Best All Round Home Office Printer

Choosing the best home office printer for small businesses is particularly challenging because the correct choice will vary greatly, as per the requirements of an individual user. The typical home office printer is expected to handle a moderate monthly duty cycle, output high quality text and photo prints, as well as double as a competent all-in-one workhorse. The HP Officejet Pro 8500 wireless printer easily meets these requirements

Except for its lack of autodial fax buttons, Bluetooth, and a dual paper input tray, the HP Officejet Pro 8500 wireless AIO (all-in-one) inkjet printer is a perfect solution for small businesses and home offices. This AIO device prints, scans, faxes and copies in less time than its competitors, while returning consistent high-quality outputs.

click to enlarge

The $399 price tag is a bit steep but the Pro 8500 really justifies its asking price by offering lots of features. HP raised the bar by integrating all the must have features into this device. Some of these features include: auto-duplexing, a media card reader, 802.11b/g, a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, a 3.45-inch touch screen, and a legal-size scanner.

The focal point of the center console is a neat 3.45-inch color LCD touch-screen which can be used to access all the most commonly used menu options for copying, faxing, scanning, and setting photo preferences. The quick setup menu, and graphical gauge, shows an almost precise account of how much ink you have left in the tanks.

The front panel also has a full telephone keypad for typing fax numbers, and quick access fax and copy buttons, which allows you to scan and manage your images over a network. There is also an e-mail button that facilitates one-touch scanning and delivery. To the bottom of the front panel, there is an external card reader which allows for a convenient way to access and print your photos. The supported media include: Memory Stick, SD, PictBridge USB, xD, and Compact Flash media.

Though it has no bluetooth connection option, you can connect to the Pro 8500 in three ways: over a network with the built-in Ethernet port, directly through a USB 2.0 cord, and through 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi. The intuitive onscreen instructions will guide you through the process of pairing your desktop computer, which shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes for a user with average technical skills. Other computers in the network can also be configured to use the 8500, through the 802.11 Wi-Fi, or by the Ethernet option. The control panel will guide you through the setup process, with onscreen instructions that are easy to follow and troubleshoot.

The top of the printer houses a 50-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and/or copying documents up to A4 and legal-size paper sizes. This can be easily raised to refill the ink tanks when the cartridges become low on ink. A small auto-duplexer installs to the rear for double-sided printing.

Continue on to the next page for more details about the performance of the HP Officejet Pro 8500 as well as a summary of some other honorable mentions for the best home office printer category.