Customer Reviews
Perfect All In One Printer 
2008-05-08
WOW, what a great printer, so easy to set up and operate, I am using it wirelessly which is one of three ways to connect to your environment.
I use it with my PC upstairs and my laptop anywhere around the house and the print quality is fantastic, I highly recommend it, and a great Amazon price also.
Same hardware Problems twice - cannot pick up paper 
2008-05-07
The C7280 looked like the perfect printer for me - but alas the product performs like the England soccer team....good on paper but awful on grass. The first time I bought it it worked fine (set up on Mac leopard and XP was a breeze....not sure what issues other were seeing here...I saw none). The problem was that very quickly (like within days) the spooler could not pick up the paper and drag it through so I kept getting an error message saying the printer was out of paper. How annoying is that after re-loading the paper for the umpteenth time ! Eventually I took it back to Best-Buy and they replaced it no-questions asked. I took home a similar model as I assumed (hoped) it was a one-off problem. I was mistaken. I have exactly the same problem with this one as well. Doesn't HP soak test these things...there is clearly a hardware design fault for this to happen twice. I am taking it back again and I will not be replacing it with the same model. Steer well clear is my advice
Perfect for a Mac user 2008-05-02
I now have 3 HP printers which includes the Photosmart C7280. It works perfectly. Each feature works perfectly. Installation went without a hitch. The Fax is a dream. I could not be happier. If you have a Mac, then HP is the printer for you.
Big Disappointment 
2008-04-30
Don't buy this unit if you want to make a two sided copy, it won't do it. The duplexer is only for two sided "Printing". The unit has locked up several times and would not turn off with the switch. When you unplug the unit to reboot you get a nastygram telling you not to unplug the unit to reboot. The unit has restarted and does have great print quality. If we had realized right away we couldn't make two sided copies instead of 40 days later the unit would have gone back. We are also concerned with the unit locking up.
Works great with a couple of quirks 
2008-04-24
I followed the advice of another review and downloaded the latest software - Version 10. I had no problem installing it and getting things working for all functions, except duplex printing. It turns out that it was working from the start, but there is a false error pop-up. When I specify duplex printing, a pop-up window with the heading "Automatic Two-Sided Printing Module Missing" appears. It gives two options, "Print" or "Cancel Printing", and said that it would be printed on one side only if I clicked "Print". I clicked "Cancel Printing", assuming it would not work and something needed fixing. I spent a couple of hours with HP online chat support, and was led through uninstall/reinstall, with no change in behavior. All tests showed that the hardware was installed correctly and that the two-sided module was installed and functioning. Then I decided to just see what would happen if I clicked "Print". I don't know why I didn't just TRY it earlier, but anyway, when I did click "Print" anyway, it printed duplex. I've entered a report on the HP site asking them to fix the software, but have not heard back. Sooooo..... definitely DO download the latest software and don't trust any error messages until you have verified that they are actually true. Also, I purchased a C7250 vs. the C7280. I asked online tech support whether there are any technical differences, and the answer was no. They said something about "different zones" that the products are shipped to. Apparenlty it is a market segmentation attempt on HP's part.
Great printer, horrible scanner 
2008-04-21
Print, copy, scan and fax, all from the high performance Photosmart C7280. Staying efficient is easy with an automatic document feeder, two-sided prints and more. Experience effortless printing of lab-quality photos in as fast as 10 seconds, using a 2.4" color display. Get blazing print and copy speeds, up to 34-ppm black and 33-ppm color and photos in as fast as 10 seconds. Replace only the cartridges that run out of ink with six economical, individual ink cartridges. Easily edit, print and share photos, using included HP Photosmart Essential Software. Fax, scan and copy up to 50 pages while working on other projects, using the automatic document feeder. Save paper by using the included duplexer to print on both sides of the paper. Share and print from network-enabled notebooks and PCs, using built-in wireless and Ethernet. Print documents and 4x6" photos without needing to swap out paper, using the automated photo tray. Get the print you intended, enhance your photos and remove red eye with the HP Red-eye Removal button. Copy resolution - Black Up to 1200 x 1200 dpi, Color graphics Up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi Copy speed - Black Up to 34 cpm, Color Up to 33 cpm Scan resolution - Up to 4800 x 4800 dpi, Optical Up to 4800 dpi, Bit depth 48-bit System Requirements - Windows 2000 (SP3 or higher) or XP, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, Intel Pentium II, Celeron or compatible processor, 233 MHZ or higher, 128 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk space, CD-ROM and USB port Dimensions - 17.7 x 17.4 x 9.5 (450x443x241mm) Weight - 24.3 pounds (11 kg)
Great all in one for laptops 2008-04-15
I bought this all in one on Amazon but rather my local Staples because they had a $120 instant discount which brought the price to $179 - how could I refuse?! I had previously done some research and this was the only reasonably priced all in one that had printing, copying and scanning (fax wasn't a big deal to me) with wireless capabilities AND separate ink tanks for the colors. All the other units I found would trade wireless for ethernet (which I have no use for) or wireless for all-in-one color cartridges. I looked at all the major manufacturers - Canon (which I'm partial to), Epson, HP and Lexmark.
I've had it for the afternoon and so far I'm VERY impressed. We're a Macintosh household and I was a bit concerned about all of the features working on the Mac - and even more so with the new Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard"). Let me put any concerns you may have to rest. I did download the latest software from HP's site, but it went smooth as silk. The all in one saw my WPA2 wireless network, got on with no problem or crazy password fixes or anything.
The wireless printing works flawlessly. I'm more impressed by the wireless capabilities of the other functions. Wireless scanning is great. I placed a 3 page document in the document feeder, selected Scan to Computer from the menu and the unit magically knew what applications were on my computer! I could pick that I wanted it scanned as a PDF to Preview, or as an attachment for Apple Mail or Entourage (both are on my computer). Very impressive.
I can also fax wirelessly as well. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently if I have a document I need to fax on my computer, I can use the fax capability of the all in one to send the fax.
Lastly, two things that I like quite a bit about it is that it has a duplex unit - for printing on two sides of the page - and it has a separate paper tray for 4x6 borderless paper so no more switching paper for a good number of my photos. Very convenient considering I now don't have to get up from my couch or desk to switch paper, go back, print, and then switch paper again.
As a last technical detail, I'm using the HP with all Apple equipment. A MacBook, a PowerBook G4, and a PowerMac G4 - all using the unit wirelessly. My wireless base station is an Apple AirPort Extreme (the older, non N standard one).
I can't say enough good things about this unit - especially with the packaging and instructions. Bravo, HP.
Great Product !!! 2008-04-12
I had no clue what to expect after I read a sea of mixed reviews online, but this all-in-one machine is amazing! I had not one problem setting it up. I have a wireless network and it setup with ease, anyone could do it. I works great. Bottom line, this printers great!
Good except for one small problem 2008-04-08
Good stuff:I really like the duplex and network features of this printer. The print quality is excellent as well.
Bad Stuff: Noisy and slow startup. And one rather serious issue:
when the printer has gone into sleep mode (like overnight for example) and I send a print job to it, it JAMS on the first piece of paper *every* time.
HP Customer support gave me a workaround, wake the printer up before printing by pressing a button on the control panel of the printer. I've tried that a lot, but for some reason it doesn't always prevent the jam.
To this end, they are sending me a replacement (read: refurbished) printer free of charge. I'll report more after that arrives.
Working great with OS X 2008-04-06
I read a few articles here on how this printer was buggy with Leopard. I just picked one up and I must say it was very easy to set up. I'm scanning, faxing, copying and printing over a wireless connection via my Mac Mini (PPC) and iMac (Intel) in under an hour.
I did not load any HP software and it's still worked for me. The embedded web based scanning software really blew my mind. Great for getting a scan done anywhere (as long as you have someone to load the document for you back at your home base).
I must disclose I have a pretty good working knowledge of networks and OS X so that may have helped in my case, but it really appeared straight froward to me. I could easily walk somebody through it over the phone and a copy of the directions.
The only reason it got four stars I would like it to have a small file server to access the memory/cards & pull documents over the network. Now that would have been the icing on the cake and it would have gotten the fifth from me.
Mac users don't be afraid of this printer. The steps are simple. Set the hardware up/install ink, then get the AP configured. Go to your system. Then confg - System settings, printer and add the HP Print Server (Not Bonjor). Give it a second to think.
Then go to printer and print a copy of your network settings (under settings menu). Log into the printer IP via your web browser and you have direct access to all your settings. Enjoy!
