Overall, HP printers are my favorite. They are dependable, they do a great job and they are fairly economical on a price per page basis. I have seen some good things from Canon printers lately, but HPs have a much longer track record.
Every brand of printer has its problems and HPs are no exception. One of the biggest problems with HP printers is that they get caught in a loop. If you turn the printer off in the middle of printing, or the computer locks up and you have to restart part way through a print job, don't be surprised if your HP goes bananas when you turn the computer back on.
The printer will kick out page after page of hieroglyphics and happy faces.
HPs OfficeJet all-in-one printers also can have some fairly nasty paper jams.
Below I have listed the process that I use to fix each problem.
PRINTING HIEROGLYPHICS:
1. Turn the computer and printer off
2. Pull the power plug on the printer
3. Disconnect the cable that runs from the printer to the computer
4. Plug the printer in and turn it on
5. Turn the computer on
On Windows 95-Me machines you will get a message that their are print jobs waiting. Click on the option that will delete the print jobs. You can also follow the Windows XP procedure below if this doesn't work.
On Windows 2000-XP machines – look for a little printer icon down by the clock. Double-click on it and a list of print jobs waiting will come up. If you don't see it, go into Control Panel – Printers and Faxes and double click on the offending printer.
Click on PRINTER – CANCEL ALL DOCUMENTS and wait for everything to disappear from the box.
6. Turn the computer and printer back off
7. Reconnect the cable
8. Turn both devices back on
OFFICEJET PAPER JAMS:
Most OfficeJet all-in-one machines allow you to take the back off by pressing a couple of levers.
1. Remove the back
2. Pull out any stuck pages and any torn fragments
3. Turn the printer on and off
4. Insert the back piece
5. Turn the printer on
At this point it should all be fixed.
