scanning - files too large!

[Joeley]

Any update on this problem, renaissance? Some further attention by HP on this problem would be greatly appreciated, or even recognition that it is a problem. I realize this is a user-to-user forum, but the scarcity of HP staff in general is quite remarkable.

DexterM, did you contact others at HP? I noticed your homepage and e-mail don't relate to HP but you self-identify as an HP employee.

HP Admins, are you there? Is it possible to get some tech support comment or help on this?

[DexterM]

I did not disclose my HP info on purpose. i dont consider this as a problem, but just a hardware limitation. you could try scanning it in the jpeg format. that may help. that should reduce the size further as the JPEG format is compressed by default.

[Joeley]

Thanks for your input. Your signature line indicates you as HP Employee, so I was hoping you'd be able to press the issue to the appropriate people.

I'm not sure how this is or should be considered, a hardware limitation since my older HP scanner has software through its control center for producing PDFs of reasonable size. Should a newer scanner/printer model be expected to have fewer features?

Also the JPEG scan is not really a solution for scanning multiple-page documents - it's too time consuming and introduces possible errors (pages out of order, missing). After all this printer (the C7280) has a sheet feeder - why can't it produce PDFs of a reasonable size? See above for example sizes.

I don't want to argue, but I can't help but feel a llack of consideration or at least notice here on an HP forum board. If the problem can't be addressed, it's going to earn the printer some negative reviews out in cyberspace in user review sections at sites such as Amazon, Provantage, and the like.

Please, HP tech/developers, show us that you're listening. Offer us a solution like you seemed to do with this firmware upgrade of another printer:

hp LaserJet 3015/3020/3030/3380 AIO software update

It says as part of its 3.1 upgrade, "The default file size when scanning to a PC has been significantly reduced for most PDF and JPG file types." Why shouldn't we expect the same for the C7280 All-In-One?

[jr24308]

This is a very very frustrating problem.  First of all, let me add that when I first bought my C7280, the resoluton issue was not a problem.  It only occurred during the last All-in-One software upgrade (downgrade?).  It seems that it is the root of all evil relative to this issue.  HP Support is not much help either.  Each time I've addressed this with them, they walk me through all of the same steps and I end up with the same frustration.  Also, it seems as if they are using a different version of the HP Solution Center (HPSC) s/w.  They continually ask me to select something that isn't on the screen.  Here's a synopsis of my issues:

I have the need to scan multiple pages into one document.  My choices are PDF of TIF.  The latter yields file sizes way too large for emails.  So, the logical choice is PDF.  It's what I've used for years at work and home.  Prior to the latest version of HPSC, I was able to scan in 10 page documents into one file and keep it under 500 kb in size (and yes, they were quite readable).  In the latest version of HPSC, I've even gone in and created a few different scan shortcuts to scan as PDF (not searchable!) at both 150 dpi and 75 dpi.  Of course, as Joeley stated prior, it doesn't matter how much you change this setting, as long as these have a scan setting of "Editable Text (OCR)" which you can not change, the file size will be massive because OCR always uses 300 dpi. 

My opinion is that the HPSC software is faulty.  And HP Support using a different version than we have to use is not helping.  They tell me to select something but that something is not there.  Their screens are different than my screens and we're supposedly using the "same software".  Yeah right...

My last round with them left them "promising" to send me instructions on how to get the old version of HPSC.  Of course, there seems to be no accountability to your promises when you're in India or some other faraway land as I've never received them.

There are other problems with HPSC too.  The screens don't take you to where they say they should.  If you select the Settings button on the Main Screen.  This should take you to a screen with four boxes: Scan Settings, Fax Settings, Print Settings, and Other Settings.  In the Scan Settings box is a drop down box ("drop up" actually) that has the following selections: Scan Picture Settings, Scan Document Settings, Scan Preferences, Button Settings, and Scan To...Setup.  If you select the Scan Document Settings (which is logical if you're having issues with your scanned document size), it takes you to the Scan Button Settings screen.  There are no settings available here.  Just more frustration and when you do find the place where you can change the resolution, it's a moot point because OCR is king in the HPSC world and that can't be changed here. 

HP really needs to step up and fix this...

[DexterM]

have you tried uninstalling the OCR software then? then, none of the scans will have OCR option enabled.

@Joeley: i am not familiar with the Laserjet printers, but maybe that series produced unacceptably large files due to a software glitch, and thus the patch was required. but maybe for your printer, that size is the hardware limitation, thus nothing was released. i cant say for sure why a patch was/was not released.

[Joeley]

DexterM, thanks. It's been awhile since I did this (a month), but I either uninstalled OCR or installed the software on a new PC without the OCR or both - in any event it didn't work - no OCR, no scanning to PDF is what I recall. I see what you mean, that was a LaserJet whose firmware upgrade I posted. But it's the kind of fix we're hoping for.

 jr24308, I'll respond when I've had a better chance to digest your posting, but thanks and Kudos. Finally someone else with the same problem, and apparently some indication of an upgrade problem. I'll review it to see if there are some similarities, but I want to emphasize that I believe I've made all the right choices, NOT choosing PDF with Editable Text. Yet the results are still editable and LARGE.

Please HP, let's have some attention to this. We shouldn't have to do all your problem-solving.

[jr24308]

DexterM: thanks for the suggestion.  I'm not sure just how to uninstall the OCR portion of the software.  I'll give it a look though.

Joeley:  I fully understand that you are only selecting the plain old PDF and not the searchable type.  The problem that HP doesn't seem to understand is that it doesn't matter which of their PDF choices you select, you still get that "Editable Text (OCR)" setting that is not changeable.  I'm building up to another phone support session with HP and will be a little more firm in my suggestion that they provide me with the older version of HPSC.  If not, I'm going to go after a full refund given that their software change resulted in not being able to use the printer for it's original purpose.

[gbc]

Same problem here.

I have just upgraded to HP Solution Center v10, but it won't let me scan documents to pdf without OCR (which requires 300dpi resolution), thus making files huge.

HP technical support should rebuild the scan shortcut "Document to PDF file" to exclude the "editable text" feature, which belongs in the shortcut "Document to searcheable PDF file" only.

I guess I will be downgrading back to HPSC v9...

[ewsteen]

I have been through the same problem with this machine, various emails to support at HP and have given up. Am going to find another scanner that does it to smaller files. It's ridiculous to scan a  document at 75dpi and the smallest files in greyscale or BW is between 400kb and 700kb, and the quality is pretty crap.  I'm looking for simple small files around 50-60kb.

Anyone with a better idea , please tell.

[Joeley]

Check out my message towards the bottom of this post (should be highlighted by using the following link):

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=Scan&message.id=1116#M1116

Some people are noticing the problem of large PDFs is linked to newer system software. My post gives a couple links to downloading the older software. Use the website link to make sure the driver you download is one designed for YOUR printer. Mine is the C7280, which is where this link is pointed (especially the FTP link; the HTTP link would allow you to search for another printer). Read the thread for context.

I have not done this uninstall/downgrade yet, but I'm going to try. If anyone else does, please post your results.

Good luck, and once again as far as HP is concerned we're on our own.