Law Practice Tip: Using the HP Envy 120 Printer

NOTE: Hard to believe I originally posted this article seven years ago, but I checked and this great printer – the Hp Envy 120 – is still available on Amazon, through third-party sellers. I ended up with two of these, I liked the form factor so much, but ultimately replaced the one in the conference room with a printer that has a document feeder, but with the same e-Print feature.

With that update, on with the article . . .

HP offers a service called e-Print, which allows you to set up their printer – in my case the HP Envy 120 inkjet printer – basically as an email address. Anything sent to the email address prints on the printer. Here is how I use it in my practice.

I’m kind of compulsive about reading my email after hours, because I like to offer my clients a quick response to their questions, as well as hooking new clients who are sending out emails to multiple attorneys. With the Envy 120, when I see an attachment to an email that I know I will want in printed form, I just forward it to the printer’s email address. When I arrive at my office, the documents I want to review are waiting for me on the printer. Similarly, sometimes I will read an email that I want to make sure I don’t forget to respond to, and I just forward it to the printer as a reminder.

I’d love to say I’m Joe Green, ever striving to an ecologically friendly, paperless office. I have made strides in that regard, but there are times, like when I am reviewing and highlighting a contract, that I prefer to work off a printed version. I love having the documents I need to review ready and waiting for me.

This printer also makes life easier for my clients and allows me to quickly “close the deal” when a potential client wants me to review a document for my thoughts. The Hp Envy 120 has a small footprint, and is very cool looking, so I have it setting on my credenza behind my desk. When I first set it up I thought I would have to leave sufficient room on the credenza to catch the pages as they printed, because there is no visible tray. As it turned out, when you print, the face of the printer swings up, and an arm swings out to catch the printed pages. It is really impressive. It is also wireless, so you don’t even need to run a network or USB cable to wherever you locate it.

So back to the tip. When a potential client calls, wanting to discuss the complaint they were just served with, I tell them to email it to the address that is associated with the printer. During the conversation a printed version of the  complaint shows up and I can discuss it with the client. It’s the closest thing I have found to having the client just walk in and hand me the document. Yes, the same thing could be accomplished by having the client send the document to my regular email as an attachment, which I could then open and print or review on the screen, but out of sight out of mind. Assuming we don’t discuss the complaint right then, I have to remember to go looking for the complaint if it comes by email, whereas if it comes to my printer it is right there in front of me.

My only complaint with the HP Envy 120 Printer is the email address that is provided. The address will be something like opdas978orsh497 @hpeprint.com. Can you imagine giving that address to anyone, or even remembering it yourself? That problem is easily solved though, and actually prevents a potential problem. I created the new email address “DocumentsOnly @[domain name].com, and set it to forward everything to that crazy HP address. I was concerned that once I gave the printer address to a client, it would end up in their contact list and all future emails would end up coming to my printer instead of my inbox. But because the email address is “documents only” the clients get it and it has never been a problem. Also, this method provides an additional organizational tool. All the documents are still in electronic form in my email inbox, and are easily found by searching under that email address if I need them again later.

Amazon has the best price I have seen for the HP Envy 120 printer. You might also consider the HP Envy 100 printer which is an older model, but I don’t see any appreciable differences and it’s over $100 cheaper.

A couple of final points. The printer actually has its own apps you access via the color touch screen. You can, for example, print MapQuest directions or even select articles from USA Today. I haven’t found any use for these features, but you might. One feature I use often, as does everyone else in the office, is the AirPrint. If you have something on your iPhone or iPad that you want to print, just select print and it will “see” the HP printer and send the document there, wirelessly. Finally, if you are Joe Green and want to save paper (or just want to annoy opposing counsel — I hate when they do this to me), it prints two-sided documents.