HP DeskJet 3740 Color Inkjet Printer

by HP

Product Details

• Item Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002GWRK8
• Item model number: C9026A#B1H
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 6, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The HP DeskJet 3740 color inkjet printer is designed for simplicity and value. Its ultra-compact design features an 80-sheet paper tray that can be folded up for storage. The printer produces vibrant photo quality—up to 4,800-optimized dpi color*—from a single color cartridge. It's suited for basic printing needs with up to 10 pages per minute in black and color. As printing needs grow, black print speed and quality can be enhanced by purchasing a separate ink cartridge (HP No. 27, C8727A, not included).

This printer includes HP convenience features you rely on most, with onscreen print cancel and low-level ink indicators, easy setup featuring USB connectivity and simplified software, and a single on/off button. Small in size, yet big on value, this space-saving printer is perfect for those who need a printer for occasional use.

Features:

• Designed to meet basic printing needs, this printer is easy to set up and operate with simplified printer software and a single on/off button.
• Onscreen print-cancel feature saves time and money by quickly canceling unwanted print jobs. Avoid running out of ink at an inconvenient time using the onscreen ink-level indicator.
• Easy to set up and start printing with USV connection for compatible PCs and Macintosh computers.
• Onscreen menu offers five print-performance modes for task-optimized results. Select a print mode to print projects with your choice of print quality and speed. Includes Fast Draft, Fast Normal, Normal, Best and maximum dpi modes.
• Get vibrant photo-quality using up to 4,800-optimized dpi color and crisp black text from a single color cartridge.
• Option to print laser-quality using up to 4,800-optimized dpi color and crisp black text from a single color cartridge.
• Exceptional fade resistance and vibrant photo quality using HP Premium Plus photo papers and inks.
• Space-saving 80-sheet paper tray enables ultra-compact storage when not in use.
• Get reliable printing at speeds up to 10 pages per minute in black and color. Option to enhance black print speeds up to 14 pages per minute with separate purchase of HP 27 Black Inkjet print cartridge.

What's in the Box
HP DeskJet 3740 color inkjet printer, HP 28 tri-color ink cartridge, setup poster, reference guide, power supply and power cord; HP Photo Printing Software (Windows only), printer software (Windows and Macintosh), and User's Guide on CD-ROM
*Up to 4,800 x 1200-optimized dpi color and 1,200-input dpi

Product Description

Box Includes: Color Printer, HP 28 Tricolor Inkjet Cartridge(C8766W), HP Photo Printing software, Printer drivers for Windows & Macintosh, Setup Poster, Reference Guide, Power Supply & Power Cord Works for PC and Mac systems Convenient USB connection for easy setup (cable not included) Dimensions(WxDxH) - 16.6 x 7.2 x 5.6 (422 x 182 x 142 mm) Weight - 4.5 lbs(2.04kg)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad printer, but..., December 15, 2004

By 

Xtal guy - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP DeskJet 3740 Color Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

The print quality of the 3740 is good, but my main complaint with it is that HP doesn't make it clear that you need a USB A/USB B cable to connect it to your computer...which is sold separately (you can get the Belkin Pro Series USB 2.0 Device Cable (USB A/USB B, 10 Feet) from Amazon for $6.74, or else for ~$13 at Wal-Mart). Why would they sell you a printer without the necessary connectivity hardware to use it? Also, it doesn't come with the HP 28 cartridge (black), and that costs about $22 extra as well. Bottom line, this $40 printer will cost more like $65-$80 depending on where you get your cable. The Canon PIXMA iP1500 is a good alternative and the printer cartridges are much less expensive.

More about print quality. I can't say that I was disappointed by the quality of the printed photos. The pictures are professional quality as long as you are using good photo paper (which is the case with any printer). Text is good as well, plus the printer is very small which makes it handy if you don't have a lot of desk space left after hooking up your scanner, wireless router, phone adaptor, cable modem and other various junk that can wind up on a computer desk.

51 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Real Disappointment, October 8, 2004

By 

M. L. Goodson (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP DeskJet 3740 Color Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I have owned a number of HP printers over the years. In fact this replaces an older one that just happened to run out of both ink cartridges at the same time. I thought why not get a newer one then. Anyway, the paper capacity is low (something around 20 sheets at best--not 80). It prints slowly (no where near the 14 ppm that it claims on my computer) and fairly loudly for an inkjet printer (should be next to silent, but this sound kind of jerky). I has a fairly cheaply made feel to it. Interestingly, the "50 sheet output tray"--there isn't one. The pages fall right on top of the input paper. The ink cardridges (it only comes with a color--optional BW is at your expense) are very small. So though the cartridges are a little bit cheaper, I seem to now only be getting maybe 100-150 typed pages out of them. Years ago I had an inkjet from a cheaper company. It disappointed me and I spent the little bit extra to go to HP and haven't ever been disappointed until now. This is really sad that HP would make something this badly designed.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid budget inkjet printer., August 20, 2005

By 

SoundPro "Bill" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP DeskJet 3740 Color Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

Some comments at the end, but first the basics after over 4 months of using this printer:

Installation and Driver
I use the printer shared beween my Mac Mini and a Windows XP Pro box. Installation was simple on both platforms. I only installed the printer driver, I already have select software that I prefer to use for image editing.

While accessing the driver options in Windows is simpler, the Mac driver, when you know where to look, offers a wider array of options (electronic flash, color adjustment, paper presets, etc.). In general I feel that the printer works better under Mac OS-X than under Windows, but that is a common impression between the operating systems in general.

Print Quality
I was very surprised at the print quality from this three color, budget printer. Text is clear with reasonably well defined characters under close scrutiny. Color printing on regular inkjet paper (20lb 90+ brightness) is acceptable if not stunning. Banding can creep in, dithering is visible on large areas of coverage, and some blooming occurs (but that is dependant a lot on the individual paper being used). Experimenting with driver settings can pay off here.

Photo printing, on the other hand, exceeded expectations. I mostly print 4"x6" prints on Kodak Premium Picture Paper (Satin and Gloss). The results are very nice, not a huge amount of dynamic range (it is a just a three color printer) but decent color and a surprising lack of banding and blooming on smaller (4x6 or less) prints. Larger prints show more of the printer's limitations, with visible banding, saturation, and dithering on 8"x10" prints, but it is still very usuable for a $30 printer.

Paper Handling
Unlike my Epson and HP Multifunction machine, I've had little problem with paper handling with this dimunitive printer. I do tend to print photos a sheet a time, but up to 20 sheets of 20lb paper have always fed reliably.

Overall Impressions
I've read all the reviews for this printer and most miss an important point: this is a budget printer. No, you don't get a USB cable in the box (I had several on hand so no big thing), and no black cartridge is included. But c'mon, folks, this is a sub-$30 printer! And for that, it delivers an impressive amount of usability.

Pros
-Acceptable quality text printing (especially with black cartridge) for personal or light business use.

-Low cost of printer and consumables (not price per page but price-per-cartridge)

-Surprising results for printing 3x5 or 4x6 photos (using good quality paper)

-Mac printer driver in particular offers a wide array of useful options

Cons
-Color printing on regular ink jet paper is less than stellar.

-Yield of ink carts is below average (but so is price)

-Speed, this is not a particularly fast printer (not an issue for me)

-Noise, it is a bit clunky sounding at times

Overall, for $30 you will be hard pressed to find this much capability in competing products from Lexmark. Add to that trouble-free printing from Windows or Mac and a truly small footprint and you have one of the best budget printers on the market today.