Deskjet 3820
- The good: Outputs superior-quality photo prints; easy setup; adequately fast print speeds.
- The bad: Mediocre text and graphics print quality; high ink costs; flimsy paper trays.
- The bottom line: The HP 3820's price and stellar photo output make it a good family-photo printer but not a solid all-purpose choice.
One look at its flimsy plastic, and you'll see the HP Deskjet 3820 for what it really is: one of the bargain offerings in HP's new, redesigned line of inkjet printers. In this case, you can judge the printer by its casing; the HP 3820's unremarkable, somewhat disappointing output quality for text and graphics won't suit anyone who needs to print legible, crisp text for reports or presentations. On the bright side, the printer's dirt-cheap price (less than $100) and beautifully rendered photos will please all but professional photographers. Thus, the HP Deskjet 3820 makes a perfect family photo printer--as long as you don't mind that its ink cartridges cost almost half as much as the printer itself. If you must print sharp text and graphics as well as photos, try the similarly priced Epson Stylus C60 instead.Although HP has supposedly revamped its inkjet line, we found little corroborating evidence in terms of appearance; the HP 3820 resembles previous Deskjet incarnations. Its compact, rectangular shape looks like a big box of facial tissue, and its paper trays are flimsier versions of the standard HP configuration: a 100-sheet input tray on the bottom and a 50-sheet output guide on top. The retractable input tray, while perfectly usable, is made of cheaper-looking plastic than that of costlier printers, and the output guide, which extends only halfway out over the input tray and is more of a shelf than a tray, looks really low-budget. The printer is both Mac and PC compatible and connects via the USB or parallel ports (cable not included).
Cartridge HP 15 black & Cartridge HP 78 colour
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| HP 15 black & HP 78 colour cartridge |
