HP - HP OfficeJet 3830

HP

HP OfficeJet 3830: fast and gifted in office automation

Aprox. 129€

See specifications

The HP OfficeJet 3830 is a very sober A4 inkjet multifunction that the brand intends above all for micro-businesses that print relatively little and who do not want to go broke ... at least with the purchase. We will see why ...

Positive points

Print quickly and well in office automation.

Fast in copies.

Wi-Fi connectivity and support for cloud services.

Negligible power consumption.

Instant Ink compatible.

Bad points

Sometimes capricious touch screen.

Very "cheap" paper receptacle.

Quite slow in photo.

Colors not very faithful.

High cost per page.

Our review

Presentation

Sold for around € 65, the OfficeJet 3830 provides printing, scanning and copying, as well as faxing. Its flatbed scanner has a dedicated paper entry for this purpose, which makes it easy to fax multiple pages. When connected, it incorporates a 802.11 b / g / n Wi-Fi module (with Wi-Fi Direct function) but does not have an Ethernet port. It also has no automatic two-sided function and does not offer a card reader.


Ergonomics

In terms of ergonomics, if everything is generally in line with what a 4-in-1 has to offer, there are some points that still deserve attention. For example, in a "pro" perspective, note that the paper loading tray located at the back is not a drawer and accepts only sixty standard sheets (80 g), which can be detrimental, knowing in addition that there is no second tray to store another type or another size of paper.

It can be controlled and configured via a monochrome touch screen of 5.5 cm diagonal, not always very reactive and quite small, which does not facilitate certain manipulations such as scrolling. Perhaps it would have been wise to complete this screen with a few classic buttons. Despite this, the use of the printer is intuitive and if you hesitate in a procedure, it is possible to play a small simplified assistance video.

Updating the firmware is a breeze, but it's a shame you always have to waste a sheet (and some ink) to get the full network information.

The size of the printer is fairly standard for this kind of product (450 x 364 x 224 mm for 5.6 kg). The manufacturing quality is reassuring overall, with plastics that seem solid and that do not retain fingerprints too much, except for a shiny area around the screen. Some alignments lack a bit of precision, but we remain on completely correct finishes in this range. On the other hand, it is a little disappointing to see that the paper receptacle does not open on its own when an impression is launched, and that it is roughly made up of two articulated plastic legs which, for once, really do low end.

Nothing rocket science in the procedure of replacing the ink cartridges (HP 302 or 302XL): just open the cover and proceed with the change.

The rear of the printer is very bare, showing only the paper tray and, in terms of connectivity, the power connector, the USB 2.0 Type-B connector and two telephone sockets for faxing.


Office

The HP OfficeJet 3830 defends itself pretty well, with bit rates measured at 12.8 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white, and 8.6 ppm in color. In a close price range and at a roughly equivalent level of functionality, the Brother DCP-J562DW goes up to 15.4 ppm in black and white. In color, its flow rate is almost identical (8.7 ppm). On the other hand, we can clearly see that a printer more turned towards a domestic use and in particular the photo, like the Canon MG5750, remains far from this level of performance in black and white, with a bit rate of only 5.6 ppm, that 'it counterbalances with 10.5 ppm in color. Overall, the OfficeJet 3830 is therefore on average.

As for the quality of printing in office automation, it is of a good level, whether in black and white or in color. The texts are perfectly legible, whether on a white or colored background; we can see the gradations fairly well in the graphics, even if we have already seen better. The accuracy is good and the ink does not smear.


Scanner and copies

The scanner of the OfficeJet 3830 is a 1200 dpi model which works up to 24 bits on an A4 format. It is a flatbed scanner that facilitates the scanning of books and other bound documents. Its specific paper feed makes it possible to scan / fax several loose sheets in succession. The scanner is fast, allowing you to scan an A4 sheet at 100 dpi in color in just 11 seconds. And it only takes 20 seconds for a 10 x 15 photo at 300 dpi. It's a little better than what the Brother DCP-J562DW does.

This is also the case in copying, an area in which the OfficeJet 3830 is showing its advantage over most of its competitors. It only takes 14 seconds to copy a black and white document and 21 seconds to do the same task in color. In comparison, a home printer like the Canon MG5750 is slower, and even much slower in color.


Photo

In photo, the OfficeJet 3830 is doing quite well even if it is obviously not its primary use. To the eye, the result is in any case very clean. You have to be patient enough, knowing that it is necessary to wait 1 minute and 19 seconds for a 10 x 15 photo print without borders, and 3 minutes and 42 seconds for an A4 print.

The color rendering shows an average delta E of 7.9 which lies between two waters. The OfficeJet 3830 is thus more precise than a printer oriented "pro" like the Brother DCP-J562DW (dE medium to 11), but it is exceeded by the capacities of the more gifted printers in photo like the Canon MG5750 (dE medium to 4.4 ). As a reminder, the limit from which the eye is no longer able to detect a color difference is below 3. The largest color differences are measured on magenta (10.3) and green (10, 2), while the pale red or yellow emerge much more faithfully.


Consumption

With only 1 W consumed in standby and especially 7 W in operation during a photo print, the OfficeJet 3830 is a model of its kind. Few printers are as energy efficient.

The noise emitted during printing is very acceptable. Our sound level meter placed near the printer reported values of 45.6 dB (A) on standard printing and 43 dB (A) on photo printing. The loading of the paper is not much noisier, and it is of course the rollers that advance the paper that we hear the most.


Cost per page

The OfficeJet 3830 works with HP 302 or 302XL cartridges. It comes with starter cartridges with limited capacity. The black and three-color HP 302 cartridges have a print capacity of 190 and 100 pages, respectively. The HP 302XL with higher capacity are obviously more interesting, with capacities given at 480 and 330 pages. Sold at the official price of € 28.90, they allow printing at a cost per page measured at 14.8 cents. That's a lot ... and well above the average cost per page of A4 MFPs (close to 9 cents). It is undoubtedly for this reason that HP intends above all this model for micro-enterprises which print relatively little, between 100 and 250 monthly pages. However, this is one of the main shortcomings of this printer.

Note that the HP OfficeJet 3830 is compatible with the HP Instant Ink program, a program which consists of a subscription billed from € 2.99 per month to guarantee that you always have cartridges with a good level of ink, but limits the quantity of printing to 50 pages per month (with credit to carry forward up to 100 pages). This drastically lowers the cost of printing per page (which drops to 6 cents), which is profitable as soon as you print at least 19 pages per month. On the other hand, we continue to pay even if we do not print, and if we cancel the subscription, the cartridges stop working. To be reserved for those who print regularly therefore.


Conclusion

The HP OfficeJet 3830 barely misses the 4 stars. It is not criticized so much for its slight weaknesses in photography as for its really high cost per page. Its ergonomics are left to the fate of a touchscreen that is too small and not reactive enough, and some finishing details contrast with a product that is reassuring, however. We like, however, its connected functions which take advantage of the integrated Wi-Fi module, its speed in conventional office tasks (printing, but also scanning and copying) which it performs perfectly, as well as its low energy consumption.


Specifications