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HP has provided us with some remarkable Officejet and Inkjet lineup of printers. Each series offers dynamic features and attractive prices. The low price, HP Officejet 3830 is an all in one wireless printer.
It offers tons of great functionalities, all under $100 price point. But don’t take it as an ultimate ‘passage of saving’ because the cartridges will fill up your pocket. In this post, we have provided a detailed review of HP Officejet 3830 including the setup process, performance, and our final verdict.
Table of Contents
Description
The HP Officejet 3830 is an entry-level office or home use wireless printer that offers both colored and black and white prints. The printer falls in the entry-level category because of its attractive price, and tons of great options. For starters, it can print, copy, scan, fax, and create borderless colored images.
The printer comes with a black and white touchscreen interface that you can access to renovate all the printer features. It is fully plastic build and features
energy star certification. It can be also connected with a smartphone app or with a web browser via a computer or local connection.
Set-up Process
We didn’t have any problem setting up the printer for the first time. To get started with the printer, follow the steps provided below:
- Remove the printer from the box
- Open the exterior door and lift trays to remove any stickers or cardboard
- Connect the printer with the power cord and into the power source
- Turn the printer on and personalize your general settings like language, date, time, etc.
- Open the main door and wait for the carriage to stop moving, they will automatically align in the middle
- Install the Cartridges in the printer carriage section (a clipping sound will be produced)
- Wait for the printer to analyze the cartridges
- Load paper into the tray section
- Your printer will automatically perform the first print
- Install the printer software and you’re good to go
Touch Controls
The Officejet 3830 comes with a 2.2-inch paperwhite touch screen panel mounted on the front side. It is super easy, touch-responsive and all the printing options are available here.
Performance
The HP OfficeJet 3830 proved itself worthy in our performance comparison. As for the operating cost, you might have to take a turn back. The text quality for the printer is surprisingly good. Although it’s not entirely laser printer, it still manages to compete with the big boys.
All the text we printed with OfficeJet 3830 looks good on paper. We have tested the printer with different font sizes and shapes and it has proven itself in the text quality. As for Color Printer, we were surprised by the result. The images were sharp and crisp.
The HP official ratings for monochrome pages are 8.5 ppm and 6 ppm for color pages. However, when we tested it the results were somewhat off the charts.
The monochrome speed was estimated at 9.7ppm and don’t ask about the color printing because it was extremely slow. However, the end results depend on your printing capabilities and color images. Your printing requirements will be always less. But we’re still optimistic that it will not nudge the actual ratings.
Connectivity
The OfficeJet 3830 is fairly respectable in terms of connectivity. You can pair it with your PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet which supports Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Direct. However, there’s one downside too, it doesn’t have any Ethernet connectivity which was a major turnoff for business-oriented users.
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The OfficeJet 3830 also connects to a PC via USB port, Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPrint, and HP ePrint. The printer supports various other third-party apps for printing as well as a few workflow profiles. As long as you’re connected to the internet, the options are enormous.
The 3830 uses the popular 63 series Ink cartridges. You can easily find them on the market or in any retail store online. The replacement process is also simple for the cartridges. HP also offers the Ink cartridge subscription package known as ‘Instant Ink’ to save you from the price boost.
Operational Cost
Although the HP OfficeJet 3830 Ink is fairly popular in the market, it is not enough for your regular usage. A single cartridge can print up to 350 pages and cost between $40-$50. Despite the tantalizing low price, the printer is very expensive if you calculate the full operational cost. We estimate that the OfficeJet 3830 Ink prints standard text pages at around $0.09/page.
This is enormously high considering you can just go to any printing shop and they will charge you $0.10/page. As for color paper, the cost is reasonable, estimated at $0.12/page. So all the ‘affordable price’ benefits will be downsized in the Ink process. If you opt for the HP Instant Ink program, you’re still under a huge amount because there are always sometimes when we don’t print this much.
HP Instant Ink Services
The HP Instant Ink services don’t provide you with cartridges on monthly basis. It charges you on monthly pages via paper prints. HP will provide you with unlimited Ink and charge on a subscription basis as print per page. The printer wirelessly communicates with the system, every time we print something.
HP OfficeJet 3830 Price
The HP OfficeJet 3830 AIO is currently priced at $100 for standard packaging. The value-added features like Instant Ink and Printer Paper have a separate price range. In the Box, you’ll receive the printer itself, Standard HP 63 Ink Cartridge, Setup poster, Power cord, and Phone cord. The USB connection cable is not included in the Box, so you might have to buy this separately.
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Is it right for me? – Final Verdict
Regardless of the price tag, the Printer offers tons of the line features that are available on the more expensive unit. The actual limitation depends on your usage scenario. If you’re looking for something portable for your home use, go for it. If you’re considering this for your office usage, where you print multiple pages per day. Then we might recommend you check the HP Ink Services because the cartridges will dry out soon. In a more generic term, it gets the job done in a remarkably easy way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to download HP OfficeJet 3830 drivers?
Visit the URL: https://123.hp.com/us/en/devices/oj3830 and click the Install HP Smart button. The page will automatically redirect you to the associated page.
Where can I get HP OfficeJet 3830 Manual
You can download the Manual from the provided URL:Getting Started Guide, Setup Poster, and User Guide.
Where can I buy more Ink cartridges for the Printer?
You can either buy from the official HP website or through any online retail store such as Amazon or eBay.
