HP OfficeJet 3830 Test And Review
HP Office JET 3830 : Quick and good in office automation
The HP OfficeJet 3830 is a very sober A4 inkjet MFP that the brand is primarily intended for micro businesses that print relatively little and don't want to break the bank at least when buying.We will see why
Presentation
Sold for around € 65, the OfficeJet 3830 provides printing, scanning and copying functions, as well as faxing. Its flatbed scanner has a dedicated paper input for this purpose, which makes it easy to fax several pages.
Connected, it integrates a Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n module (with Wi-Fi Direct function) but does not have an Ethernet port. It also has no automatic two-sided function and does not offer a card reader.
Ergonomics
In terms of ergonomics, if everything is generally consistent with what a 4-in-1 should offer, some points still deserve attention. For example, from a "pro" perspective, note that the paper loading tray located at the rear is not a drawer and only accepts about sixty standard sheets (80 g), which can be penalizing , knowing in addition that there is no second tray to store another type or another size of paper.
It is piloted and configured via a monochrome touch screen 5.5 cm diagonally not always very responsive and quite small, which does not facilitate certain operations such as scrolling. Perhaps it would have been wise to complete this screen with a few classic buttons. Despite this, the use of the printer is intuitive and if one hesitates in a procedure, it is possible to read a small, simplified assistance video.
Updating the firmware is a snap, but it's a shame that you always have to waste a sheet (and ink) to get the full network information.
Material
The printer template is fairly standard for this kind of product (450 x 364 x 224 mm for 5.6 kg). The build quality is generally reassuring, with plastics that feel solid and don't retain fingerprints too much, except in a shiny area around the screen. Some alignments lack a bit of precision, but we remain on quite correct finishes in this range.
On the other hand, it is a little disappointing to see that the paper receptacle does not open by itself when you launch a print, and that it is roughly made up of two articulated plastic legs which, for once, really do low end.
Nothing rocket science in the procedure of replacing ink cartridges (HP 302 or 302XL): just open the cover and make the change.
Connection
The rear of the printer is very bare, showing only the paper tray and, in terms of connectivity, the power connector, the USB 2.0 Type-B connector and two telephone sockets for faxing.
Office automation
The HP OfficeJet 3830 is doing quite well, with speeds measured at 12.8 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white, and 8.6 ppm in color. In a close price range and at a roughly equivalent level of functionality, the Brother DCP-J562DW climbs to 15.4 ppm in black and white. In color, its flow rate is almost identical (8.7 ppm).
On the other hand, we can clearly see that a printer more geared towards domestic use and especially photography, like the Canon MG5750, remains far from this level of performance in black and white, with a throughput of only 5.6 ppm, which 'it counterbalances with 10.5 ppm in color. Overall, the OfficeJet 3830 is therefore in the good average.
Regarding the printing quality in office automation, it is of a good level, whether in black and white or in color. The texts are perfectly legible, whether on a white or colored background; we can easily distinguish the gradients in the graphics, even if we have already seen better. The precision is good and the ink does not bleed.
Scanner and copies
The OfficeJet 3830's scanner is a 1200 dpi model that works up to 24 bits on an A4 size. It is a flatbed scanner that makes it easy to scan books and other bound documents. Its specific paper feed makes it possible to scan / fax several loose sheets in succession.
The scanner is fast, scanning an A4 sheet at 100 dpi in color in just 11 seconds. And it only takes 20 seconds for a 10 x 15 photo at 300 dpi. It's a little better than what the Brother DCP-J562DW does .
This is also the case in copying, an area in which the OfficeJet 3830 shows itself to its advantage over most of its competitors. It only takes 14 seconds to copy a document in black and white and 21 seconds to perform the same task in color. In comparison, a home printer such as the Canon MG5750 is slower, and even much slower in color.
Photo
In the photo, the OfficeJet 3830 is doing quite well even if this is obviously not its primary use. To the eye, the result is in any case very clean. On the other hand, you have to be quite patient, knowing that it is necessary to wait 1 minute and 19 seconds for a 10 x 15 borderless photo print, and 3 minutes and 42 seconds for an A4 print.
The color rendering shows an average delta E of 7.9 which is between two waters. The OfficeJet 3830 is thus more precise than a "pro" oriented printer like the Brother DCP-J562DW (average dE to 11), but it is surpassed by the capabilities of more gifted photo printers like the Canon MG5750 (average dE to 4.4).
As a reminder, the limit from which the eye is no longer able to detect a color difference is below 3. The largest color differences are measured on magenta (10.3) and green (10 , 2), while pale red or yellow stand out much more faithfully.
Consumption
With only 1 W consumed in standby and especially 7 W in operation during photo printing, the OfficeJet 3830 is a model of its kind. Few printers are so energy efficient.
The noise emitted during printing is for its part very acceptable. Our sound level meter placed near the printer returned values of 45.6 dB (A) on a standard print and 43 dB (A) on a photo print. Paper loading is not much noisier, and of course the rollers that feed the paper are heard the most.
Cost Per Page
The OfficeJet 3830 works with HP 302 or 302XL cartridges. It comes with starter cartridges of limited capacity. The HP 302 black and tri-color cartridges have a print capacity given at 190 and 100 pages, respectively.
The higher capacity HP 302XLs are obviously more interesting, with capacities given at 480 and 330 pages. Sold at the official price of € 28.90, they allow printing at a cost per page measured at 14.8 cents. That's a lot and well above the average cost per page of A4 MFPs (close to 9 cents).
It is undoubtedly for this reason that HP primarily intends this model for micro-businesses which print relatively little, between 100 and 250 monthly pages.
First page out time
On and ready to print, the HP OfficeJet 3830 takes 8 seconds to output its first page in black and white. This same page takes 14 seconds to print out of sleep mode. A stopwatch that goes up to 28 seconds when the printer is off.
Conclusion
The HP OfficeJet 3830 narrowly misses the 4 stars. We do not blame it so much for its slight weaknesses in photography as its really high cost per page. Its ergonomics are left to the sole fate of a touch screen that is too small and not responsive enough, and some finishing details contrast with a product that is nevertheless reassuring.
On the other hand, we like its connected functions which take advantage of the integrated Wi-Fi module, its speed in classic office tasks (printing, but also scanning and copying) that it accomplishes perfectly, as well as its low energy consumption.
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