HP Officejet Pro 8500

HP's Officejet Pro 8500 an impressively featured device - as you'd expect given the £218 exc VAT price tag - but it also offsets that with incredibly low running costs. With high-yield alternatives available for all four of its ink tanks, each capable of printing well over a thousand pages, the 8500 works out at just 3.6p per colour A4 page. That's half the cost of the next cheapest office all-in-one we've seen.

So you'll make back some of that high purchase price in the long run, and with ink economy comes a wealth of features. The HP connects via USB, Ethernet or 802.11bg Wi-Fi, and setup via the driver or the large 3.5in LCD is quick and simple. A 250-sheet input tray sits at the base of the device, while the ADF on top holds 50 sheets.

HP's claims over speed are bold indeed, and though we didn't achieve the claimed 35ppm mono rates, 18.8ppm in draft mode is still very fast and excellent quality normal prints came out at 11.8ppm. Best of all, though, was a colour print speed of 7.1ppm, which few inkjet devices can match. Document quality was consistently high too.

A 6 x 4in photo churned out in just over a minute and a half, but here quality began to disappoint slightly. A lack of contrast and a grainy finish to prints added to the awkward photo tray that's buried deep inside the out tray, making the 8500 very much a document specialist rather than a proper all-rounder.

It hits the heights again with the scanner, which produced sharp and accurate images that the superb Canon MX860 can't match. It wasn't the quickest in producing those scans, but we'd be happy to make that trade-off given the results. Copies were therefore generally good, too, and our four-page document positively raced through the ADF, taking just 1min 10secs to copy in full colour.

The HP Officejet Pro 8500 is an impressive office all-in-one with a simply superb scanner. We're a little disappointed with the inclusion of introductory-size inks in the box, but once you've bought your first set of replacements you'll reap the benefits. It may be costly to buy, but if you're after something a little more business-like than the Canon, it's a worthy alternative.

Author: David Bayon