Hewlett Packard LaserJet 2820 Printer

The HP 2820 Printer has nearly everything one could want without having to buy a really expensive copier in the thousands of dollors. The HP printer is set up, networks well, software easy to use, scanning easy, print quality very good. No automatic double siding or stapling; but, double-siding is easy to do manually.

There are two significant downsides:
1. The printer is noisy, esp. when printing in color, and recalibrates at a user-defined prior of period. It sounds like a large machine from a era gone by.
2. The toner cartridges have page counters. So, even if you've not used all of the toner up, they won't work after their set number of pages. Worse yet, the drum for the whole printer has a 30,000 page count and then it must be replaced, even if it's fine. While B&W count as one page; color prints count as three pages for every page that comes out of the printer. This makes the printing costs much higher.
3. Can't print half tone to save toner, like other LaserJet printers, because of #2.
4. Slow to print the first page, but otherwise pretty fast.

The software is a little slow and does hog up more system resources than I think is really necessary. but, it works well. One can put it on one computer with the USB and still use the ethernet for the rest of the computers on the network.


If you need FAX capability or the convenienec of sticking in digital camera storage media, you can do the HP 2840 for quite a bit more. I personally don't think these additional items on the 2840 are that important, compared to the cost.



I'm pleased with the 2820 printer, but will continue using my LaserJet 2100 for larger B&W print jobs, because of the cost savings.

This all in one machine is good if you are interested in scanning and copying. Printing is OK but it takes a few seconds to start and it is a bit slow. Also, you have to be aware that it creates a lot of noise because the technology is a little strange. The ink cartridges have to rotate every time it prints. It is a good printer for the money. Be aware that it does not come with the main paper tray. It only comes with the built in tray 1 (feeder tray). The additional tray is about $120, an additional expense I was not aware of. Also, be careful, ink is pricey on these printers. Using a Canon copies will cost you less per copy.