Customer Reviews

HP LaserJet 3030 All-in-One

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In many ways I really like this all in one, it's does great copying, printing, scanning in all ways except that it often prints slightly crooked on the paper, off by a small but noticeable amount. HP tried over the phone to help me resolve this with no success. Since I have other printers, I learned to live with this until the machine died recently. HP sent me a refurbished replacement which after about a year of ownership I was happy to do, they charged $34 for a temporary warranty "uplifting", no problem with that. However, I am sorry to report that this refurbished version has the same page misalignment problem as the last one. Yes, I've checked my power supply, use HP paper and toner, etc. This is just an unfortunate and non-trivial defect for this otherwise fine printer.

I've owned this multifunction machine for five years (Dec 2004 to Jan 2010). I've used all the major functionality -- print, scan, copy and fax. I have few, if any complaints about its performance in any of these areas.

I selected it above the other "All-in-One" machines on the market for the following reasons:

- I wanted the print quality and low per-page cost of a laser printer (i.e., as opposed to an inkjet).
- I wanted the flexibility of scanning/copying bulky things like books -- so I wanted a flat-bed for scanning.
- I wanted reliability and believe that HP has a good record in that regard.

I purchased this unit for about $449 in Dec 2004.

I'm so satisfied with this product that I'd happily use it for another five years except ...

I recently got a new PC. After verifying on the Windows 7 compatibility site that the 3030 is fully compatible with the 64-bit version of Windows 7, I chose to get the 64-bit version of Windows 7 installed on the new computer. When I plugged the HP 3030 into the new PC, Windows 7 helpfully downloaded -- automatically -- necessary drivers. It started printing fine immediately -- how delightfully simple!

But then when I tried to scan, I realized it didn't work. I tried to download new scanning drivers from the HP website for Windows 7 64-bit. All I found there was a "Universal Print Driver". Apparently, the 3030 is not "Fully Compatible" with 64-bit Windows 7! I called HP and they verified that there was currently no scanning drivers available.

So I'm sadly replacing this machine with a new one which is allegedly compatible with 64-bit Windows 7: the HP LaserJet M1522nf MFP

I hope that this is helpful.

I had an HP LaserJet 4MP for about a decade before it finally went. I doubt that I will get that kind of service from this machine. I also had a Xerox b&w WorkCenter for copying that went about a year later. same concerns. i got this primarily to replace the copier. With this HP the toner cartridges go in no time. The scanning is slightly askew, and there is some color distortion. Also, the scanner utility is pretty inept. The print drivers do not function properly, preventing my up-to-date Windows XP from going to sleep mode. HP was once a symbol of dependabilty.

Ever since I bought this so called all in one I started having nothing but problems. Lousy software that has patches on top of patches, on top of fixes that do not fix a thing.
Buy it if you are looking for a copy machine, but if you are looking for a printer or a scanner then you should be looking somewhere else.
Don't make the same mistake I did...you are going to regret it.

This is a great MFP for Windows XP, but HP stopped supporting this device after that. After a recent upgrade to Windows 7, I have lost all the functionality besides printing. Scanning won't work and new drivers for Windows 7 have not been made available by HP. I recommend getting a different product.

This is my second 3030. I purchased this one used, and was initially upset to find the tip tray missing. However, the seller made it up to me by sending out another try right away. It works as well as my last one.

HP makes a nice all around unit in the 3030. I have deployed many of them in a business environment over the past few years, and had very few problems. Too many people expect an all in one to do everything well, that is not their purpose in life; instead they are intended to do many things well. The scanning, fax, copy and print functions of this device all work just fine, none are blazingly fast or knock your socks off quality but they are all more than adequate.

I have had this machine about 4 years and it works great for us. We use in our home office and use all functions, print, scan, fax. I have 32 bit and 64 bit computers and they both work great with the 3030. My only complaint would be the high ink price around $65.00 per cartiridge but I just ordered a off brand 3 pack for $30.00 and hope I get the same print quality. I love the scan function and use Adobe to create and save documents in color at 600 dpi. Easy to work with.

Complaining that a device like this doesn't scan as well as your old single-function scanner is a little like complaining how a Lexus RX330 SUV doesn't corner as well as your '92 sports car. The LJ 3030 is designed to do many things pretty well as opposed to one thing very well.

If that is what you are looking for, I think it does a pretty good job. I use it for school and work two make presentations, scan documents, write papers, FAX statements, etc. In that respect, I think it does the job very well especially given its price. The print quality is quite good and compared to my old LJ 3150 it prints quite fast at 15-20ppm. The scanner is not top quality, but it is not bad and is good enough for what I need it for. Honestly, if you want professional quality color scanning for photos, you shouldn't be looking at an all-in-one in the first place. Printing photos on a B/W laser printer seems pointless to me. I've printed Powerpoint slides with graphics on them and they look quite reasonable.

I got printer setup to be shared on my home network pretty quickly and the Java-based configuration software is pretty easy to use.

The USB connection is nice and I have it running through the hub in my monitor instead of having to run it all the way back to my PC.

The print recognition software which converts scanned documents to editable MS Word files works pretty well for typed docs, but obviously not well for handwritten ones.

Overall, I am quite happy with it although I wish the extra USB 2.0 cable which is not included wasn't so expensive.

How come no one has reviewed this printer so far ? Mmm.
In any case, the HP LaserJet 3030 All-in-One turned out to be a disappoitment. I hope I will be able to return it, it's been 31 days.

Faxing I did not have the time to try.

Scanning is very slow, even at 200 dpi. There is dithering at 300 dpi and up, when looking at pictures at their actual size, which is abnormal when scanning high quality photos. Listen, it's just abnormal that an old cheapo scanner of mine, bought 9 years ago for 100 $CA, performs 50 times better than this one.

It is also abnormal that the printer should perform the way it does with graphics (forget photos!). There is dithering which I did not get with my OLD HP printer. So if you are printing even a little graphic here and there, trust me : it will get on your nerves to see that dithering. MAJOR posterization when printing photos. Again, my old 1100 LaserJet printer performed a lot better in printing photos, and graphics. What's up with that.

The HP LaserJet 3030 All-in-One is good with printing text, as well as decent in photocopying text. If you photocopy graphics -- like when you're doing your first test with the printer, which is to photocopy a printed page -- you'll have spots of gray within the darker areas of the graphic.

The paper handling is o.k. if you are delicate with it. Speed of printing is o.k. It is not impressive.

Don't buy it. What else should you buy ? I don't know. There doesn't seem to be an obvious choice for all-in-one laser printers below 1000 $CA, even now.