile device was definitely handy on a busy day. In one instance, I was scheduled for back to back meetings around town. With this function I was able to print my documents while out and about and collect the prints at home while in transit to another appointment. Cueing up prints remotely allowed the printer to get to work immediately saving me time.
For local Wi-Fi Printing, the HP ePrint app is available for iPhone and Android. With an app such as Google photos, the HP ePrint service will appear as an option where you can send a photo from the “Share” function. I found that it took a few minutes at times for my phone to upload data to the printer, so it was not as instantaneous as printing from PC. Still, you can define options such as landscape before printing.
For remote Internet Printing, I needed to do some configuration by creating an account at www.hpconnected.com and then install the HP “All in One Printer Remote” app.
For print-to- email, I was given a unique email address , that will print any attachments to emails that are sent to it.
When I wanted to scan something directly to USB, the Scan to USB function was available. This is handy when I was intending on converting a large (many page) printed document into a digital version, and wanted to immediately take it away with me. All I had to do was to scan a multipage, double-sided A4 business document, and the scan completed promptly as a PDF.
On the software side, WebJetAdmin is a monitoring tool for system administrators. This allowed me to see and manage the status of many network printers. Similarly, HP JetAdvantage Private Print gave me the functionality to define secure printing parameters for sensitive documents.
Overall, this is a fast, excellent multifunction inkjet printer, which has some higher-end features usually seen in more expensive laser printers. It represents a good value offering for the myriad of capabilities on board. Its speed, quality, and range of printing access options would make it a fine addition to any small office or home office environment.
