plastic film, to remove it or not ?

[Helen-Hua]

Sorry for the inconvenience caused. We’ve rolled the updated setup post in box this July to remove the confusing instruction on it. And for printers produced after this November, we also add a reminder label beside the plastic film to remind the users not to remove this functional part.

[Matt_Park]

But also, this part is going to wear out.  After 2000 pages (maybe sooner) slide over a piece of plastic, it will lose clarity and all the scans will start going bad.

Which replacement part do I need to fix this in the near term?  There are over 100 on the partsurfer sit eand I can't figure out which one it is

[JBZLNL]

The plastic film is cleary a cheap workaround for a design error. I know other HP scanners that have a document feeder on the scanner that do not have this piece of plastic to route the paper back to the topcover.

I really wonder why HP has put this product on the market knowing it has a design fault: In the end: who wants a piece of plastic between the clear glass scanner bed and the paper?

I totaly agree that after a lot of documets have come through, the plastic is surely going to wear out and loose clarity.

With some patience, I made my own replacement foil by cutting a transparent overhead sheet in the right shape.

I applied a thin film of removable sticker glue through a paper stencil to the overhead sheet on the exact same spot as the glue on the original sheet. Before bringing the sheet in place, I made  sure that the sticker glue was almost dry, but still sticky. Now the sheet can be removed easily without leaving glue residue!

The overhead sheet I used may not be as transparent or clear as the original sheet, but then again, it worked out for me just fine, althoug the sharpness of the resulting scans is not perfect, its fairly good.

Please note: for people who want to try this workaround, it is at your own risk!. I am not liable for any damage done to your printer , or to loss of warranty due to this workaround!

[Matt_Park]

I've noticed that you lose a ton of clarity vs. just glass.

How to test:

1. Go to reports --> print quality page

2. Put the result back in the tray, face down

3. Print the quality page again *You should now have a 2 sided quality page*

4. Print a color copy, 2-sided to 2-sided

5. Note that the side scanned by the bottom scanner is much worse due to the plastic.

[Caralho_Voador]

WOW.  Now that this has hit three pages it's clear this is a widespread issue.  Nice work HP!  You've outdone yourself (again).  Nothing like paying a premium for your products just to be let down with a stupid design flaw.  How many years have you been making AIO's now?  Point is, this isn't HP's first AIO - design's should be pretty good by now.  Heck, even my four year old Epson AIO had an all-glass design which didn't require the use ahdesive tape to "fix the glitch".

-1 for longevity.  It's sad, too, because you know there are old HP 4's still pumping out sheets, so you can make stuff that lasts.  True, it's not a scanner, but it speaks to your ability to build quality equipment.  Charging the premium for your name on a consumer product that isn't designed to last is a super duper sure-fire way to ensure people stray to other manufacturers.

Maybe when mine has a warranty issue closer to the one-year mark, I'll be privileged enough when I call in to speak to your "stellar" support reps and hope you replace it with a "comparable" model that doesn't suffer from the same design flaw.  

[Matt_Park]

Haha yeah this was my 4th HP all-in-one.  I thought I would "upgrade" to the M477, but got this issue within 20 mins.

None of the other ones have this design.

This is all because they  added the calibration strip to the bottom glass for the top scanner.  Of course that was causing jams, so they added the plastic.  This was a terrible idea HP.  There are literally a dozen other options they could have chosen.

Other than that, this is a really beast AIO.  Even the "apps" are cool.  I've never seen them done well -- ever.  The software / firmware works well, bravo HP, but you need the hardware to be spot on as well.

[MattBMad]

Sadly, I, like many others in this thread, have removed that plastic film that covers the portion of the scanner responsible for the document tray.

It would seem like an obvious thing to remove, as there was other plastic to peel, but apparently, and NOT according to the instructions, it was supposed to stay. To further add to the confusion, it sure seemed like it was designed to be removed because of the non-adhesive portions near the ends of the document tray scan bed.

It would've been nice to have a specific instruction on the scan bed or the manual to warn not to remove that crucial piece of plastic. 

I've had an old HP LaserJet and it has lasted me 12 years without any significant problems. I bought this printer to serve as a replacement. I was aware of the notoriety amongst HP products being a little rough on the quality, but I didn't expect I would have to replace the printer the same day I got it.

I'll be replacing it first thing tomorrow. 😞

[Obadebe]

Another one bites the dust! 

For so many years i have stayed away from HP, but in a spark of insanity i have decided to give it a go and purchased this soooo good looking MFP. Obviously i made a big mistake. Like the others i removed the plastic thingy that was placed on the scanner glass, and ... voila - the machine was broken:smileysad:

Until today i have been using KonicaMinolta bizhub copiers and Canon document scanners for almost 10 years and i have never seen something sticked to the scanner glass, except protective foil. That piece of plastic there is just insane. Even after reading this thread i can not believe that someone will ever stick something to the scanner glass.

Obviously i'll have to find a workaround, but this experience will keep me away from HP products for good. I will never by anything that holds the HP logo!!!

[dkimsey]

So how do you get a new plastic film?

[Caralho_Voador]

Maybe HP could subcontract out to Carly and she could hand out replacement stickers on the campaign trail....