Want HP All in One Printer Without HAVING to use "e FAX" [ Edited ]

[cmolling]

Hello:

Have your HP 2610 series printer - love it, works great.  Want to buy another similar printer, but all I am finding is that I have NO CHOICE in using eFAx or connecting via phone line. ONLY CAN USE Efax- DON'T WANT eFAX!

Does HP have ANY similar printers that DO NOT FORCE THE CUSTOMER TO USE eFAX??????

Appreciate your reply.  Still want to stick with HP, but will not if I cannot have the choice of how I want to fax - that is just ridiculous!

CHOICE ****** How hard is that ???????  Customer retention??????   Maybe HP doesn't care......

Please advise, as I have for several years now, purchased quite a few HP products.

THANK YOU.  Christine  

[Kyle_W]

If you are wanting to use traditional faxing (with a phone line) you would want to go with a Officejet or Officejet Pro printer.

The Officejet 4620, 6600, 6700, and 7500A, Officejet Pro 8600, and Photosmart 7520 all have traditional faxing.

The Photosmart 7510, eStation C510, and Envy 114 use eFax.

[cmolling]

Thanks for the info.  I really don't want Office Jet as I really need and use the 3n1 printers- fax/scan/copy and print.  They HAVE been great from HP.

Why HP WILL NOT allow the feature of being able to plug your phone line in to fax this way, is a mystery, as it is not a difficult or costly choice to include on their printers.  And, I am sure there are many others (they probably don't take the time to write (like me), but just get a different brand printer) that still want to plug their phone line in to fax.

The eFax feature basically takes CONTROL AWAY from the customer and FORCES the customer to use eFAX and go through the motions of getting it to work correctly (many have had problems) and (for free to a certain extent) and then if the customer goes OVER the "FREE" amount ALLOWED BY HP to FAX, THE CUSTOMER HAS TO PAY------IS THAT RIDICULOUS OR WHAT.  Kind of like paying taxes; sounds a bit like the govt.  Really - think about it!  THINK ABOUT IT- YOU THE PURCHASER HAVE NO CHOICE HOW TO FAX and IF YOU GO OVER THE 'FREE" AMOUNT YOU HAVE TO PAY to fax----WOW!  Who came up with this idea and why are we buying into it.  If there was a choice to use EFax OR hook up your phone line - then that would be reasonable, but THERE IS NO CHOICE.  IN ESSENCE YOU ARE VERY LIMITED IN your printer selection from HP.  THNK ABOUT WHAT HP IS DOING HERE.

[cmolling]

Hello: 

Just tried to find the Photosmart 7520 on your HP site -- none to be found.  You have a 7510, but that has the Efax.  Where would I find the Photo. 7520???????

I hope HP re-thinks their forcing their buyers or potential buyers to have more than just the Efax choice, but have both the phone jack and Efax to choose from.

Unless Efax and HP (if not one of the same) made some back door agreement with one another to raise their profits by forcing the customer to use this one and only fax choice on most of your, if not all of your Photosmart, color inkjet print/scan/copy/fax machines.

As HP can read, I am a very dismayed long time purchaser of HP products for personal and company use.  This has really made me re-think where I will be purchasing my future printers, computers and other office products that used to come from HP.   This, esp. if this is a trend that HP is continuing on - NO CHOICE FOR THE CUSTOMER and FORCED EXTRA COST if customer goes over HP's ALLOWED AMOUNT....!  Bad business!

[Kyle_W]

I cannot locate the 7520 on the HP website either, it may be currently only released in certain markets. However, all of the Officejet printers I mentioned were 4 in one printers. Print/Scan/Copy/Fax.

Let me explain the reasoning for eFax on photosmart printers.

Photosmart printers are home based printers. Not a lot of people use fax at home and not a lot of people even have dedicated phone lines in their house anymore, since the increase in cellular phones. eFax is offered on home printers, so if a customer occasionaly needs to send a fax, they don't have to have a dedicated phone line and they won't be worried about going over the 20 pages outgoing and 20 pages incoming, because they rarely need to send a fax. But when they do, they have that option.

Officejet prints are exactly that, office printers. Businesses still use faxing and it makes sense to put a traditional faxing option on those printers. 

eFax is a paid service. If you go to their website, you will only see options to pay for their service. The FREE portion of it is ONLY offered on our printers that come bundled with eFax. If you go over 20 pages outgoing and 20 pages incoming, you are not forced to pay. You just wont be able fax until the next month when your page count limit resets.

eFax is not the only choice on most of our printers, its only available on three printers, only two of which are still on the market. 

The Almost every single one of our Officejet printers has traditonal faxing, they are way more cost efficient on ink, and they have almost all of the same features that the Photosmart printers have, if not more. 

[cmolling]

Hi Kyle:  If you CAREFULLY read my email above your reply, you have NOT solved my problem and inquiry.  My problem I could not find the printer you were talking about on HP- is it an older printer???  And, my inquiry for your tech or decision makers on what goes on and what does not- features on printers- as to why can't or why WON'T HP GIVE THE CUSTOMER A CHOICE in how they fax.  Pretty simple and cheap to include a plug in for the customer's phone, therefore not limiting the # of faxes or how they want fax.  By limiting the # of faxes, I am referring the the limited # of FREE FAXES eFax ALLOWS and thereafter one has to pay.  Additionally,  why should a customer be FORCED to use eFax on most of not of your Photosmart machines - it is a control issue that HP, for whatever reason, wants to force UPON THEIR CUSTOMER.  This issue needs to be taken to a higher level and to the HP people that decisions, limited Photosmart Printers to eFax only use, no longer have the plug in phone fax use available.

So,  NO you have not solved my problem.  If you disagree, please pass on my messages to your manager or depts which deal with such issues and how the power to make decisions in regards to customer inquires such as mine.  Thank you!

[Spectre_Envy]

Hi All -

I wanted to respond to this thread and mention that the HP 7520 is now available on HP shopping from the link below:

http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Printers/HP-Photosmart/CZ045A?HP-Photosmart-7520...

This AiO printer does utilize HW based fax (phone line) to send from one printer to another.  It was just launched earlier in Sept, which is why you weren't able to locate it during the Aug timeframe.

Since this post is over a month old, hopefully you've already discovered this and made the correct buying decision.

Thanks!

[cmolling]

Thank you for the updated info.  I am still curious- if I chose an Office Jet would I get the same capabilities as I have on the Photosmart - printer/ copier/ fax (phone line) ***** this keeps what I fax PRIVATE as well ***** and scanner?????

Photosmart = printer / copier / fax (phone line) scanner

OfficeJet= ???

What is the real differences between these two levels of printers, esp. for a home user as myself.

Also, has HP considered that their "new" eFAX pokes a hole into the privacy of everyone who uses it!  That is seriously a major concern and something for all consumers to consider.  Don't be fooled that if you have to use this service, that the service cannot see/view/have access to the info. you are faxing.... ss#, medical info., business, investment, taxes.......******* HUGE CONCERN ******** CONSUMERS BE AWARE OF *******

[Spectre_Envy]

From a feature set standpoint, the two product lines are largly the same.  The differentiating factor is the print mech used in each device.  Photosmart will generally print much better photos (if that's important to you), as they used dye based inks.  Officejet uses pigment based ink and will produce better looking documents (w/less ink usage), but photos aren't as high quality.

Faxing from either product line is dedicated HW fax, which will be 100% private.

HP is well aware of the potential disadvantages around eFax and are investigating future portfolio choices regarding that feature.

Best!

[cmolling]

Thank you for your response.  Most of all I appreciate that HP is looking deeper into their lack of choice they provide their customer/potential customer (printer) with - with eFax.  This is important, as several people I have spoken with agree that eFax is forced addition to a printer/fax/scanner/copier that need not be.

CHOICE is the KEY HERE.  If the customer so chooses the eFax, then that is their CHOICE and with it THEY chose to pay for extra faxes and also allow their personal fax info. to go through a program which in no way can prove to secure the privacy of the information being faxed.  

EASY FIX:  HP retain your long time customers and keep on getting new customers - CHOICE: eFax- with all it requires....... OR as you've had prior to eFax, the good old private, not other entity involved phone line fax!

eFax may be technologically advanced, but comes with obvious disadvantages, named above.  Please know, I am certainly not the only one out there familiar with your printers and are learning about eFax and going in a different direction because of eFax!   CHOICE - keep it simple -- don't punish your customer by making them "attached" to HP in very personal way after they've already purchased  your product!  PRETTY SIMPLE!