Hewlett Packard HP DeskJet 3420 Ink-jet Printer

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Read Review of Hewlett Packard HP DeskJet 3420 Ink-jet Printer

Review Summary

About the Author

This HP Desktop is a decent low cost printer for light jobs.
Jul 23 '03 (Updated Nov 11 '03)

Author's Product Rating

Ease of Use:
Paper Handling:

Pros
Low cost, small size, lightweight, fast

Cons
Surprisingly loud

The Bottom Line
A good little printer for a low price.

Full Review

I got this printer to go with my HP Pavilion Home Computer.

WHAT YOU GET

A pretty small ink jet printer. It looks a lot like a breadbox. The printer works in both black & white and color. There is a disk to help you install the printer's drivers to your home computer. However, I have an HP computer and the printer installed automatically without the disk.

You also get two print cartridges. One is black only and the other has the color ink. The cartridges appear to be smaller than cartridges I use with other printers.

You also get two glossy instruction pages: one for Windows and one for Mac that explain a quick install. I used the one for Windows which was easy to understand and use. You also get a short manual that explains the operation in more detail.

WHAT YOU DO NOT GET

You do not get a USB cable to attach the printer to your computer. I bought a USB cable through hpshopping.com. I couldn't find the cable with the model number that the instructions recommended. However, the cables are supposed to be standard, so I wasn't too worried. The main decision point is the length that you want your cable to be. I ended up buying cable number C6518A at hpshopping.com for $19.99 plus 4.99 shipping. This cable worked fine.

INSTALLATION

Installation was easy. Once you get the cable, you plug one end into the printer and one end into the computer. My computer immediately recognized the new hardware which activated the install wizard program. The installation wizard guided me through the rest of the set-up. The whole process took about 3 minutes and I didn't need to reboot the computer.

The first time that you try to print, you will get a message asking you to calibrate the printer. This involves using the software provided (the software installs a handy icon on your desktop) to print two pages and make sure the lines match up. It takes about 5 minutes.

HOW IT WORKS

This deskjet works pretty well. The paper jams only rarely and it works surprisingly fast. My only complaint is that it is loud compared with all of the other printers I have used before. The print quality is about the same as other ink jet printers I have used.

This printer also interacts very nicely with my computer - there are no weird glitches and documents start printing very quickly. Since this printer and my computer are both made by HP - I assume this interaction was by design. I dont' know if this printer would work as well with other brands.

If you are interested in printing photos or posters or other creative endeavors, there is some included software that can guide you through the creative process. I am not really the creative type and haven't used this additional software.

REPLACEMENT INK JET CARTRIDGES

I have found the lowest price on Ink Jet cartridges at Office Max. They cost $17.99 for the black ink and $21.99 for the color ink.

WARRANTY

There is a limited 90 day warranty.

OTHER INFORMATION

Customer service by phone is only available for the first 90 days of use. The phone number for the U.S. is (208) 323-2551. Once you go past the 90 days, you can use the software provided with the printer that has a pretty useful help section. There is also a support page on the company's website at www.hp.com.

RECOMMENDATION

This is a great little printer for the money. The construction seems a little flimsy, so I am not sure it would hold up well under lots of use, but it is fine with a personal computer. Except for the excessive noise, it performs very well.

UPDATE: This printer works much better with thinner paper. I recently bought a heavy weight resume-style paper and find that it jams frequently. Lighter weight paper rarely, if ever, jams.

UPDATE: I am having problems with the color ink. The color red appears as yellow and other colors are off as well. There is no way to callibrate the color ink so I guess I am stuck with the problem. I am dropping the rating of this printer to 3 stars.

Recommended
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 40
Operating System: Windows

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modernmarvel

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Morning sickness - trying to catch up whenever I get off the bathroom floor.

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