What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter
Executive Summary What It Is During our hands-on testing of the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter, we evaluated all aspects of performance from image quality to print speed, set-up and ease of use:
Tested Print Speed Tested print speeds of up to 20.63 ppm (Normal mode, black text output), matching Hewlett-Packard’s rated ISO print speed of 20 ppm, and up to 13.33 ppm printing a 10-page Adobe Acrobat color document. Print speed was fastest printing from Microsoft Word. Tested duplex print productivity was 8.20 ppm, versus 6.32 ppm with the previous Officejet Pro 8000 printer. We observed that this is directly related to the new inking system that among other improvements, provides considerably faster ink drying time for side one of the print—black text drying time was a fast 2.90 to 3.65 seconds in testing. We also observed much quieter operation when printing. Image Quality The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter produced very good text quality that was readable down to even 4 pt. font size, good resolution, and very good line Hewlett-Packard Officejet and dot control. The system also produced very good color photographic quality: ISO raw TIFF test photographs printed displayed very good detail Pro 8100 ePrinter and color saturation—colors were vibrant, and flesh tones were realistic, the latter of which is very important when considering any system with “The newly redesigned Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter photo-printing capability. Ultimately, while not on the same level as much performed better than its predecessors in virtually every more expensive specialty photo printers with five or more ink colors, we aspect of testing and then some. It adds a color display found that color photographic quality will be more than acceptable for 95 and ePrint mobile printing, and is also quieter and percent of all color-photo printing applications. sturdier. There are also new network management In our Water- and Highlighter Resistance Test, the Officejet Pro 8100 capabilities that make it the first Officejet Pro printer ePrinter’s color graphic and text output displayed absolutely no smearing (and quite possibly the only thermal ink-jet printer) when subjected to water and a highlighter pen. Additionally, significantly truly suitable for use in any home, small office, faster ink drying time means ink is less likely to smear if handled company or enterprise.” - Terry Wirth, President, Wirth prematurely. Consulting.
Installation Imaging Technology: Thermal Color Ink-Jet In testing, combined software and network installation was efficient and Functions: Print streamlined, and took just 19 minutes on a Microsoft Windows PC; HP Maximum Monthly Volume: 25,000 pages estimates that installation on an Apple Mac takes about one minute, since Recommended Monthly Page Volume: 250 to 1,250 the print driver is included in the operating system. This 19-minute pages combined software and network installation was faster than with the ISO Print Speed: 20 (black)/16 (color) ppm previous generation Officejet Pro 8000 printer. In testing with the List Price: $183.00; estimated street price is $149.99 Officejet Pro 8000, combined software and network installation time was Availability: Retail, www.HP.com, and channel 30 minutes. partners Hardware set up was also fast at just about 8 minutes and notably, the Introduction Date: January 2012 print head is conveniently pre-installed, a particular advantage when multiple printers are deployed in the enterprise. We observed a minimal Hewlett-Packard’s Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter is a full- amount of packaging materials that had to be removed. Hardware color ink-jet printer with wireless and wired installation at eight minutes was considerably faster than with the previous connectivity, mobile printing, and automatic duplex generation Officejet Pro 8000, which took 14 minutes in testing to set up. printing. It replaces HP’s Officejet Pro 8000, and is designed for small and mid-size businesses, as well as Ease of Use for deployment in enterprises. The Officejet Pro 8100 series has been redesigned to prevent wasted
Table of Contents Executive Summary ...... 1 Control Panel ...... 8 Software/Network Installation ...... 13 Space/Power/Warranty ...... 19 What It Is ...... 1 Print Drivers ...... 8 User Maintenance ...... 16 Eco-Friendly Features ...... 20 Image Quality ...... 3 Client/Management Software ...... 10 Media Handling...... 18 Recommendation ...... 20 Print ...... 6 Hardware Installation ...... 12 Cost Per Page ...... 19 ePrint ...... 7 October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 1 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
partially printed pages. With a new Ink Reserve mode, when an ink cartridge runs out, users have the option of continuing to keep printing: 1) if black ink runs out, the Officejet Pro can use the remaining colors to create a composite black (a combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks) and finish printing the job; 2) if a color ink runs out, users can finish the job utilizing black ink. The print system is also designed to have sufficient ink in the print-head assembly in order to complete printing any given page before ink runs out. This minimizes wasted, half-printed or poor print quality pages when an ink cartridge is depleted (and also protects the print head from drying out). Software Ease of Use During our tests, we noted that the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s software suite is streamlined and less demanding on PC resources than previous models. Software, including print driver, is intuitive, non-intrusive and easy to use, and there is plenty of guidance, which is straightforward and easy to follow. Mobile Printing with ePrint, Support for Apple AirPrint The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter adds support for both HP’s ePrint and Apple’s AirPrint. With ePrint, print from any e-mail-capable device. Just launch an e-mail, attach the file, address the e-mail to your Officejet Pro’s unique e-mail address, and then send the e- mail. We found it takes only a few minutes to enable ePrint once you’ve set up your account at HP’s www.hpeprint.com, and it’s easy to manage. With Apple AirPrint, printers on local networks are automatically located, and users can print wirelessly to them from Apple iOS 4.2 iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices. We have evaluated both mobile-printing solutions with previous Web- enabled Officejet systems, and both work correctly. Enterprise Support The new Officejet Pro 8100 adds support for enterprises with broader network operating system support than its predecessors, including support for Cluster server and Citrix environments. The printer also supports HP’s Web-based network-management solution, Web Jetadmin. Administrators can disable functions in the Embedded Web Server (EWS) such as wired/wireless networking, Web service, and ePrint, and can lock the control panel. For enterprises that are seeking a streamlined installation and/or customized print driver with a small footprint and the additional efficiency it provides, a script-based enterprise installation solution is available upon request from HP—this results in a smaller print driver that is less memory-intensive, requires less time to install, and requires less disk space. Using this script, IT administrators can customize how the print driver is installed, including a “silent” installation (a non-interactive installation process that requires no feedback from the installer). Other customizable capabilities include the ability to suppress reboot, to enable/disable shortcuts and not install optional software such as HP Update, Shop for Supplies, or Wireless Printing Online Help. Build Quality We observed that the new print engine operated with much less noise than the previous generation printer and that the new design has improved build quality that results in a printer with a more solid and smooth overall feel than its predecessors. Maintenance Replacing the four separate ink cartridges is the easiest to date for any thermal ink-jet printer. The redesigned ink cartridges are simple rectangular containers devoid of metal components, plastic caps, rubber plugs, print head, tape seals or foil bags. Ink- cartridge slots are also clearly labeled, minimizing users installing the wrong ink cartridge in a slot, and cartridges easily click into place. Loading media in the paper drawer is very easy, and the paper drawer can be completely removed, which we’ve found makes it easier to add paper. Value and Cost per Page The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter provides all of the previous Officejet Pro 8000’s features, but adds a number of critical improvements (faster ink drying time, faster duplex productivity, and improved ink-imaging system and build quality). Cost per page remains very economical (1.6¢ [black]/7.2¢ [color] cents). Together, this results in a very economical Total Cost of Ownership (acquisition price, plus cost per page at various monthly print volumes). Not to be overlooked is the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s very economical power consumption—just 28 watts when printing compared to at least 300 watts for color laser printers in this segment, which will also result in lower operating costs. Both the Officejet Pro 8100 and typical color laser printers in this segment have low-power sleep modes, but overall the Officejet Pro 8100 consumes less energy. Reliability During our evaluation, we did not observe any reliability, installation, or usage problems—no misfeeds or paper-feeding problems occurred, no paper-curling or ink smudging was observed, installing ink cartridges was clean and easy, printed output was neatly stacked, functions worked correctly, etc. A plus is that the User Guide provides video clips for performing maintenance tasks, demonstrating, for instance, how to replace ink cartridges.
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IMAGE QUALITY TESTED IMAGE QUALITY Imaging Technology: Thermal ink-jet, full-color In order to evaluate image quality, Wirth Consulting uses: Ink Base (Black/Color): Pigment-based 1. The highest image-quality settings. Max. Print Resolution Black: 1200 x 600 dpi Max. Print Resolution Color: 4800x1200 dpi optimized 2. ImageXpert™ Printer 600 dpi Target Version 5.1. 3. ImageXpert Test Target EP-PSv1. STRENGTHS 4. Northlight Images UK Grayscale Linearization Test Chart. The Officejet Pro 8100 produced crisp black text, very 5. Synthetic (photographic) test images derived from ISO Internal good resolution and fine-line reproduction, excellent dot (pixel) control, as well as text readability down to 4 pt. Standard 12640 Graphic Technology (Prepress Digital-Data font. Exchange – CYMK Standard Color Image Data [CYMK/SCID]). ISO raw TIFF test photographs displayed good detail, 6. Hammermill 100/112+ Euro Bright, 28 lb. Color Copy Paper. excellent color saturation, no banding, and realistic flesh tones, with color photographs displaying an overall very- NOTE: Image-quality samples contained in this report are raw TIFF, pleasing appearance. non-compressed photos that have been captured using a high-end digital In a test that evaluates printer dot (pixel) control, the camera. They are intended to provide readers with our best system was able to reproduce the test target very well, approximation of image quality. However, all Wirth Consulting while it was able to produce the black, cyan, magenta, and comments on image-quality are based on a visual examination of the yellow halftone ranges very well. actual printed image-quality samples themselves, not on the In our Water- and Highlighter Resistance Test, the photographs. Officejet Pro 8100’s color graphic and text output displayed absolutely no smearing when subjected to water and a highlighter pen. Significantly faster ink drying time means ink is less likely to smear if handled prematurely. No ink bleed-through or smearing was observed.
LIMITATIONS None. PRINT-MODE IMAGE QUALITY SAMPLES (RAW TIFF DIGITAL PHOTOS)
Image-quality originals used by Wirth Consulting when evaluating a device’s image quality.
Raw TIFF photo of the test target printed on HP Bright White Paper Raw TIFF photo of the test target printed on HP Advanced Photo Paper. (plain paper). Overall the photo has an attractive appearance, and colors While our plain-paper sample is good, colors are much more vibrant and are true—for instance, the musician’s dress is a burgundy shade, as it vivid printed on HP glossy photo paper. Colors are very accurate, flesh should be, and flesh tones are smooth and natural. tones are very smooth and natural, and fine detail is very good. Note
that this is not the actual printed image sample, but a photograph of the image sample.
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When printing the area of the test target that evaluates resolution, the In this test sample the Officejet Pro 8100 was able to produce positive Officejet Pro 8100 was able to produce black horizontal and vertical horizontal and vertical lines down to 1 pt., which is very good, and lines (circled in red) as thin as 3 pt. size, which is typical of office- negative horizontal and vertical lines down to 2pt., which is good. In the imaging printers and MFPs in this segment. It also produced cyan and Dot (Pixel) Quality measurement, the system performed very well: it magenta down to 3 pt. size, and yellow down to 4 pt. size. produced approximately 90% of pixels correctly in the 2x2 positive and
negative black pixel box; and 90% and 80% of pixels in the 1x1 black positive and negative pixel boxes respectively. It produced 80% of the pixels in the cyan and magenta pixel boxes, and 70% of pixels in the yellow pixel box.
Two color photos printed on HP glossy photo paper show excellent color saturation and detail, and a very pleasing overall appearance.
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The first row of the halftone chart represents the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s ability to produce grayscale images. It was able to perfectly produce all 10 shades correctly in distinct 10% steps, indicating that it will be able to produce grayscale images very well. Based on an examination of the actual printed output, it was also able to correctly produce the next three colors (yellow, magenta, and cyan) accurately in 10% steps, although there was some indistinct stepping in the 80% to 100% cyan range. It also produced the lower orange, green and blue halftone scales very well, although there was some indistinct stepping in the 80% to 100% green range.
The Officejet Pro 8100 also produced clear, readable negative and positive text down to 4 pt. font size—the smallest font size most office users will ever require. Overall, text was crisp and clear and compared very well with text produced by other office-imaging printers and All-in-Ones tested by Wirth Consulting.
WATER- AND HIGHLIGHTER-RESISTANCE TEST Wirth Consulting conducted an ink water-resistance test by placing drops of distilled water on printed output via an eyedropper, and then waited 24 hours to view the results. Drops of distilled water were placed on the inner area where all four color blocks meet, and on black text in the center of the print. We also performed a highlighter-resistance test, marking each of the printouts with a yellow Sanford highlighter pen as seen in the photographs of the printed output below. Competitive Contemporary Ink-Jet Device Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter Legacy Ink-Jet Device
Ink bled in the areas where water was applied, both in As may be seen, there is no evidence that water was Ink bled in the areas where water was applied, both in the color area and in the black text. Note that the text applied to the print. Also note that the text and area the color area and in the black text. Note that the text highlighted with yellow has slightly smeared. between the color blocks that have been highlighted highlighted with yellow has also smeared. with yellow have not smeared.
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PRINT Hewlett-Packard rates the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter at ISO rated print TEST PLATFORM: Microsoft Office 2010; 32-bit speeds of up to 20 (black)/16 (color) ppm, and the system is equipped Microsoft Windows 7 SP1; Adobe Acrobat 9.4.5. with a wired 10/100BaseTX Ethernet network interface, wireless TESTED PRINT PERFORMANCE 802.11n network interface for sharing among up to five users, and USB (Normal Mode – 8.5”x11” Media) 2.0 port for direct connection. FPOT Test Document (sec.) STRENGTHS 1-Page Photo 77.58 1-Page Adobe Acrobat Color 19.39 Tested print speeds of up to 20.63 ppm (Normal mode, black text output), matching Hewlett-Packard’s rated ISO print speed of 20 ppm, and up to 1-Page Adobe Acrobat Text 16.73 13.33 ppm printing a 10-page Adobe Acrobat color document. Print speed 1-Page Power Point Color 21.98 1-Page B/W Word Text 17.35 was fastest printing from Microsoft Word. 1-Page B/W Word Duplex 28.26 Tested duplex print productivity was 8.20 ppm, versus 6.32 ppm with the previous-generation Officejet Pro 8000 printer series. We observed that TESTED PRINT PERFORMANCE this is directly correlated to the considerably faster ink drying time for side (Normal Mode – 8.5”x11” Media) FPOT Job Time one of the print—black text drying time was a fast 2.90 to 3.65 seconds in PPM testing. Test Document (sec.) (sec.) Noticeably quieter operation than the previous-generation Officejet Pro 1-Page Photo 77.58 77.58 0.77 10-Page Adobe Acrobat Color 19.00 59.50 13.33 8000 printer series. 10-Page Adobe Acrobat Text 17.04 46.43 18.37 To prevent wasted partially-printed pages when an ink cartridge runs out, 10-Page Power Point Color 24.23 133.14 4.96 a new Reserve Mode gives users the option to keep printing if one ink 10-Page B/W Word Text 22.16 48.33 20.63 cartridge runs out. If black ink runs out, the Officejet Pro 8100 can use the 10-Page B/W Word Duplex* 29.48 88.03 8.20 remaining colors to create a composite black and finish printing the job. If *Drying time for the first side of the page in duplex mode was 2.90 to a color ink runs out, users have the option of printing using black ink. 3.65 seconds for black text output and 2.79 to 5.88 seconds for color output, resulting in significantly faster duplex times. Ink-drying time With new page-completion, the print system is designed to have sufficient will vary depending on page coverage; the less page coverage, the ink in the print-head assembly to complete printing the current page at full faster the drying time. print quality. This minimizes wasted, half-printed or poor print quality PRINT-FILE SIZES (MB) pages when an ink cartridge is depleted and also prevents damaging print- Native File Print File head dry-out. Test Document Size Size 1-Page Photo 2.011 15.0 Mobile printing with HP’s ePrint and support for Apple’s AirPrint. With 10-Page Adobe Acrobat Color 0.568 1.53 ePrint, print from any device capable of sending an e-mail message 10-Page Adobe Acrobat Text 0.146 0.51 without having to download print drivers, connect to the device, etc. (see 10-Page Power Point Color 3.641 19.3 section below). With AirPrint, printers on local networks are automatically 10-Page B/W Word Text 0.069 0.37 located, and users can print wirelessly to them from Apple iOS 4.2 iPod, 10-Page B/W Word Duplex 0.069 0.37 iPhone and iPad touch devices. Also supports HP ePrint Enterprise and HP ePrint for Public Locations. PRINT SPECIFICATIONS Standard wireless and wired Ethernet network connectivity. ISO Print Speed: 20/16 ppm PictBridge Port: No Draft Print Speed: 35/35 ppm Bluetooth: No Broad network operating support, including Citrix/Cluster support plus Best Mode Print Speed: 5/3 ppm Media Card Slots: No optional HP Jetdirect and Apple Macintosh servers (see charts below), as CPU: 360 MHz ARM R4 USB Host Port: 2.0 well as support for Apple Mac OS X Lion. Wireless: 802.11n USB Memory Port: No Ethernet Networking: Yes* Mobile Printing: Yes LIMITATIONS Max. Print Res.: 4800x1200 dpi None. Std./Max. Mem.:128/128 M
Operating Systems Supported Mobile Printing Microsoft Windows: 7, Windows Vista, XP (SP3) or higher (32-bit HP ePrint; HP WebOS printing (TouchPad only); HP Only). ePrint Enterprise; HP ePrint Mobile Printing for Apple Mac: OS X v 10.5 or v 10.6; for Mac OS X v10.7 Lion, download Public Locations with the HP ePrint Service software using Mac OS X software update or www.hp.com/support Smartphone App; Apple AirPrint
(software cannot be installed from the CD if using Mac OS X v10.7 Lion). Linux (For more on Linux, see http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-
web/index.html).
Network Operating Systems Supported
Microsoft: Windows XP (32-bit) (Professional and Home Editions), Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit (Ultimate, Enterprise, and Business October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 6 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
Edition), Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 2003 Server Terminal Services, Windows 2003 Server Terminal Services with Citrix Presentation Optional Network Interfaces And Connectivity Server 4.0, Windows 2003 Server Terminal Services with Citrix HP Jetdirect en1700 IPv4/IPv6 Print Server, HP Presentation Server 4.5, Windows 2003 Server Terminal Services with Jetdirect en3700 Fast Ethernet Print Server, HP Citrix Metaframe XP with Feature Release 3, Windows 2003 Small Business Jetdirect ew2400 802.11g Wireless Print Server, HP Server Terminal Services, Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services, Jetdirect ew2500 802.11b/g Wireless Print Server, Windows Small Business Server 2008 Terminal Services, Windows 2008 Apple AirPort Express, Apple AirPort Extreme, Apple Server Terminal Services with Citrix XenApp Airport TimeCapsule
Apple Mac: OS X (10.5, 10.6) Security Provisions Novell Netware: 6, 6.5; Open Enterprise Server 6.5 (iPrint) Firewall protection for IPv4 and IPv6 networks, and
Network Protocols Supported support for SSL, Syslog, password-protected TCP/IP, IPv6, DHCP, DHCPv6, NetBIOS, SNMP V1, HTTP, HTTPS, SLP, embedded Web page, HTTPS/SSL, and Firmware Code Signing Bonjour, WSD, LPD, BOOTP, WINS, LLMNR, ARP, IPP
ePrint ePrint enables the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter (and other HP ePrint- STRENGTHS enabled printers and All-in-Ones) to print from any device capable of Mobile printing with ePrint—as long as you’ve got sending an e-mail. The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter must be connected an Internet connection and a device capable of to a network with Internet access, and these file types can be printed: sending an e-mail, you can send a print job from Microsoft Office Word and PowerPoint files, standard Adobe PDFs, virtually anywhere. There’s no need to download print drivers or software in order to print. TXT files, and JPEG, Bitmap, PNG, TIFF and GIF images. Files sent and printed with ePrint are accurately rendered. HP’s ePrint e-mail server sends you a Setting up ePrint is quick and easy, taking less than confirmation e-mail when your e-mail 10 minutes. with file attachment has been received Good permissions capability, as users can allow only and will be printed. To send a job, just specified e-mail addresses to print to their system, and can also easily re-set their printer’s e-mail send an e-mail from any e-mail-capable address, as well as disable/enable ePrint. device to your Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s unique e-mail address, LIMITATIONS attaching the print file. None.
HP recently enabled users to change their system’s randomly generated 12- character e-mail address to an e-mail address they create themselves to make it easier to remember.
Administrators can disable and remove Web Services in order to disable ePrint mobile printing.
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CONTROL PANEL
Press to continue a print job after a misfeed or paper-size mismatch.
Press to cancel a print job.
Press to enable ePrint mobile printing; press for three seconds to print the ePrint information page.
Power button
Press to enable wireless networking printing; press for three seconds to print Network Information page.
The Officejet Pro 8100’s control panel consists of an LCD display on the left and hard keys on the right. The LCD indicates current ink levels, wireless connectivity, errors, etc.
Close-up of the LCD. The color bars indicate remaining ink for each separate ink color. The blue indicator on the right indicates the printer is currently wirelessly connected.
The online User Guide contains a detailed schematic of the control- panel indicators. PRINT DRIVERS The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter is equipped with PCL 3 GUI and PCL 3 STRENGTHS Enhanced print drivers. Tested print driver consists of two tabs for exceptionally easy navigation. For users wishing to conserve color ink usage, the print driver provides a “Black Ink Only” option. In contrast, some other systems use composite black (a mixture of color inks) to produce black, which means higher color-ink usage.
LIMITATIONS None. October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 8 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
The print driver’s first tab displays most frequently used print settings— Note that you can specify that output be printed using black ink only. With portrait/landscape paper orientation, automatic duplex printing, collating, some other ink-jet systems, you can’t prevent the system from using a and Pages per Sheet (print multiple pages on a single sheet). Select mixture of cyan, yellow, and magenta to print black. Advanced for more settings.
A broad range of paper types is also supported.
On the Paper/Quality tab, specify the paper source (drawer), paper size, and print-quality mode, etc. Note that a broad range of media types are supported—from plain paper, to various photo papers, brochure papers, etc. The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter also adds the ability to print borderless images on both sides of brochure paper. October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 9 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
CLIENT AND NETWORK-MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s software includes HP Printer STRENGTHS Software, HP Update, Shop for Supplies Online, and print driver. Streamlined Solution Center neatly consolidates utilities for configuring printer settings, performing An Embedded Web Server (printer Web page) provides usage printer maintenance, setting up ePrint mobile information, configuration of automatic e-mail alerts, device printing, etc. information, and more. With Embedded Web Services or EWS (printer Web page), configure automatic e-mail alerts so that specified users are automatically alerted to status conditions requiring attention—for instance, a mismatched paper size, low ink, etc. EWS can be password-protected. With EWS, advanced usage information is available including the number of media sizes and types used, duplex prints produced, etc. Can be managed via Web Jetadmin 10.2, which provides fleet-management of groups of devices, tools for implementing security policies, tracking page usage, forecasting supply needs, and generating usage and trend reports. Administrators can assign roles to users and departments so that, for instance, users who don’t require color printing, such as an accounting department, are disabled, while graphic- arts departments that require color-printing capability are enabled. Web Jetadmin is available as a free download at www.hp.com/go/wja. Printer Smart Software includes: Print in Grayscale, Preserve Layout, HP Real Life Technologies, Borderless Printing, Print Odd/Even Pages, Print All Text LIMITATIONS as Black. None. SOLUTION CENTER Solution Center software below is launched from the Microsoft Windows’ Start menu (All Programs→HP→Officejet Pro 8100) or by clicking on the printer icon in the Devices and Printers folder. Link to your printer’s Web page (Embedded Web Services) for View current ink managing your ePrint levels. mobile printing.
Link to HP Web site for ordering ink cartridges and media.
Searchable User Guide that includes video clips for performing different Link to HP Set printer defaults for paper orientation, duplex, etc.; specify which tasks. ePrintCenter.com for users can print, manage the printer and/or manage print jobs; perform advanced color management. View current levels for each ink color and setting up printing from device information, perform system maintenance. Access the printer mobile devices with ePrint. Web page (Embedded Web Services [EWS]).
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Check on current ink levels, as well as order supplies online at HP’s Web Also perform periodic system maintenance, such as aligning and cleaning site via the Shop Online link. Use other tabs in HP Toolbox to view Device the print head in order to obtain best image quality. Services and Reports, Printhead Health, etc.
The comprehensive User Guide is text-searchable. We noted the Solve a With HP Cartridge Protection, protect ink cartridges so that if installed Problem image is missing; however, the feature operates correctly, and cartridges are removed, they will not work with other printers. takes you directly to an index for help with connectivity, paper-feeding, etc.
There are also instructions for how to keep printing when one or more ink Video clips demonstrating how to perform tasks such as replacing ink cartridges are depleted. cartridges.
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EMBEDDED WEB SERVER (EWS)
The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter incorporates an Embedded Web Server (EWS), which is accessed from Solution Center, or by entering the printer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address in the address field of your Web browser. It indicates current device status and ink-cartridge levels and provides an alternate means of setting up and configuring network connectivity, etc. Because it’s Web-based, you can remotely check on the printer from virtually anywhere.
Note that EWS can be password-protected and is only available to users within the business’s firewall. Administrators can use EWS to customize the Officejet Pro 8100 according to their needs—for instance enable or disable color printing, enable or disable ePrint mobile printing, etc. Security is configured via the Firewall Rules link for enabling individual or groups of computer workstations that can print to the device.
In enterprises where significantly more devices are deployed, administrators can use HP Web Jetadmin management.
To minimize any downtime due to status conditions, configure automatic e- mail alerts so that specified users are automatically alerted to conditions requiring attention, for instance, depleted paper, open door, etc.
You can also back-up settings for all functions. In the event settings are lost, you can then quickly restore them. Also useful is a Usage Report that shows how many pages have been printed, printed in color, etc. HARDWARE INSTALLATION Hardware Installation Time: 7 minutes, 50 seconds The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter ships with four ink-jet STRENGTHS cartridges (black, cyan, yellow, Hardware setup of the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter magenta), power cord, CD- was very easy at approximately eight minutes. One ROM, automatic duplexing person will easily be able to remove the printer from unit, USB cable, Set Up poster its shipping carton, remove minimal packaging and Getting Started Guide. materials, snap in the duplex unit on the back, and place the printer on a desk or table. At approximately eight minutes, hardware installation was almost twice as fast versus the previous generation Officejet Pro 8000, which took 14 minutes to set up. October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 12 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
Print head is pre-installed, so only four consumables (four ink cartridges) need to be installed. This will be a particular advantage when multiple printers are deployed in the enterprise. USB cable is included. Very little packaging material must be removed, particularly with the newly designed ink cartridges. This made setup very fast and easy, and minimal packaging is also eco-friendly, as less waste is generated.
LIMITATIONS None.
Included documentation (clockwise): Getting Started Guide, Set Up poster, notice for downloading software for Apple Mac OS X v 10.7 Lion, Safety Precaution statement, CD containing software, and Terms and Conditions document. SOFTWARE AND NETWORK INSTALLATION The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter ships with a CD-ROM containing an Software & Wireless Network Install Time: 19 minutes automated installation utility. STRENGTHS
Default software selection and wireless network installation was straightforward. We had to “click through” eleven screens and during the process, attach and then detach a USB cable from our PC to the printer. As we’ve found with other HP installation procedures, the provided guidance is straightforward and easy to follow, so that even novice users should have no difficulty installing software and connecting to a wired or wireless network, or directly via USB port. HP estimates installation on an Apple Mac takes about one minute, since the print driver is included in the operating system. The 19-minute combined software and network installation time was faster than with the previous generation Officejet Pro 8000 printer; with the Officejet Pro 8000, combined software and network installation time was 30 minutes. Fewer and less resource-intensive utilities were installed. The fewer utilities you need to install on a PC, the faster the installation and the less drain on PC resources. Also available is a modular enterprise installer available upon request for HP for script and silent installation capabilities with driver pre- configuration. It’s designed for enterprises that Installed Officejet Pro 8100 software includes Help guide, Solution Center (HP support a large number of devices and/or users. Officejet Pro 8100), Setup utility, link to product-support Web site, link to online supplies shopping, Uninstall utility, Update IP Address utility, and online help for LIMITATIONS: setting up wireless connectivity. None. October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 13 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
Click on Next to begin installation. To install only selected software, select Agree to the end-user licensing agreement. Customize Software Selections, and then select which software to install.
Specify USB or Ethernet/wireless network connection; we selected wireless Allow retrieval of your wireless network name and password. connectivity. Click on Next to continue.
Since our wireless SSID is hidden, it could not be automatically found. We manually entered our wireless SSID. This means that we had to connect the printer to our PC via USB 2.0 port with the included USB cable so that our wireless network settings could be communicated to the printer.
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Once WEP wireless security settings were completed, wireless connectivity You’re then prompted to disconnect the USB cable. was enabled.
Specify whether you’d like to receive alerts at your PC when ink cartridges Web Services has also been initiated, so that you can enable mobile printing need to be replaced. to the printer. The printer will print out an information page displaying your printer’s unique e-mail address. To print from a mobile device, just attach the print file to an e-mail and send the e-mail to the printer.
The next step is a Web-based product registration process (recommended). Finally, register your printer at HP’s ePrintCenter.com if you with to enable ePrint mobile printing.
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USER MAINTENANCE
STRENGTHS Replacing Imaging Supplies – Replacing the four separate ink cartridges was the easiest to date for any thermal ink-jet printer. The redesigned ink cartridges are simple rectangular containers without any metal components, plastic caps, rubber plugs, print head, tape seals, or foil bags. The ink cartridges and slots where they are housed are clearly labeled, minimizing users installing the wrong ink cartridge in a slot. The printer’s LCD displays current ink status via an easy- to-read color graphic.
SureSupply can also be used to make ordering of replacement cartridges easier – by clicking a low-ink alert, the user is directed to HP’s online store, where they can order HP or third-party ink cartridges.
Replenishing Media – Loading media is The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter as tested by Wirth Consulting. straightforward. The paper drawer can be completely removed, which we’ve found makes it easier to add paper and adjust the paper-size guides if needed.
Removing Misfeeds – No misfeeds occurred in testing. We found that accessing misfeed-removal areas was straightforward and easy. Just open the top cover and lower the front door to access the internal paper path. On the back of the unit, the duplex unit can very easily be removed to access misfeeds that may occur in the turnaround area of the paper path. We had no difficulty accessing misfeeds and no misfeeds occurred in testing.
LIMITATIONS One minor inconvenience is that, in order to print on photo paper, users must make sure to first remove any plain paper in the paper drawer. In contrast, we’d prefer that users be able to just a slip photo paper on top of any installed plain paper. REPLENISHING MEDIA
The paper drawer can be completely removed, which we’ve found makes it Squeeze and slide this guide to fit the paper length—the inside of the easier to load paper. Or, if you’re not changing paper sizes; you can just drawer is clearly marked for paper sizes up to A4 and letter-size. partially pull out the drawer and slide in new paper.
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To extend the paper drawer when printing on legal-size (8.5”x14”) paper, press a blue latch (circled in red) and pull the length of the drawer outward. Squeeze and slide this guide to fit the paper width. REPLACING INK CARTRIDGES
Open the top cover and lower the front door as shown above. The print- This plastic strip is the only packaging for the set of four cartridges. Note head assembly automatically moves to the center so you can access ink that there is a remarkable reduction in waste materials, as previous designs cartridges. had a rubber piece, plastic cap, tape seal, and a foil bag for each ink cartridge.
After sliding in the new cartridge, close the doors.
To remove a depleted cartridge, press the front of the ink cartridge until the cartridge partially ejects, and then slide it out.
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MISFEED ACCESS
Just lower the front door and open the top cover to access the internal paper On the back of the printer, press buttons on each side of the duplex unit to path. release and remove it.
There is a latch on either end that opens the duplex unit so you can access any Once the duplex unit’s been removed, you can check inside the turnaround misfeeds within. area of the paper path for the misfeed. The duplex unit clicks easily back into place. MEDIA HANDLING The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter Min./Max. Print Size: 3”x5”/8.5x14” prints on up to letter- and legal- Min./ Max. Media Weight: 16 lb. bond/110 lb. card size media, and is equipped with a Std./Max Media Capacity: 250/500 sheets 250-sheet enclosed paper drawer. Std./Max. Media Sources: 1/2 The output tray is located above Output Paper Tray: 150 sheets Automatic Duplex Printing: Yes the 250-sheet paper drawer. Borderless Printing: Up to 8.5”x11” (216 x 279 mm) Media Options: 250-sheet paper drawer
Paper Sizes Supported STRENGTHS Letter (8.5”x11”), Legal (8.5”x14”), Government Legal, Executive, Supports a broad range of paper sizes and paper Statement, 3”x5”, 4”x6” 5”x7”, 13 x 18 cm, 8”x10 in, 10 x 15 cm, L, Photo types (see charts), the latter of which includes 2L, Envelope (#10, Monarch, 5.5 bar), Card (3”x5”, 4”x6”, 5”x 8”). various photo stock, brochure paper, ink-jet papers, card stock, etc. Paper Weights Supported Produce borderless output on up to 8.5”x11”, 16 to 28 lb. (plain paper), 60 to 75 lb. (photo), 20 to 24 lb. (envelope), 90 to including two-sided borderless images on brochure 110 lb. (card). paper. Paper Types Supported Paper drawers (standard and optional) are fully Plain paper, thick plain paper, HP Bright White Paper, HP Premium enclosed, so that loaded paper is protected from dust Presentation Paper, Matte, HP Premium Plus Photo Papers, other inkjet and humidity, so that users will obtain best results. papers, HP Advanced Photo Papers, HP Everyday Photo Paper, Matte, HP A second optional 250-sheet paper drawer that sits under October 2011 Wirth Consulting, LLC Denville, New Jersey USA www.wirthconsulting.org Page 18 What You Should Know Hands-On Test Report Hewlett-Packard Pro Officejet 8100 ePrinter
Everyday Photo Paper, Glossy, other photo papers, other specialty papers, the print engine can be added to increase paper capacity Other Greeting Cards, HP Brochure Paper 180g, HP Brochure and Flyer to 500 sheets. Paper, Matte, HP Tri-fold Brochure Paper, Matte, HP Tri-fold Brochure Paper, other brochure papers, Plain Hagaki, Inkjet Hagaki, Photo Hagaki, LIMITATIONS Card Stock. None.
COST PER PAGE The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter ships with 950 black ink cartridge (yields 1,000 pages), three 951 color ink cartridges (each yielding 700 STRENGTHS Very competitive black and color cost per page of pages), as well as a second set of color ink (cyan, yellow, and magenta) 1.6¢ and 7.2¢ respectively. This is very economic cartridges. compared to not only color ink-jet printers in this High-Yield Ink Cartridges class, but also compared to even more expensive Ink Color Price Page Yield* Cost Per Page color laser printers. Among a sampling of color laser 950 XL Black $36.99 2,300 1.608¢ and ink-jet printers in this segment, black cost per 951 XL Cyan $27.99 1,500 1.866¢ page can be as high as up 4.0¢, while color cost per 951 XL Magenta $27.99 1,500 1.866¢ 951 XL Yellow $27.99 1,500 1.866¢ page can be as high as 18¢. CYMK Color Cost Per Page 7.206¢ Features a newly redesigned ink-imaging system and new ink sensors that better gauge when ink is * Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. depleted, so that the maximum amount of ink is used before the cartridge must be replaced. Four individual ink cartridges means that users need only replace the ink cartridge that is depleted, avoiding waste. Free next business-day shipping of ink cartridges purchased at HP.com; you can also compare prices from other online retailers at HP’s Web store.
LIMITATIONS None. SPACE/POWER CONSUMPTION/WARRANTY STRENGTHS SPACE REQUIREMENTS* Width Depth Height Power consumption at 28 watts is significantly lower than color laser Footprint (inches): 19.45 25.43 11.8 printers, which typically consume in excess of 300 watts. Footprint: (mm): 494.03 645.92 299.72 No external power brick, as the power supply is now housed internally. Required Cubic Feet: 3.38 Required Cubic Centimeters: 95.64 Standard one-year warranty and one-year technical phone support. Customers may upgrade to the optional Total One Package, which WEIGHT provides two additional years of protection, and HP’s pick-up and return Weight (lbs.): 24.20 product program. Weight (Kg): 10.98
POWER REQUIREMENTS LIMITATIONS Electrical Supply: 100 to 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz None. Active Power Consumption: 28 watts Power Save: 1.35 watts Standby Mode: 3.94 watts Manual Off: 0.22 watts
MAINTENANCE ACCESS Access Requirements: Front, back
WARRANTY The Officejet Pro 8100 has a one-year warranty. Extended two- and three-year warranties are available.
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ECO-FRIENDLY FEATURES
Hewlett-Packard Environmental Statement STRENGTHS Energy Star-qualification means the printer meets U.S. EPA power-conservation standards for low power consumption in power-save standby mode. Complies with the European Union’s RoHS standards, which restricts the use of hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, etc. Save energy by scheduling when the system should revert into energy-saving sleep mode—after 5, 10, or 15 minutes—using Embedded Web Services (printer Web page).
Eco-friendly, minimal packaging for ink cartridges—up to Hewlett-Packard 2011 Environmental Goals 70-percent less compared to laser toner and/or imaging- Recycled plastic: Use a total of 100 million pounds, cumulatively from unit packaging. 2007, of recycled plastic in HP printing products. Automatic duplex printing reduces paper consumption and HP will improve the overall energy efficiency of HP ink and laser printing helps conserve natural resources. products by 40%, relative to 2005. In print mode, the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter consumes For Imaging and Printing Group products, reduce the average weight of just 28 watts of power, while color laser All-in-Ones in printer packaging per product by 35% (relative to 2005), use at least 35% this class consume at least 300 watts. Customers will not recycled paper in cardboard packaging for printers and reduce the amount only pay for less energy consumption, but will contribute less to carbon emissions. of plastic used in printer packaging by 50%, relative to 2005. HP provides an ink-cartridge recycling program, Planet Partners, which is available in 42 countries and territories around the world. HP will not refill, resell, or send cartridges to landfills, but will instead recycle them. The company will also recycle used HP printers and other HP imaging equipment via its HP Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program. With this program, customers can avoid contributing to landfills, as HP will provide prepaid shipping for the return of the products for recycling.
LIMITATIONS None. RECOMMENDATION Hewlett-Packard’s Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter is a full-color ink-jet printer that’s designed primarily for use in small and mid- size businesses, as well as for deployment in small workgroups in enterprises. It provides network connectivity (wired and wireless), as well as automatic duplex printing, two capabilities we feel are essential for business use. It also provides enterprise support with the following:
Small, modular, and silent software installation, smaller print driver, and ability to pre-configure print driver before deploying it to users, as well as broader network operating system support, including support for Cluster and Citrix environments. Administrators can disable functions in the Embedded Web Server (EWS) such as wired/wireless networking, Web service, and ePrint, and can lock the control panel. Support for HP’s Web-based network-management solution, Web Jetadmin. Other Considerations—Value and Cost per Page The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter provides all of the previous Officejet Pro 8000’s features, but adds a number of critical improvements (faster ink drying time, faster duplex productivity, improved ink-imaging system, and improved build quality). Cost per page remains very economical (1.6¢ [black]/7.2¢ [color] cents). Together, this results in a very economical Total Cost of Ownership (acquisition price, plus cost per page.) Not to be overlooked is the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter’s very economical power consumption—just 28 watts compared to up 300 watts for color laser printers in this segment, which will also result in lower operating costs.
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Summary The Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter is unique, as it’s a business-class color printer that provides an advanced level of business- level features—from enterprise-level manageability, to auto duplex printing and mobile printing—at a remarkably low cost of entry and cost of ownership. It can also serves as a photo printing system with the ability to produce glossy color photos that laser systems can’t match, and uses a new ink formulation that in testing resisted both water and highlighter marking. Value- wise, its economical acquisition price ($183.00 list), economical cost per page for both black and color output, and low power consumption will all contribute to a very affordable Total Cost of Ownership. Considering its solid performance in testing, outstanding feature set for this segment, overall excellent ease of use and value, Wirth Consulting has no hesitation awarding the Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter its highest rating, Outstanding.
ABOUT WIRTH CONSULTING Wirth Consulting was founded in order to provide independent comprehensive evaluations of digital-imaging equipment. Founder Terry Wirth has over 30 Contact Us years of experience in the evaluation and testing of business-imaging equipment, Wirth Consulting LLC and as former chairman and member since 1989 of the American Society for the www.wirthconsulting.org Testing of Materials (ASTM) F05 Committee on Business Imaging Products, he [email protected] has authored numerous, published ASTM test methods. +1 (862) 223-9491 ABOUT WIRTH CONSULTING RATINGS 2101 Middlefield Court When Wirth Consulting rates imaging devices, it assigns the device one of the Denville, NJ 07834 USA following ratings: Outstanding, Well Worth Consideration, Worth Consideration, and Not Worth Consideration.
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