Customer Reviews

HP Photosmart 3210 All-in-One Printer, Copier, and Scanner

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(54)

 

 

To start off, let me say that I am traditionally not a fan of HP's products. I did, however, view this all-in-one as having some nicer features than some others and took a chance.

I feel that generally HP does well with hardware products and or designs but struggles with their software integration with their products. I feel this is the case here as well. I have had my 3210 for about 2 weeks and here are my experiences.

Pros:
i) Scanning resolution and overall quality is quite good.
ii) Printing quality is also good. I wasn't planning on doing a ton of printing but based on experiences I will probably do more than anticipated because of the good results.
iii) Scanning and printing are both pretty quick. Marketed as the fastest picture printer all-in-one on the market... can't compare with others but I suspect they are correct here.
iv) I was happy to find in my research that replacement ink cartridges are NOT terribly expensive and they are easy to replace and know if they are running low.

Cons:
i) Paper magazine is small so it doesn't hold a lot -- minor.
ii) Software install was more of a pain than I was expecting. Installation on WinXP SP1 was generally OK but on WinXP SP2 it was a struggle. Not HP's fault, certainly, but they weren't able to make the installation easier to prevent some of these isssues or frustrations. I hope they have a lot of tech support people available as this product sells.
iii) Network configuration was not as automated or straight forward as they could have been.
iv) Software interface isn't as easy and fluid as it could be. I think that those who purchase this product that don't have some comfort with computers will be on the phone with HP often.

Overall, I am pleased with the purchase thus far but still have some configuration to work through. In HP's defense, I haven't called or emailed their tech support -- but I shouldn't have to and my schedule makes this tough. Again, I feel the hardware implementation is quite good but their installation software and interface is lacking.

After reading all the reviews here, and against my better judgment, I bought a 3210 - because it had the exact features I was looking for in a multi-function device. My experience was light years apart from what the others have left on this site. Please understand that I carefully read the instructions and gave some thought to the process before connecting the printer to my network. Additionally, my system is clean and well maintained; i.e., I have no spyware, adware or viruses, and run weekly scans to keep it that way. Your mileage may differ.

Software install - no issues. At 1.1GB it's a big install, but I had no problems with it. The installer correctly detected my firewall and had me disable it after I detached my network from the Internet. After the required reboot, it finished installing without any hiccups. I also made sure to click on the "HP Software Update" within the HP Solution Center before doing anything further, installed the rest of the updates and rebooted. Again, no issues at all after making sure the software load was completely current.

Network configuration - no issues. I have a custom configuration for my network; I setup the IP address on the 3210 manually and added the printer to my router and firewall *before* installing the software. During the installation process, the installer spotted the printer at the correct IP address that I had already given it and moved forward without any incident.

Paper pickup and out of paper notices - no issues. I use GP Advantage Premium Ink Jet paper from CostCo and am having no issues whatsoever. Same thing with bulk Kodak photo paper from CostCo. Most inkjet printers have an issue with overfilling the paper tray, so I keep mine under filled. No problems with getting erroneous out of paper messages. The plain paper output looks acceptable in rough draft and stellar in high resolution; the photo paper output is just drop dead gorgeous in hi-res; neither paper exhibited any evidence of gouges.

PDF creation - no issues. The software works as designed, without wasting any paper or creating gibberish. Black and white, gray or color, all the settings worked as I expected them to and created perfect PDF documents.

Hardware buttons - no issues. All the buttons work like they should on the printer. Additionally, all the buttons within the software residing on the PC work as advertised as well.

Ink usage - no issues. The ink usage is as I expect so far. With plain paper I use the draft mode on everything except for what others see; I never print photos of any kind on plain paper (plain paper is a sponge for printer ink). With photo paper I use a very glossy finish, which helps keep the ink usage down. I was quite surprised by the tiny containers of ink that are used in the printer, but nothing more than that. I'll have a better idea how the 3210 ink usage compares to my old inkjet this next Christmas when I print out my annual calendar gifts to family members.

Noise - no issues. Compared to many other printers and scanners I've used over the years, both HP and non-HP, the 3210 is *very* quiet. The sound rises when scanning really high DPI levels, but is whisper quiet at the default 300 DPI for low-res scans.

Overall impressions - 5 stars. The printing is superb, the device is quiet, it has built-in networking, everything works as I expect for it to; what's not to like? My experience has been unlike the others listed here - don't know why - and I'll continue to buy and recommend HP products.

I purchased the HP 3210 to replace a six year old laser printer. I read several reviews before deciding on this model, but apparently I didn't read closely enough.

Setup of the printer was a breeze, and for the first week or two things seemed to work flawlessly. Most of what I do at home is just some light document printing, which worked like a charm. I also played with the scanning, as well as the copying of a photo, which was really very cool. Again, it just worked great and I was pleased with the purchase.

Then after a couple of weeks I started getting an "Out of Paper" message on the display, despite the fact that the tray was full. I did all the usual stuff, pulled the tray out, reshuffled the paper, put it back in, and reset. The printer seemed to work OK again, until the next time I'd print a document.

Honestly I really didn't pay that much attention to the issue until the other day when I was doing some research for my job and wanted to print out a 45 page document. A complete nightmare; I spent 2 hours of a Sunday afternoon just trying to get the output. It would print a page, then give me the error. I hit the OK button, it clicks and whirs a little, spits out another page, and then the same error.

This all happened while using HP's premium Inkjet paper. I tried another brand of multi-purpose paper (20# weight instead of 24#) with equally poor results.

The problem has just gotten progressively worse, and I'm at a loss as to what to do. I purchased at Circuit City in early April so I doubt they will accept a return. My only recourse will probably be to contact HP, which I haven't tried yet but will.

It is really a shame because, aside from this major problem, the printer is everything I need. The right size, functions, etc. Now I'm just hoping that I can recoup some of my investment.

I'm very disappointed and really expected more from HP. Obviously, and unfortunately, I cannot recommend this printer.

*****ADDENDUM*****
6/11/06: After writing the above review I contacted HP tech support regarding the "Out of Paper" problem. I was expecting this to be a nightmare but I was actually quite impressed with the hold time (less than 2 minutes) and customer service. Anyway, after describing the problem the HP rep acknowledged that this has been a documented issue with this model. Of course he put a postive spin on it and said "since this is a new printer and the technology is very precise, etc.). Bottom-line: By default the printer is set to "Automatic" paper size and "Automatic" paper type. The HP rep instructed me to change these settings to "Letter" and "Premium Inkjet Paper" respectively. Doing this did in fact seem to solve the problem. So in essence, the "Automatic" settings do not work on this printer (as obviously they should). However this "workaround" is acceptable. *If you do try this be sure to save the settings as turning off the printer will reset the defaults back to "Automatic" unless you have taken the extra step to save settings.

One last note: Even with these settings changes I did still receive the dreaded "Out of Paper" message when the tray got a little low (about 10-15 sheets left). Anyway, I'm going to work with it for a few days and see how it goes.

I still wish I'd bought the Canon Pixma MP800!

This is the fastest color printer I've ever used! My husband uses it to run sets of beautiful powerpoint presentations off for his work. I'm an avid scrapbooker and find this to be a huge asset to me, saving me money in almost every avenue (printing pictures, backgrounds, colorful clipart headers, etc). I did run into a glich while installing the software...which another reviewer did mention. However, I was able to fix the problem myself using the troubleshooting section of HP's website with a little patience and diligence (and I'm no "techie"). As with every new bit of software you ever add to your PC, you just have to take a breath and hope for the best. Gliches in installation just aren't enough to slam the actual machine - which runs like a champ and prints with great clarity.

Just recently I have been looking for an all in one printer that can also print good quality photos. I have always bought HP printers so I went to the hp site and looked at what they offered and decided to buy the hp photosmart 3210. So I came to amazon and was surprised to get it at a really great price.

Anyway, after ordering I noticed many negative reviews here, mostly about paper feed problems. I was a little worried after reading so many bad reviews but I'm glad I bought it, it is a great printer. In one review I read something about hp having problems with the rollers which was causing the paper feed issue and that they dropped that company and started using new rollers which are black rather than gray. So the first thing I did when it arrived was open the back and check the roller color and they were black.

So far I have printed over 100 pages and havent had any paper feed problems. Software install was really simple and i didnt have any problems with it. The photo quality is great even on the normal quality setting. Also the ink doesnt seem to get used up that quick, as i said before, i have printed over 100 pages and about 20 photos and the ink levels havent really gone down at all.

I have recommended this printer to a friend and he has placed on order for it and i would recommend it for anyone else looking for a great all in one printer that can do great quality photos. It seems that HP has fixed the paper feed issue with the black rollers. If I have any problems with paper feed I will update my review.

Being a fond believer in HP products, and a strong believer in doing my research before I buy something, I picked up a 3210 in December 05'. After the first 150 prints the printer stopped picking up the paper and it would say it was out or paper. I had to open the back of the printer and clean off the rollers to get it to work.

BUT!!! Then I talked to a local HP Sales representative in the store, and he stated that HP dropped one of their roller manufacturers for this reason. They were manufacturing a roller that would also leak fluid causing the paper pickup to slip. (They are a gray color if you open the back of the printer) HP has a new company that supplies new rollers (Black color) If you end up with a printer and after the first 100-1000 prints you are having this problem, check the color of the rollers. I am guessing they will be gray in color. In any case, if you are having this issue, make sure you call HP and talk to someone that knows of this issue. They will honor this issue, and you will receive a new printer. Not ALL gray rollers have this issue either! The tech department of HP are aware of the flaw. (why else would they drop the manufacturer :))

After my new printer, with the black rollers, I am up and running for over 5000 prints already. GO HP!!!!!

Hp has released a fix for their paper feed problems. The kit to fix the problem is free through the Hp support call center.
All you have to do is call them and they will send you a kit for free.

I bought the HP Photosmart 3210 because it's feature set seemed head and sholders above the competition. Excellent performance specs, a reasonable price, and it's even network ready, so I can put it on my network as a shared printer.
The first thing that I noticed is that it is a bit noisy. The unit makes a very annoying squeaking/chirping noise. I resolved to live with the noise however, because the 3210 seemed to be just what I had been looking for.
Then, I began to notice that the 3210 erroneously reports that it is out of paper, even when it is not. It seems that I could not print more than 4-5 pages without the bogus "out of paper " error. As you can imagine, this is rather annoying when you send multi-page print jobs to the 3210 and they never successfully complete without my constantly monkeying around with the paper tray.
Assuming that my 3210 was simply defective, I exchanged the printer at the store for another unit. Guess what, the same bogus "out of paper" error. So, I did a bit of reasearch and found out that lots of people are having this same problem with their 3210. So, I emailed HP tech support and explained my problem and told them that it seems that lots of other people have the same problem. I asked them what their solution to the problem is.
Well, without bashing the HP tech support, let's just say that not only won't HP tech support own up to the problem, they merely give me a list of really unhelpful/irrelevant things to try. Upon tiring of getting nowhere via email, I ask them to call me so that we can discuss the problem. They said they were unable to call me and can only exchange it for another unit.
Since I saw no reason to believe that the third unit would perform any better, I declined their offer and promptly returned my 3210 to the store for a refund.
Too bad for HP, a simple acknowledgement of the obvoius problem and a promise to investigate a proper fix (in the near future) would have kept me as a customer.

Updated: I decided to pester HP about this issue a bit more after this original posting. They did finally admit that this is a known issue. They also said that it was/is a bad lot and assured me that if I purchased one directly from HP, it would not be from the bad lot and it would not have the paper feed problem. I am taking a chance and will give this one more try because I really liked the Photosmart 3210 (beyond the paper feed problem) Stay tuned....

Another Update: The third unit arrived today, directly from HP. Guess what, Yup, that's right, same paper feed problem. So much for their assurances that it was a lot problem.

Final Update: I was able to get rid of this bogus "Out of Paper" error on the third unit, with no help from HP. I never get the out of paper error any more. In fact, I am now keeping the 3210 and I am quite please with it. So, what did I do to get it to work reliably?
Well, in spite of the fact that HP insists that it is a bad paper sensor that is causing all of the problems, I just didn't buy that explanation. Clearly the rollers just are not grabbing the paper. On all three units, I could hear the unit trying to grab paper, but not succeeding at it. So, here is what I did:
Load the unit up with paper. I opened a word processor and created a 49 page empty document (no characters typed at all).
I sent in the 49 page empty file to the printer. All this does is grab 49 pages out of the paper tray and cycle them through the printer. Then, I take these 49 pages and put them back into the paper tray, and then print it again, and again and again....
The first several iterations, I would get the "Out of Paper" error about 5-10 times per print job. Over time, the frequency of errors reduced to the point that they never occur any more. I checked the "printed pages" counter and it was about 1000 pages. I suspect that the 1000 pages have softened up the rollers enough that thay are broken-in and no longer slip.
While I do not believe that a user should have to break-in the 3210 in this manner, at least it is working now and is 100% reliable. I have since sent an additional 700-800 pages through my 3210 without a single "Out of Paper" error.
Perhaps this tip will help others get their units working as well. Good Luck Guys!

For those of you who rated this printer highly, you are indeed correct for it is a great printer--FOR A FEW WEEKS--that is! Then it becomes nothing but one problem after another--problem with paper-pickup--somewhat noisy--and finally will not print at all due to fact that the printer will not recognize that there is even any paper in the printer! What a mess! It took hours of emailing HP back and forth when they finally gave me a telephone number for DIRECT technical support--for an opportunity to speak directly with someone in tech support who could immediately resolve the problem!!?? After what would tally up to be a total of many hours over a several-day period, I finally reached someone who could understand my English and could truly assist me. However, that too, ran into another hour and a half of time when he finally spoke with his supervisor and discovered that there was a hardware/software problem WITHIN the printer. A manager came on line and after insisting that I provide my credit card information (for security purposes, he said), he (the manager) promised he would have a replacement printer delivered to my home within two days. Of course, that never occurred! After nearly a week of telephoning HP and finally being assigned a Case Manager to handle my printer issue, I was informed that all of the all-in-one printers were out of stock and a replacement would not be available for at least 45 days! After elevating my complaint to another department, the person in that department finally requested that a replacement printer be forwarded to me from a home shopping club. After nearly two weeks of pure frustration, I finally received a replacement printer today. Thus far, I have successfully printed about 10 pages--but after speaking with several salesmen at local electronics and office supply stores, I won't be surprised if this printer, too, stops working. For now the printing is excellent, but everyone has told me I'd better not expect any long-term success from this printer!!

I purchased this printer to replace my Epson 870 photo printer.
Other than the wait to install the huge amount of bundled software, I am satisfied with the printer. My main concern is with the 5 individual ink cartridges. I thought I would like this feature, but at $70 a set, I am beginning to rethink this as a 'valued feature'. Also, after about two months of use printing a variety of text documents and photos, I have gone through 2 YELLOW ink cartridges and haven't even made a dent in the other colors. I find it ironic that I can't find any at the store either. They have all the other colors in stock but are sold out of yellow. How many other people are experiencing this "YELLOW" phenomenon?