HP Photosmart 8250 Review

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HP Photosmart 8250
★☆☆☆☆
1.4
From 8 reviews
25.0% of users recommend this

Reaction's review of HP Photosmart 8250

“Since writing my initial review, I must now add some...”

★★☆☆☆

written by Reaction on 05/06/2007

Good Points
Lovely prints, and quick too.

Bad Points
Takes ages to a startup.
Displays a false error message.

General Comments
Since writing my initial review, I must now add some important notes.



After about 6 months, the printer started to display an "Ink System Failure" message, which sounds horrendous but is completely false. HP provide a number of laborious so-called 'fixes' on their website. I have carefully tried them all, but am still left with a printer that does not work when first switched on. Now, every time I wish to use the 8250, I must first run a small program to 'clear' the false error message, after which it prints normally. The printer is also very slow to get ready to print after first switch-on which, combined with the false error message, can make it infuriating if you want to print something in a hurry. These problems, and the ridiculously bloated software install, mean I won't buy an HP printer again.

  • Value For Money

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398940_Gmd's Response to Reaction's Review

Written on: 06/09/2008

I wish I had the procedure or program to clear the "Ink System Error." I had a chat session with HP and they suggested buying a new printer. Of course it won't be an HP. I know the firmware problem should clear but I haven't found the solution. I really like the photo print capabilities of this printer. I just did not use it for about 18 months. Maybe the ink dried in the heads but I don't know because HP hasn't given me the ability, with this error stopping all prints, to try to print. I have new HP 02 cartridges and have never used any other ink. I did note when printing documents, before the printer stopped working, that they had a slightly faded or weak look compared to my Lexmark printer. My warranty long ago expired and that is fine. That being the case, HP has real gall disallowing me the use of my printer. One article on the web indicated that using another ink could cause this error FOREVER. Although I only used the correct HP ink, It is NOT HP's priviledge to dictate what ink I use in MY printer. There hardware is great but their software/firmware, design and attitude, not to mention support, are beyond terrible I feel. I also have an HP Scanjet 4890 scanner and an HP 4315 All-In-One. The All-In_One is about the only thing that works fairly well. No support anymore for the 4890 - probably because the driver was unbelievably bad. The 4315 driver won't coexist with the 4890 driver. And we know where I am with the 8250. The 4890 kept me from buying an HP computer when I bought my last laptop. Jerry D.

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Reaction's Response to Reaction's Review

Written on: 21/03/2009

This isn' the only HP printer I hvae had problems with! Our big LaserJet 5si at work is a disaster, with constant (false) paper jam messages and other assorted errors that don't seem to go away despite professional maintenance. In my opinion It is far worse than the supposedly identical predecessor it replaced. HP quality is going down hill rapidly from my viewpoint.
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<br/>My Canon Pixma ip4500 (which replaced the rubbish HP 8250) has been utterly faultless from day one. It's quicker to start up, cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, quieter in operation, includes duplexing as standard, and doesn't throw spurious errors. No contest!

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441224_The Guy Looking At Printer Stuff's Response to Reaction's Review

Written on: 16/02/2009

I wouldn't let falty printers like this particular one discourage you from buying, I am a production manager at a company that refills ink cartridges. In my experience hp has been the most reliable printers and cartridges. We must test every cartridge and everyday I use around 10 hp printers.

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