Customer Reviews

HP Deskjet 3820 Inkjet Printer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

I work in IT. I recommend this printer for its price and for its quality. With 4800X1200 print resolution, the 3820 is able to print photo quality pictures at a text printer price. The ink cartridges are pretty big too (which is nice, because they are about $30 a piece). The newer HP printers use less ink than the older models. So long as your print isn't solid ink, it is pretty much dry coming off the rack. The paper tray folds in on itself, so when you are not using it, you can save some space.

Overall, this is a good little printer and well worth the money. It has good features and is relatively compact.

I purchased this printer to keep in my dorm room (I'm currently a college student, in a relatively unfavorable dorm situation), and have overall been very, very pleased with it.

The dimensions of the printer are very friendly - it fits quite conveniently into many places, and the fold-up paper tray is a good idea. I've never had trouble with paper jams, sorting problems, or accidental multiple-sheet feeding that some run through jet printers often encounter.

The printer is very easy to install - plug & play on laptop running Windows XP Home Edition OS. No driver/IRQ conflicts, although be warned that it does not come with a connector cable, and you will have to purchase a USB/serial connector separately. The quality of the printing itself is great for the amount of money you're paying.

My only problems with this printer is that tt's extremely noisy (which is bad when you have to try and print for your 9:00 class while your roomie is still sleeping). ...I have had no problems with the physical integrity of the printer itself.

I shopped online for days and finally visited a local retailer to break the tie. This is a great printer at a great price and it will do everything you want. With photo paper, output will be as crisp as the P1100 or the 1250. What I like is the option to go to 4800x1200 and use all sorts of media. My marketing materials look as professional as the ones I pay big bucks for. Of course this savings will now be offset by the cost of the ink, which I find to be a bit expensive.

I am advising every one I know to stay away from Hewlett Packard products due to my experiences with the HP Deskjet 3820 printer. The one I owned had the same problems that everyone else had. The printer cartridges get stuck on the right while the paper feed and power button flash continuously even though paper is in the tray. HP is well aware of this problem. It is a defect in manufacture. This printer has cheap plastic gears which inevitably break. When you contact HP customer support, you will receive everything but support. I was told they would replace it with another printer, provided I spend another 100 bucks on top of the 100 bucks I spent on this piece of garbage in the first place. My other option was to take it to a repair center and pay for repairs myself. In other words, the product is defective. HP knows it is defective. As an HP customer, you will be required to pay to have HP's defect repaired. Save yourself the trouble and spend your money wisely. Don't EVER buy HP.

This printer is very different from most HP printers I have seen. It's not as high quality or reliable as I have come to expect them to be.

One of the things that some people complain about is how it vibrates - but that's only if you did not put the paper in far enough. This is not a problem with the printer.

However, the first time I tried to refill the ink cartridges (color and black and white) instead of paying an arm and a leg for a new set of cartridges I had major problems. First of all, it wouldn't print black. I reseated the cartridges. Then it wouldn't print magenta or yellow. I reseated the cartridges. Then it would print everything but cyan. Nothing seemed to make this problem go away.

After reseating a dozen times, I got it back to where it would print color but not black, and bought a new black ink cartridge (which was cheaper because HP MAKES INK CARTRIDGES THAT ARE HALF EMPTY BUT MORE THAN HALF AS EXPENSIVE AS FULL ONES, without marking them visibly). Anyway, the purchase of the new ink cartridge got it working again. When that black ink cartridge ran out, I refilled it and these problems did not repeat.

If this was the only problem with the printer, I wouldn't be leaving a 2-star review. Now the printer has a mechanical problem. No software manipulation can fix this problem, trust me I've tried (and I know a dozen Computer Science majors). The cartridge holder that slides back and forth when you print is stuck completely on the right side. It's as if it went too far to one side and couldn't come back. The error message says "Mechanism Error. The print cartridge cradle cannot move. Please check under the device's top cover for a paper jam or other obstruction." Of course, there is no paper jam or other obstruction.

This was the final straw with the printer, and I have yet to see how to resolve this problem. :( I will think again before buying HP, and will probably buy a Canon to replace it.

A number of factors convinced me to get this printer: 1) I'm an HP printer loyalist, and I wanted to upgrade my reliable HP 842C, which still works great!; 2) The 3820 had a couple of features I found useful (a print-cancel button and ink cartridge ink-level indicators); 3) The 3820 was rated a "Best Buy" by Consumer Reports, and 4) last, but not least, the price.

The printer installed VERY easily. (It practically installed itself. About the most work I had to do was connect the cables!) The print quality is great! (For those who are having print-quality problems, did you calibrate your printer via the Printer Assistant software?) Speaking of the Printer Assistant software, that is VERY useful and informative! OK, the unit IS on the noisy side when going into print mode, but then so was my 842C. All that noisiness just seems to go with the territory with HP printers.

All in all, if you're looking for a quality printer at a VERY economical price (and you don't mind a little noisiness), you can't go wrong with the 3820! (If it were a little quieter, I would have given it five stars.)

With the flashing lights and the carriage stuck to the right. Fortunately for me HP is sending out a replacement printer for free, but I'm without a printer for a few weeks now working on writing projects! AGH!

I bought it new in 6/03 and in 12/04 the carriage return froze up and would no longer move. I called the HP help desk and was told it needed to be serviced so I decided to save my money and buy a new printer instead. It would probably cost me more to have it fixed than to get a new one. I am really dissapointed! I expected more from a product by HP. One note* When it did work, it had great print quality, but a little noisy.

I got this printer free w/ rebate with my computer package purchase in May 2003. It worked very well from day one. I used
cheapy Canon printers, and a HP photosmart before this one, and they were fine. The HP photosmart 1000 was built like a tank ( Compared to this one)but had a lot of problems with software running on a Window 98se. The 3820 was very noisy but worked great. (Notice the word- workED )

Today, after I stocked up on ink cartridges last week, there was a paper jam ( I don't remember the last time it had a paper jam, if ever) I checked the back and discovered the door was attached to the unit with 4 flimsy brittle plastic levers and 3 of them had broken off. The door would not stay in place, therefore causing paper to jam.

I am disapointed that HP could not design and engineered this to last longer, even for a cheap unit like this one. The 3820 was working flawlessly and disabled by 4 flimsy little knobs that could have been made a little thicker. MAYBE they indeed designed it this way!!!

I am thinking maybe I've been using HP too long, I am going to check out some Canon printers later today.

I made the mistake of buying this printer, and after fighting with jams, so-so print quality, and an indifferent customer service rep, I switched to a Canon S300. Now I have a nice printer.