The Hewlett Packard 

OfficeJet G85; "All In One"

Click picture of printer, above, to buy this item now!

This printer is also Mac-friendly!!!

 A Techtite Review

Since the start of 2001, it was time for a new printer at Techtite.com, and that printer of choice was the Hewlett Packard OfficeJet G85 "All In One" model. This was an intriguing printer choice, that promised everything the small office would possibly desire; a copier, fax machine, and top-notch printer, all with both black and white and color capabilities, and all in the same unit. It sounds too good too be true...and in some extreme office tests, it was. However, in average use, this is clearly an above-average printer.

Connection is as easy as a printer should be. There are two connection options offered, via the typical PC-compatible parallel port, and a USB port. This essentially means the printer can be used on most modern Macintoshes as well as PCs. Unfortunately, you must choose one or the other connection on a PC, so choose wisely, though in terms of speed, the USB connection would be best. However, keep in mind if you change your mind later, you'll have to re-install the software, to configure for the alternate cable connection. This may sound complicated though actually it's as simple and quick as making the choice itself, between two likely connection options.

Once connected, you may ask how it works. First, of course, is the printer quality. Suffice to say, much like most other HP ink jet printers, the quality is certainly excellent. To people who used to be annoyed at the two pages wasted by earlier HP printers, when trying to align the color/b&w cartridges; the G85 aligns itself automatically, by printing one page worth of bar codes and scanning them, aligning itself as it prints its own test page. Less paper wasted during print cartridge alignment is just one of many perks to this all-in-one printer choice.

Sales pitches for the unit claim of speeds as little as 12 copies per minute in black and white, and 9 per minute in color. Actually, as you'd expect, that depends on the quality desired of the copy, and is in reference to the unit's fastest (i.e., lowest quality) print option. If you choose either "normal" or "Best" quality print modes, you obviously should expect to wait a little while longer for the results. Using a print program like Print Shop Pro v11, a simple one-fold greeting card with a 600 dpi picture in front, took about 45 seconds to print one side; another 45 for the other. However, printing something simple, like a typical full color web page, is extremely fast. To give you an idea; I just asked for this review page to be printed, and the G85 took around one minute --60 seconds-- to print all pages.

Further tests for the unit, using standard inkjet paper, led to not one single paper jam. In fact, the only paper jam was when using thin cardboard for 100 (or so) pamphlets for a gathering recently, and that paper jam was only because 1) the paper tray was overstuffed, with a not-so-regulation paper type, and 2) the thin cardboard pages weren't stacked right, with some pages slightly "warped" in a way that confused the unit. Aside from that, there were no problems, in many weeks of use.

The scanner on top of the printer, can also be used as a color copier, even if the PC isn't turned on. When used as a standalone copier, the quality is 600dpi b&w, and 2400x1200 color. This same copier area can be used as a flatbed scanner, with impressive resolutions of up to 3,600dpi, and up to 9,600 if enhanced. The scans can be up to 24 bit color, or 8 bit grayscale. OCR is also available for text character recognition. One nice added touch, when used as a copier; the page starts printing even before the scan is complete, making the job even faster. The only setback of this scanner/copier is, its flatbed can only accept standard pages with a maximum size of around 8.5x11 inches, which compared to some other flatbed scanners on the market, is relatively small.

Fax functions of the unit, I must admit, are a bit of a paradox. While fax pages can be placed in the paper bin in the top-back of the unit --offering the ability to fax pages of a wide variety of sizes-- this bin cannot be used for scans, nor for printing; only faxes. If you want a cover page, it's best to create one within the PC software, making faxes while the PC is off slightly more difficult for the office user who insists on a cover page for all outgoing faxes. However, tests of the unit's faxing to a nearby, standalone fax machine, were very successful, and suffice to say, it works suitably well. As for received faxes, they have the setback of only being visible via the pages they're automatically printed on (they are not saved to PC), though then again, this is no different than any other typical Fax machine.

The elaborate 44-button display of the G85, allows for many functions even when the computer is off. From this control center, you can command the unit to send faxes (either b&w or color), copies (b&w or color), or modify printing, scanning, or fax options. 10 buttons provide the chance for one-touch speed dialing. Other buttons turn the auto-answer function of the fax on or off, and allow you to alter brightness, paper type, number of copies, "special features" (you can fit more than one page on one piece of paper, for example), and reduction and enlargement of the print job. This is all available without turning on the PC at all.

Keep in mind, this is a very modernized printer, so forget using it within ancient, text-only DOS programs; Windows 95 or later, please. Also, much like other items made with Windows9x in mind, some people I've spoken to complain about errors when using it under Windows 2000. However, Win2000 has been so temperamental with so many pieces of Windows 9x software and hardware, I've lost track of all the complaints. Suffice to say, G85 works perfectly under Windows ME, the most recent Windows for home/small office use, as of this review's posting. Since that is the typical buyer of this all-in-one product, I don't see much of a problem.

	Final Rating: Large Crater. A few design limitations doesn't sway a high grade for being an admirable solution to color copying, fax, and printing in any small office.
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