Constant jams, slow startup, bad printer!

Author's Rating:

Pros: It's an all-in-one with wireless features

Cons: Paper jams, excruciatingly slow startup time

The Bottom Line: 
This is not a printer you buy, it's one you inherit for free. It's a waste of money at any price because it jams too frequently.

Author's Review
All-in-one printer machines are can be hit or miss, and the HP Photosmart C7280 is a MISS! I have owned and used several HP printers and this has been one of the worst.

I initially purchased this printer last year because it was on sale at newegg. I only paid $99. What a deal right? Hardly! 

The one thing I do love about this printer is that it prints wirelessly. Wireless setup is relatively easy if you have installed the correct software or use Windows Vista (I have had no experience using the product with Windows 7). The printer will print without wires and its neat that you can be anywhere within the range of your wireless network and send something to print. When it works - it's amazing!


Now, for all the downsides, starting with the biggest pet peeves.


1. The printer jams, CONSTANTLY. 1 out of 3 print jobs, in my experience, begins with a jam. For no apparent reason, the paper will get stuck in roller and crinkle. It's not too difficult to unjam the paper - but then what was the point of wireless printing? You often find yourself walking over the printer, removing the rear roller, clearing the paper and walking back to your desk. Fortunately, its usually just the first page in a print job that jams. But I have rarely had this problem with other HP inkjet printers, all-in-ones and laserjet printers. There is something defective about the design.


2. Startup time is SLOW! First, when you hit the power button, the printer takes a good 2 minutes before it is ready to do anything. If the printer is already on, it takes another 2 minutes for the first page to start printing. 
I purchased an inkjet because I thought I wouldn't have the same issues with laser printers, which require time to warmup. However, this printer is slower than most laserjets and the text quality is very average.


3. Software CD provided is USELESS. It seems to be a trend with HP printers that the software they provide is crap. This printer proved to be no different. After 3 hours of trying to setup the printer with the provided software, I gave up on tech support and went online to find an updated driver. Installation of the new driver was easy and it worked wonderfully the first time. So if HP is capable of making good software, why not ship it to their customers? 



There are other minor gripes people will have, but I won't spend too much time on them because this is the kind of stuff you can learn if you read the technical specifications. 


1. The PRACTICAL paper tray capacity is low. Maybe 25 sheets. If you put anymore than that, the printer will jam.

2. There are 6 ink cartridges - and they are expensive to replace.

3. Don't bother editing photos with the printer software, it does a terrible job of adjusting whitebalance. 

4. Despite multiple ink cartridges, photo quality is average - even on photo quality paper. You need super premium photo paper to get the best results

5. If you use a Wireless N router - your printer may not be able to find the network to make wireless printing work. Make sure your router supports both 802.11g AND 802.11n - a dual band/dual radio router. 



I would not recommend the HP Photosmart C7280. The concept of a wireless all-in-one printer with a screen to preview photos sounds good, but it was too buggy of a printer to enjoy using. Paper jams and slow start up times are my biggest complaints, followed by mediocre print quality and expensive paper and ink requirements.