The predecessor of this printer, Officejet Pro 8500, has earned for itself a good reputation in the multifunction printer industry. 8500 is known for its swift printing speed and for its state-of-the art intuitive touchscreen control panel.
At $200, Officehet Pro 8600 promises to give more. The printer now sports a very classy chassis paired with a textured color touch screen. The printer can also print various stuff from the Cloud using ePrint of any iOS accompanying app. Overall, this printer is an impressive remodel of its predecessor. It can make a very good addition to any high-class professional office.
Printer Feature and Design
Officejet Pro 8600 joins the modern band of multifunction printers that moved away from the glossy veneer cases to the modern matte and textured chassis. The new case helps the printers avoid fingerprint marks and other unsightly spots. 8600 has a proud professional look that it can easily match any classy office design.
The printer’s dimensions are: 11.8 inches, 19.4 inches and 18.1 inches (height, width, depth). Although it is not really obvious, this printer is still a little bit smaller than its other counterparts, the Officejet Pro 8600 Plus and the Officejet Pro 8600 Premium. These three models from HP are all equipped with handles to make transport easier. There’s not need to say then that this printer is designed to be portable and mobile.
The printer has a single-input tray that protrudes right out of its frontal area. The tray can hold up to 250 sheets. It also has an automatic document feeder (ADF) on its top, this feeder can hold up to 50 sheets of paper.However, 8600 does not have a manial feed tray like the ones available in some laser printers.
This would make it a little bit difficult to print on envelop-sized papers and other cardstocks. If this printing capability is that important to you, I suggest that you buy a LaseJet Pro 100 instead. Both printers come in the same prince range but their functionalities are quite different.
You can also opt for the Premium mode of 8600 if you find its paper capacity mediocre. The premium model has an extra tray that can hold another 250 sheets of paper. It would cost you $60 more though because of the additional ink cartridge installed in the premium model. But if you don’t mind paying more for better service, then $60 should be a fair enough price for you.
The three models have the same printing quality, their prices only differ because of external factors. For example, the premium model is more expensive because of its additional tray, cartrige and bigger touch screen display. So if you are in a tight budget and don’t mind about aesthetics that much, I suggest that you go for the cheaper 8600 since you will still get the same quality of print outputs anyway.
All three printers have a direct USB connection. The printers can also be connected to a network through WI-FI or the Ethernet. The touch-screen display of the printer makes navigation easy, so setting up the printer’s network should not be that difficult even if this is your first time to set up a multifunction printer. The printer also has a QWERTY keyboard for more functionality. You can also install additional widgets into the printer for faster command rendering.
Before I forget, being an all-in-one printer, 8600 also has other functions other than simple printing. It can scan, copy, fax, email and do so much more.
