HP Photosmart 3310

Fax performance and use

I don't use Fax so faxing is not covered by this review.

WiFi networking with XP and Win 98

The 3310 was set up with a Belkin 54g ADSL Router (F5D7630-4A/ firmware upgrade V.A.1.08.03) in 802.11g Infrastructure mode with broadband access shared by XP and Win 98SE PCs. The network was protected by SSID; WEP Key; Firewalled by network hardware address filters. Using the AIO with other operating systems or via a USB or wired networks are not reviewed here.

Packaging + "Start Here" pamphlet

I was impressed as I opened the box and set it up. The instructions were packed first and easy to follow. The packaging was substantial and gave the contents a high level of protection. The ends of sticky tape used inside the box were all folded over. This made it easy to remove and didn't leave sticky marks on the plastic. The tape was also used to secure the scanner's lid and prevent any scratching in transit. The ink cartridges had colour and shape symbols to help those of us who are colour blind (nice touch HP!).

Installation of HP drivers and software

Installation uses the MS NET framework, download free from Microsoft, with two installation options for Win XP. The recommended option to default locations took about 30 minutes to complete on a 2.2GHz Celeron & 1Gb memory.

The XP install set the "Wired hardware address" in "Printer Properties" as it connected and tested the device over a WiFi network. If it used the WiFi hardware address instead I would not have had connection problems!

HP Product Assistant reported a USB connection problem! Product Assistant's WEB site, HP's main WEB site and the e-mail solutions site were all unable to fix this problem. Though they had me install, remove and re-install the software several times! I had a year of wasted effort and unreliable AIO connections and scanning problems before spotting the wrong address.

For Windows 98 SE there was a single install option, though a 64Mb memory constraint became evident (120 Mb is preferred) during the process.

All the software: Document viewer; Image Zone; Product Assistant; Software Tour; Solution Centre and Integrated OCR recognition by I.R.I.S. all installed cleanly under both operating systems.

On line updates

After installing the software and drivers I was offered critical updates for Win XP which installed successfully. Under Windows 98 SE I was offered two critical and three recommended updates. The critical updates installed but two of the others failed. The first failure stated: "regsvr32.exe or it's associated files could not be found". This may be due to the memory constraint on my PC, though the HP web site failed to provide information about the failures. I completed four "Customer Feedback" forms giving these details but, so far, neither the downloads nor the site have been altered to rectify or explain these failures.

WiFi communications

Instructions for installing the AIO on a WiFi network connection assume existing PC(s) and network(s) are unprotected by. Firewalls; virus protection; WiFi hardware security etc. HP provide a single sheet and a WEB site section devoted to Windows & third party software firewalls. Only passing mention is made to dealing with WiFi hardware Firewall problems. A general review of this area and it's potential pitfalls would be a welcome addition here by HP.

In "Infrastructure" mode the Photosmart 3310's WiFi reception has a very short range compared to the Belkin WiFi PC adapters (F5D7050).

The evidence: With AIO and Router co-located the AIO shows signal strength 5 (max). In a room above the Router (~ 6 metres) signal strength is 2 and is the same after a year's use. With the PCs above the AIO (i.e. ~12 metres from the Router) Win XP rated signal strength as "excellent", Belkin software on Win 98SE shows ~55% (strength & quality) & 54Mbps. The HP Manual gives no technical specification for 802.11b or g performance or connectivity.

If WiFi communications problems occur a link on HP Solutions Centre produces "HP Image Zone Help". This offers the following support: "Try the following solutions:

a) If you have a networked HP scanning device, check the documentation that came with your device for network troubleshooting.

b) Contact HP support."

A visit to the HP WEB site reveals WiFi fundamentals not mentioned in the Manual viz: Setting XP permissions to run a long list of HP programs; opening UDP ports 161 & 427 and TCP ports 9220, 9500 & 9290 on the WiFi hardware firewall. If you have no idea what these things mean I suggest you use this AIO on a USB port and forget the WiFi facility!

HP design methodology for networking

Where scanning is concerned the software produced by HP relies on the AIO and a PC being co-located. Remember, this is how AIO's were used when cables were 3 metres long! The design is no longer appropriate in a world of networks.

With the AIO and various PCs situated in different locations, users will have to visit one of the AIOs to scan or copy but they will not appreciate having to go back to a PC just to alter settings that cannot be changed from the AIO.

The HP software often fails to co-ordinate proper handshaking between an unattended remote PC and an AIO being used by a person. The software runs into difficulties if WiFi communications are interrupted (next door's WiFi signals; nearby domestic audio/ visual wireless links) or when the next scan is started before software on the PC is ready for it. Here are a few examples of how things went wrong:

1) A scan capture program runs on the PC each time a scan is started by a remote AIO operator. In a scanning session (say 20 to 30 scans) the scanner is ready for the next scan before the capture program has finished. The scanner lets the operator start another scan. This triggers the capture program but neither Win 98 nor XP will allow it to start before the current program has finished.

Both systems halt with an error message that can only be cleared using the mouse or keyboard. The operator [now standing by the AIO] can only look on while the AIO remains fixed in a perpetual "Scanning" sulk. Scanning may only be re-started if the error message on the PC is cleared and the "Scan another document" option box hidden beneath it is clicked. This means walking to and fro between scanner and PC, PC and scanner etc.

2) If the task "Scan to Computer" is selected on the AIO display panel but the network name of the PC is not offered by a sub-menu, the AIO performs a scan and displays a successful completion message. Pressing the OK button to clear the AIO message and then attempting to start the next scan causes the display to freeze in a "Warming Up" state.

Here the scan can only be continued from a PC that offers the options: "Scan again" or "Done". Once encountered this cycle cannot be broken from the AIO end and the AIO will not respond to the off switch. Unplugging and re-plugging it does not clear the software message displayed on the PC! As above the PC refuses to run the capture program while the message is on the screen so If the AIO and PC are any distance apart, you have a problem!

3) Most scanning parameters are set from the "Solution Centre" software on the PC. To scan a picture, negative, slide or document using a new setting means a trip back to the nearest PC. You just hope the current settings are OK to scan everything in a session! Dream on if you want a TIFF and then a JPG or 1 bit black and then 24 bit colour or, perhaps, 200bpi and then 500bpi!

4) With a memory card you can scan images straight into it, even if the AIO is off line. If the WiFi network is down or switched off, Solutions Centre cannot change any scan settings. You can't change them from the AIO display panel either so you have to accept the settings made previously. But, beware, these settings may have been made by others who use the network previously! (Thought you were in control? No I don't think so!)

5) If the WiFi link between AIO and PC is broken it can be re-established by switching the AIO off and then on again. Sometimes this causes the HP scanning software to lock up with error messages. Scanning can only be started again by visiting the nearest PC to clear these messages. (Get a Photosmart, get new shoes too!)

Where more than one user is involved, such as when the AIO is used in an office on a network, the handshaking appears to have little or no central coordination. An example of this is as follows:

6) Person A is scanning negatives to a memory card. As the last scan takes place Person B tries to print something. Person B gets a "Print Error" message that does not mention the AIO is busy. Person B's document goes to the print spooler. If person A walks away leaving the AIO in scanning mode, person B's print will run automatically. But person A is more likely to reset the AIO to it's initial state after completing their final scan.

If they reset the AIO by pressing the "OK" button and the cancel button, instead of returning the AIO to an idle state, it locks up and displays the date and ink levels on an otherwise completely black screen.

To get the AIO to print their document person B is forced to visit the AIO. In this state the "Off" switch will not work so they must unplug the AIO, wait 20 seconds, plug it back in, walk back to their PC, "Restart" printing from the spooler and return later to pick up the printed document.

Scan time

Scanning an A4 colour document at 150bpi to a BMP file on a networked PC took, on average 30 to 33 seconds. The AIO display shows 3 phases: "Starting scan"; "Scanning" and "Scan was sent".

Scanning slides and negatives over a WiFi network takes longer. Though the scan is over in an instant compiling and transmitting the 4 to 6 files produced takes around 2 minutes. Scanning similar items directly to a portable memory card takes, on average, about 4 minutes to "warm up", "analyse" and "scan". Once on the memory card files can be downloaded over the network to a PC very quickly (Win XP's estimate to transfer 79 files was 7 minutes).

OCR

The HP Manual covers OCR scans in a one inch paragraph on page 134. Producing scans to meet OCR requirements needs a higher resolution (300 dpi or greater). This involves altering the default option for "Document Scan". This must be done before you leave your PC as it cannot be changed from the AIO display panel before you scan your document!

The total transfer time increases four-fold in line with file size. The ISIS OCR software succeeded in extracting moderately accurate text from the default option's 200 dpi files before I discovered that higher resolutions were more reliable.

Printing

The AIO printer and print spooling functions worked well over my WiFi network at all times. Black print is clear and as sharp as one would expect from HP. Colour pictures printed on normal inkjet paper and transparent plastic inkjet sheets achieved a high standard that, though not absolutely true to the original, was evenly distributed and lacked any sign of the columns involved in spraying and drying inks.

The receptacle for receiving printout, photos and copies is derisory and totally unsuited to an office environment. This flimsy, telescopic, plastic support has a small folding end to prevent pages passing over the stack and falling on the floor. Normally hidden, it has to be drawn out of the AIO above the paper tray. If it is pulled out it is easily snagged, bumped or broken by passers by. If it is retracted the paper drops all over the floor. Be warned, the AIO will take up more space on your desk than you might at first think! If you network your AIO you need the paper tray out at all times to protect your print from dirty floors and people's feet!

Ink Consumption

During the first 480 pages, most of which were black text, the Yellow cartridge ran to empty with messages to this effect shown on the display panel. After replacing it, the Black ink level was 66% and all colours 100%. I have no idea why so much yellow was used as it bore no relationship to the colours in items I printed.

Photocopying

Simple to use, set the number of copies from a sub-menu, press a "Black" or "Colour" button. The results are indistinguishable from any printed item. Copies and copy settings can be made from the AIO control panel or HP Solution Centre.

The copy, fax, scan glass slopes down towards the front of the AIO. This can be a problem when items positioned carefully on the glass move as the lid is lowered. I scanned a page torn from a magazine five times before the results were horizontal despite the raised edge all round the glass. Electrostatic ghosts or what?

Scanning

The lid of the scanner is easily removed for scanning bulky objects that will not fit under the lid when it is closed.

The AIO has no provision to scan roll film (non 35mm), though many of us might wish to do so.

The 35mm holder works well. Card mounted slides click into place cleanly and are held securely. Strips of film feed in easily to be held almost flat. Film scans default to detecting the film type automatically (colour positives, colour or black and white negatives). Scans automatically centre each film image but fail miserably if square instamatic slides or negatives are involved.

To get good results Instamatic film and slides must be scanned and framed manually from a PC (another reason for co-locating the AIO and the PC). Manual scans made from the AIO produce images with bits of 2 pictures (negatives) or square slides shaped like 35mm images from black additions and edges of some originals missing (a case of "Off with their heads!" usually).

Sometimes 35mm film scans started from the AIO fail to trap the whole of the original. This may be due to scanning: mixed sets of square and 35mm slides; negatives with large gaps between them; film strips inserted with edges not quite parallel to the carrier (i.e. sprocket holes partly exposed at one end); the untrimmed start or end of a film or a joint or marker added during the development process.

The following imaging problems are encountered after scanning conventional 35mm film: Image contains part of the next negative; Badly-centred image with fine black strip along one or more edges; Grey 35mm blanks for missing b & w negatives (e.g. scan 4 negatives to produce 6 files); Hardware error stops AIO during scan to display a message, typically: "Error: 0xb81c495c" followed by strings of apparently random characters in white on blue background to fill the whole display panel.

Blue screens

These only occurred during film or document scans. From the first set of scans the AIO produced one of these rather alarming error messages due, it seems, to the detection of an internal hardware error. After 3,500 scans the "Printer Diagnostics" page showed 85 hardware events produced by two types of error message i.e. 2.4% of all scans performed.

Communications

The AIO appears to use different channels to perform different functions. The channel(s) used for printing and sharing a memory card over the network are more reliable than those used for scanning. Printing was still possible when starting a scan from a PC or altering the scanner settings resulted in messages like "Unable to communicate with HP scanning software" or "An error occurred communicating with the scanning device".

Under such conditions the HP Solution Centre status was "The Photosmart 3300 series is connected". Estimated ink levels and configuration details were also available by paging the AIO. Details on the AIO could be accessed directly using an Internet browser and the network IP address of the AIO. Each time the WEB page showed the scanner "enabled" and "connected". Sending a "PING" to the same network address from Win 98 or Win XP got 4 rapid responses (<10ms) every time! (Puzzling in the extreme)

Despite all these apparent connections the PC would show a "scanner communications problem" message and link automatically to HP Assistant where inappropriate advice was given on how to fix a "USB communications problem". (Wireless or what?)

When a "communications problem" prevailed it was impossible to: alter scan settings; start a scan from HP Solution Centre; or "Scan to computer" from the AIO. Most AIO "Help/ Hint" functions were unavailable from the AIO menu, instead a bleep heralded a communication error message.

With the scanner out of action like this it was still possible to access and alter printer and fax settings from the HP Solution Centre software.

Control

Scanning hardware and software each provide different controls and settings. If the AIO and PC are co-located these are all available to the user. If the AIO is on a network and at any distance from a PC the user must choose which set of options to use and cannot use both. Unless you get someone to put items on the glass for you, using the PC to control scans is out of the question.

The Manual concentrates on using the AIO control panel and mentions software at appropriate points by referring the reader to the software's documentation. Most of which is available via HP Solution Centre. In this way the Manual manages to hide a complex relationship that exists between the hardware and software controls/ settings. To illustrate this complexity consider this

Having put something on the scanner you can start a scan by:

a) Pressing a button on the AIO (you are still standing by the scanner?);

Or .. go to a PC and use one of the following:

b) HP Solution Centre - scan Picture or Document or Film (separate mouse clicks);

c) HP Solution Centre - accesses the AIO WEB page, use preview and scan;

d) Use WEB browser & AIO IP address (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) then as in c;

e) HP Image Zone - get image(s) from a TWAIN scanner, use preview and scan;

f) HP Document Viewer - get images as in e).

a) and b) enjoy similar functions but have no colour enhancement or auto correction;

c), d), e) & f) appear to share similar controls that are substantially different from a) or b).

Functions unavailable from a) or b) can be applied after scanning (e.g. HP Image Zone "Editor" to edit the files produced).

The following functions are not available when you press a button on the AIO:

Auto correction; Restore faded colour; Dust & scratch removal;

Resizing and scaling of different areas detected by a scan;

Lighten or darken (highlight/ mid tone/ shadow) with a spectrogram display;

Sharpen (5 options); Adjust colour (saturation/ original/ enhanced); Change resolution; Change black & white threshold; Mirror the images; Invert the colours;

Scan @ max pixel depth; Use JPEG compression for uploads;

Auto modes for strengthening image; Adjust (exposure/ colour); Use enhanced colour.

Before scanning HP Solution Centre users can pre-set the type of processing to be performed when each button on the AIO is pressed or when a scan is started from a PC (Solution Centre/ Image Zone or Document Viewer). The options cover: Number of colours, Bit resolution, Scaling, File type/ compression, File names & location, Putting separate objects (4 slides, 6 photos etc.) into one or more files.

Once set the scanner does the appropriate work specified when a button is pressed or clicked on the AIO or the PC. These parameters can also be changed via the WEB page but they only apply while the WEB page is open and revert to their previous setting afterwards.

If different parameters are set for each operational mode e.g. Scans started from the AIO control panel and scans started from the PC, the work schedules will be different. This may produce different file types at different resolutions and sent to different locations (Yes it gets complicated and may lead to re-work when the wrong product is produced!).

The Manual fails to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of these functions. It does not summarise or tabulate how and where they may be altered. Without some common reference point it is very difficult to work out how the quality of a particular image scan may be improved apon.

Location and naming of image files

Once the pre-sets are set up the feature works well. It allows different naming schemes and storage locations for each type of scan (document; film, photo etc.) and from each start point (AIO or PC).

While scanning documents to a Win 98 PC two batches of files ended up in HP's cache but were not transferred to the final destination like previous files. I suspect this was an artefact of shutting a PC down before the HP software had completed it's task. The problem was that the software did not rectify this when the PC was switched back on!

I also found TIF scans in HP's cache where previously I had specified JPG. I suspect this happened after I re-installed HP software while trying to clear a comms problem. If this were the case, I simply forgot to alter the TIF default to JPG again after re-installation.

Editing

HP Image Zone "Edit" performs all the tasks needed to straighten (1 degree increments!); crop; flip and turn each image; Apply auto-correction; Change colour balance, brilliance or contrast; and Compensate for exposure. Though changes are quickly visualised it takes ages to produce a row of tiny thumbnails along the base of the screen before any editing can start. The process is repeated painfully every time a new set of thumbnails is brought into view. This is really annoying, surely background processing could be done in the background while a user is editing a current set of images?

Image Zone also acts as an image catalogue where additional data may be added for each image (notes, annotations, drawings etc.). But it appears unable to do so when the files are held on a removable drive or media. It can manage images used in projects like making greetings cards, or in communications like e-mail or the HP Instant Share WEB site. It also manages security, makes backups, keeps file inventories and recovers images from a backup.

HP Document Viewer does what it says (including PDFs), it manages document scans, file annotations and conversions. It manages OCR to make the scan, read and edit the contents and transfer results to a Word document, e-mail or Fax.

Maintenance

The AIO decides when to maintain itself and displays the message "Do not interrupt" as it whirs and clunks through a hidden routine. If you happen to be half way through some photocopying you just have to wait until it is finished.

Mixing operating systems on one network?

My wireless network worked perfectly, sharing files, folders and a Lexmark printer before installing the AIO. After installation the names of the Win 98 and Win XP machines were displayed as sub-menu options under the "Scan to computer" option on the AIO display panel. I performed test scans to both machines and checked the files. Soon afterwards the Win 98 machine name vanished from the AIO display and scanning to this machine was no longer possible.

Attempting to solve the problem I e-mailed the HP WEB based Customer Support Service. After providing several different suggestions they sent me an e-mail telling me the two operating systems would not work on the same network together and said I should upgrade Win 98 to XP.

Since 98 SE and XP normally network amicably with one another and since HP say both systems are supported by this AIO which is intended for networking, it raises questions about the quality and validity of information provided by e-mail.