Avoid connecting printer to a surge protector?

[MattB01]

I’ve seen a few support articles and a forum reply that indicate that we shouldn’t connect our printer to a surge protector.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02548121 says “Make sure that you connect the product directly to an electrical outlet and not to a surge protector or power strip.”

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01628836 says “Make sure you connect the printer directly to a wall outlet and not a surge protector or power strip.”

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Inkjet-Printing/Endless-loop-of-cleaning-printheads/td-p/3412225 says “I would suggest that you plug the printer directly to a wall outlet to ensure it is getting enough power to get itself out of the cleaning printhead cycle. Your printer has a built in surge protector, and as it is a large printer it consumes quite a bit of power at times (such as when it's cleaning) and the surge protectors don't give them 100% of the power they need.”

So questions:

(1) Should we avoid connecting the printer to a surge protector?

(2) If we’re not supposed to connect to a surge protector, is this mentioned in user guides?  If so, which section of the user guide mentions this?  If not, why not?  That would seem to be rather critical information.

(3) How can we tell if our printer has a built-in surge protector?

[sabretooth04]

Here is some info.

Issues when Connected to an Uninterruptible Power Supply/Power Strip/Surge Protector.  This is for Laser printers but Ink Jet Printers have the same issues.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00597016

[MattB01]

Thanks for that info.  However, my goal is to have an official HP staff member answer all three questions.  Here they are:

(1) Should we avoid connecting the printer to a surge protector?

(2) If we’re not supposed to connect to a surge protector, is this mentioned in user guides?  If so, which section of the user guide mentions this?  If not, why not?  That would seem to be rather critical information.

(3) How can we tell if our printer has a built-in surge protector?

[MattB01]

Looking for an HP employee to answer these questions.  Thanks.

[Riddle_Decipher]

@MattB01

Thank you for posting on HP Forums, 

Riddle_Decipher is at your service. 

As I Understand you want to know if the printer needs to be connected to a surge protector,

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, however, to provide an accurate resolution, I need a few more details: 

Did you happen to check the Official HP Article rightfully shared by one of our valuable experts @sabretooth04 at the HP Forums community?

While you respond to that, as mentioned in the article created by HP:

If it is necessary for the product to be connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a power strip, or a surge protector, consider the following items:

• There are many UPS configurations and load conditions that can affect proper printer operation. Depending on these configurations or load conditions, printer functionality cannot be predicted.

• No damage to current HP LaserJet products will occur, but, depending on their particular UPS configuration, the printer may or may not operate properly.

• Printing while on a UPS battery backup is not recommended because of the large power requirements of HP LaserJet products.

• If the HP LaserJet printer is not operating properly and power line conditions are suspected, try a different circuit (a different wall plug located away from the current one), or try removing it from the UPS.

That said, unless it's a laserjet that requires a high amount of power that a normal UPS cannot handle during power cuts, you can use the UPS on standard desk jets or other low-end inkjets without any issues.

Keep me posted, 

If the information I've provided was helpful, 

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers! 

Good Luck. 

[MattB01]

I have an inkjet (this post is in the Inkjet category).  Therefore, sabretooth's link about laserjets and everything you wrote about laserjets is irrelevant.

Which brings us back to my three questions:

(1) Should we avoid connecting the printer to a surge protector?

(2) If we’re not supposed to connect to a surge protector, is this mentioned in user guides?  If so, which section of the user guide mentions this?  If not, why not?  That would seem to be rather critical information.

(3) How can we tell if our printer has a built-in surge protector?

[Riddle_Decipher]

@MattB01

Thank you for replying,

I appreciate your time and the clarification,

Although taking into consideration the previous conversation you had been having, it seemed that you had a laserjet, 

As you haven't mentioned that you have an Inkjet anywhere on the posts until now and usually people don't go through categories to find where you've posted before they reply to help you out,

I would appreciate if you could simply include the product name and number to avoid any confusion in the future,

That said, towards the end of my post, I have answered your 1st question - "unless it's a laserjet that requires a high amount of power that a normal UPS cannot handle during power cuts, you can use the UPS (or a surge protector) on standard Deskjet or other low-end inkjets without any issues." 

To answer your 2nd & 3rd question, you can check your user guide or service manual guide to know about the product specifications, that would tell you what parts are on your printer,

however, HP doesn't manufacture printers with built-in surge protectors, maybe we may in the future but as of now, we don't.

I hope that helps clear the air and bring about peace and satisfaction now that I've answered all your questions.

If I have helped you resolve the issue, feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below,  

Followed by clicking on "Accept as solution" from the drop-down menu on the upper right corner, 

Thank you for posting in the HP Support Forum.  Have a great day! 

Regards,