HP Envy Photo 7855 Wireless Printer K7R96A

I am NOT a fan of HP products…particularly the printers! Having said that, I LOVE this printer. So, about three months ago, suddenly I needed a printer. I was out of ink for my old Canon printer, which I loved, but, it was so old, I had to order ink from Canon as i couldn’t find it in the stores anymore. So, I went to a local office supply and wound up buying a HP Envy printer after a glowing endorsement by the computer/printer department manager. Good, ok? Well, new computer equipment requires SETUP, right. I am a senior citizen and tech savy to a point AND my daughter lives with me SOOOO someone in the house should be able to set this thing up, correct? Wrong! Neither one of us could get it set up to order the ink automatically and the HP Tech support was just as arcane. I couldn’t use the printer. I eventually returned it and ordered the missing ink from Canon.

Scroll forward, say a month. I am facing ordering ink from Canon yet again. And, I am thinking that I really don’t want to keep this up. Don’t get me wrong, I liked my Canon printer and ordering ink from then=m was not a problem. The initial promise of the printer ordering the ink for me was just too alluring. It would keep me from having to constantly monitor my ink on hand and order more when I was low. (Let me say here that my longterm problem with HP printers was, although the print quality was adequate, with only two ink cartridges, it seemed like I was always buying ink and the cartridges were expensive! Although my old Canon used 6 ink cartridges, the print quality was excellent, even on pictures. Believe it or not, I think the Canon ink was cheaper than HP the cartridges.)

So, I really did like the HP Envy printer and I figured that the pricing on the auto order was going to be cheaper than buying the cartridges in the store ($75 apiece!) So, I wanted another printer but, this time, I will no longer us said office supple EVER AGAIN but I want a new printer. Well, Best Buy didn’t carry this exact model so I thought, Amazon! I ordered one. It came in their usual fantastic delivery time. This time, I guess the stars aligned or something and we were able to get it set up and it is setting beside my computer at this moment. I LOVE IT!

>Part of this review has nothing to do with actual product but may be considered noteworthy information.
>Purchased refurbished unit from Image Warehouse – printer looks brand new (extremely pleased with purchase, saved $150).
>Out of the box: Printer in pristine condition (Like New – as described in listing), two new original HP cartridges (please note – it is less expensive to buy a refurbished printer with two new HP cartridges than it is to buy two HP cartridges out right [at least for 64XL type print cartridges]), power cord and concise instructions from Image Warehouse in event adverse conditions are encountered. It is highly recommended to download set up & owner information from HP (see link below) before beginning setup (at least on refurb products).
>Very well packaged – shipping was incredibly fast (received one day before earliest promised delivery date – great job Image Warehouse!!).
>HP7855: Incredibly easy to set up. As soon as unit was plugged in printer automatically entered basic set up and diagnostic mode.
>Inserted ink cartridges before connecting power cord. Not sure if this was correct set up sequence as printer rail needed to be manually moved to the right about 1/8″ inch to align cartridge insert slot with cartridge well. (Restated from above: Go to HP.com/support to make sure set up is completed per manufacturer’s instructions. If refurbished unit is purchased all necessary owner information should also be downloaded as it may not be included with your product).
>Network setup was incredibly easy (you will need network password) – even without having downloaded manufacturer’s instructions.
>Touch screen is a bit small but easy to understand symbols and icons.
>Added paper. Printer automatically entered alignment mode. Perfect alignment.
>Printed black & white document. Very clear characters.
>Printed color photo. First photo was not the greatest but that is most likely contributed to inferior generic software used and being unable to size photo to smaller ratio (same number of pixels in smaller space).
>CONCLUSION: As this printer has just been set up for only a couple hours, there will be much more exploring of its many features and settings. Even though not having used HP technical support for this printer, previous experience with online HP tech support is fantastic.
>PROs: Very easy setup, easy to understand touch screen symbols & icons, discreetly positioned & hidden USB 2.0 and SD memory card ports at front/lower left corner of printer (hidden behind small stylish “flip” door), landline in/out (for fax); ethernet; USB Type-B ports easily accessible on back, simple cartridge replacement, paper sizes and service feature are easily accessible from front side, processes input information for wireless printing relatively quickly, prints black & white moderately fast, HP quality product & tech support. (No experience with copy/scan feature at time of this review.) Pleased with refurbished product purchase and highly recommend (especially from Image Warehouse).
>CONs: Very small touch screen, expensive print cartridges.