Customer Reviews

HP Deskjet 3050A e-All-in-One Printer (Print, Scan, Copy, AirPrint, Wireless, e-Print)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I received my printer in 2 working days (despite only using the free Super Saver delivery) and it was packaged brilliantly as expected. Unpacking the printer was easy with everything easily accessible and sadly I got excited as the printer came inside a nice handy bag(!) within the box which will come in handy for shopping! Also, amazingly it comes with FREE INK to get you started which is such a bonus. It also comes with lots of manuals, CD ROM and a USB cable (I think - well I'm sure mine did) but I haven't used that as it was so easy to set up the wireless connectivity.

The set-up couldn't have been easier and even though I am 21, I do sometimes have difficulty with electrical items if the instructions are naff. However, there was a fold out instruction page with clear diagrams and step by step instructions which meant my printer was ready to use after about 15 minutes. I've read people had difficult setting up the wireless so I was expecting difficulties but it really was super easy, you just follow the on-screen instructions and it does it all for you!

The printer itself is a good size, I hate clumpy ones that take up all your space but this sits neatly and is rather compact on my desk. I've printed off lots of essays and a few pictures and the print quality is actually very good for the price and also surprisingly speedy.

For £39 (which is what I paid), I think it is absolutely excellent value and a really great, speedy and compact printer with good print quality. I will update the review in a few weeks on how long the ink lasts. Ink I understand is of average price and you can buy the 'XL' versions of the ink which are HP's extra value (more expensive - but last much longer) so I am likely to invest in those.

********UPDATE ON INK!!!!! - The ink that comes free ran out pretty quickly (as expected). After reading around a bit, I found that generally the standard 301 HP ink cartridges are a bit naff and do run out quickly. BUT! I have just bought the 301XL ink which has much more ink and already I am noticing a huge difference - it is SO much better value for money so I would recommend buying the 301XL black and colour ink cartridges (from Amazon.co.uk or an Amazon merchant as it's miles cheaper than in the shops) with the printer if you can afford it. ***********

Overall, a great product for me (a university student) with average printing needs - essays, Powerpoint documents and some photos. Very chuffed with this! **UPDATE - still using it all the time, and still absolutely thrilled**

Bought this printer to replace an ageing Canon. It proved very straightforward to set up - getting the Network info via a temporary USB cable from the computer. Unfortunately a few weeks later we bought a new router and changed networks. Despite following the instructions it proved impossible to convert it to the new network - then after nearly 2 hours and many attempts it just worked - I still don't know what I did differently but I forgive it now. I particularly like having it's own e mail address so that you can send it e mails and documents to print from remote locations - arrive home and there they are - printed.

You may think it silly to justify so much praise when I'm upgrading from a fairly old product (HP C4180), but technology moves so fast these days that my former 'all in one' still feels like it was bought yesterday. Of course, I had my reasons to ditch it;

- With now having more than one computer/device in the house, it was becoming a hassle to copy documents to one computer in order to print them off. Wireless is clearly the way to go.

- Ink... Ink... Ink! Printers now seem to be getting better in terms of value, and I was swayed by the two types of cartridge that you can get for this product - Economy (cheap) and XL (value).

- The print quality itself had started to drain. That could just be down to maintenance, but we've had the product for several years so I can't complain.

This 'HP Deskjet 3050A' (note that the 'A' means this is the updated model) manages to solve all these problems, and does so at a bargain of a price. In the box you'll find;

+ The device itself, which of course features Scan, Copy and Print functions.
+ Power cable and the adapter to go with it. This has been reduced in size and, judging by the thinness of the cable, requires less power which is great.
+ Software on disc for both Windows (XP, Vista and 7) and Macintosh (up to 10.6 Snow Leopard). This software can also be downloaded via the HP website, which is just as well as the DVD drive on our Windows XP machine conked out as I ejected it! Further more, if your Apple Mac has OS 10.7 Lion installed, you will NEED to download the latest software from the HP website. Do not install the CD-ROM.
+ Instructions with more form of dialect than C-3PO.
+ USB cable (a rarity for this value of printer)
+ Black and Colour Ink Cartridges, code HP-301. Check out the prices!

Setting up the product will require a bit of patience, but its all fairly straightforward. Before you faff around with your computers of devices, its important to power up the printer and install the cartridges/do an alignment check. Once this has finished, you're free to then connect it to your computer(s) via USB or wireless (Wi-Fi) connectivity.

USB is obviously the easiest route and has come along miles since even my former printer. After downloading the software (which was only 70mb in size, or 3-minutes to download which is nothing) you simply plug in your printer, ignore Windows panicking about drivers, install the software and let it do the rest. From download to installation it all took about 7/8-minutes, so I was mightily impressed. It even sets the printer as the new default for you.

As a suggestion, I would personally recommend that you just download the software as this will ensure it is up-to-date. It only took a few minutes too, which makes the CD-ROM somewhat redundant these days.

For the iMac of the house, we would be connecting wirelessly. The HP software was again downloaded from HP and offers plentiful options/small programs that are fantastic for getting the most out of the product; most of which are not available for the Windows platform. This isn't "junk ware" though - it all sits in its own HP folder in your Applications are are very necessary to the operation of the product.

Setting up via Wi-Fi took a bit longer to fathom. With the printer turned on, the installation program will recognise it in a list (amongst any other devices you want to set-up for ePrint) and so you click to proceed. In my case, two of the same 'devices' were listed; one had 'Network' listed as the description, the other had 'HP Auto Connect'. Not knowing which to select, I used the latter and couldn't get it to pair with my computer, yet after choosing the 'Network' one later, it connected easily. My mistake of course, but it would have been nice to have more assistance on the matter!

Also, this installation process must come after you have actually told the printer to connect to your router. Again, this is an 'obvious' process, so you must remember to actually go to the printer, scroll to the Wireless menu, turn it ON and then pair it with your router in a matter of seconds. Once this is done, you're then OK to go to your computer and set it up wirelessly.

Without this confusion, I could have been connected in under 5-minutes, but thats the nature of computing... 90% you're doing things backwards!

Once you're all installed on Mac OS, you have a range of fine options, and the best bit of course is that the entire communication with the printer and your computer is now wireless. On your Widgets space you get a great new app that lets you monitor the Ink levels (brilliant!) and in your HP folder (Finder > Applications) you have a range of new applications that let you make the most of the features.

HP Utility is easily the best printer management software I've yet to encounter, and its clean interface is only matched by the amount of ways it allows you to control your product. HP Scan 3 is a very effective program that, as the name suggests, allows you to control the scanning process and is again definitely a step-up from some of the older HP software I've used. Likewise, HP Scan Destinations allows you to choose presets for how you scan (Picture, OCT or PDF), the file type for those presets, and then even the application that it opens with. As an example, you could make one to scan in TIFF and then open up automatically in Adobe Photoshop. This also rids of the need for TWAIN support, which has of course been dropped.

Scanning quality is a major step-up from my former printer. Its so good in fact that I've put off my plans to get a separate flatbed, for the definition of the PPI is much greater than what the same value would have been on my old C4180, which means I can scan in lower resolutions. This process can be done either automatically through your computer, or manually through the device.

Since the product's main interface (a screen which can be tilted up) has just 3 menu buttons, you have the immediate option to Scan, Copy or print a Quick Form. The latter is almost a 'template'-like option, and I imagine will have a small audience.

Print quality itself is superb and really couldn't be any better for a product of this price point. Its exceeded my expectations; text is incredibly sharp and doesn't appear to bleed at all. Colours can be a little muted, but this is to be expected with any non-laser printer. Perhaps i'm slightly biased in that I only really print off text documents, but I would say the colour reproduction is good enough for everyday use certainly. Thats what this printer is all about; everyday use and value.

With this in mind, I had a good chuckle at the included 'bag' which is included and allows you to carry the printer around. If I was still at University then this would have been excellent, but for in the home it will more or less be assigned to taking the product to a different room. Still, its a brilliant touch by HP and perfectly summarises their stand-point on who this product is intended for.

The only niggle I've found with the product is that, as is becoming increasingly common these days, the device is designed to be left on 24/7 and allowed to go into a Standby/Power Save mode. Its all to do with the Wi-Fi; if you turn the device off completely, then it resets the connection to your computer and so you have to go through the whole syncing process again. This is only for Wi-Fi though, so if you plan on a USB connection then you can turn it off without a worry.

All in all, this has been a delightful purchase that either matches or exceeds my expectations in just about every department. The build quality is perhaps the only feature that may drop on that note, but give this is a stationary product and its fantastic price, the flimsiness of particular parts can be forgotten. have no hesitation in recommending this to home or office users that just want a value all-in-one product without the bells and whistles of separate ink cartridges, card-readers or specialised photo printing.

*Edit* - I have now discovered that the Wi-Fi dropping (after extended periods of time) is actually a router issue. Unplugging the routers power cable and plugging it back in (to reset it) resumes the connection to the printer as normal. If anyone has similar experiences, then please drop a line below!

This printer is fantastic value for money. Super easy to set up for wifi, just follow the instructions and in a few minutes it is all done. Very fast compared to other printers I have owned and unlike some reviewers, I did not find it particularly noisy. Definately highly recomend it.HP Deskjet 3050A e-All-in-One Printer (Print, Scan, Copy, AirPrint, Wireless, e-Print)

This was an excellent price and arrived promptly. Just got it installed today ( I had to have help with that) and am delighted with the way it performs. Very quick and easy to understand. I am a 77 year old woman and I can use it no bother. Would recommend it to anyone looking for an All-in-One Printer.

This is simply a little gem of a printer. For sub-£40 it has transformed our household's, consisting of two 'fixed' PC's and three further laptop's, printing needs. Replacement cartridges are dirt cheap and extra capacity versions are available at roughly double the price and I recently bought both from Amazon for less than £30. Print is crisp and clear and is churned out at a reasonable rate. Even the networking is simple to install using the set-up CD on each computer in-turn. More than meets our everyday needs. Even photo's are pretty good on glossy paper and our more expensive multi-cartridge 'photo' printer stands idle most of the time now. So if you need a cheap replacement printer for the family's everyday requirements and have WiFi at home I would seriously give this a shot!

Bought this to replace a previous HP all in one which gave sterling service. This product looks equally promising with the set up and operation excellent. Even comes with little bag to carry it in. Hooked up to our wireless network no probs. I think a previous reveiwer stated that it had to be left switched on to pick up the network but ours is switched on when needed (dont like leaving things plugged in and on standby) and it picks up the network ok. All in all a good product for the price though did find it cheaper in a local supermarket after buying from Amazon. Would give it five stars but its only a printer and cant say hand on heart that I love it so its gets 4 but highly recommended!

My teenage daughter had this set up and working within 10 minutes. Very useful for her to be able email prints home from school. Good print quality and very good value for money.

I bought this printer to share in the house. A key feature was its claim to be wireless. The printer never stayed connected for longer than a day. A PC reboot, router restart or printer power off required a full uninstall then reinstall. Picture quality was OK but connectivity was terrible. Got a refund and opted for Canon instead

Very easy to setup and had working within minutes. Airprints with no fuss of my iphone and kids ipods and wirelessly prints of laptop and imac with no fuss (imac setup is either with disc or internet depending on version of imac software). Only had since yesterday but so far so good. On the disc there is also an option to re-do wireless printer settings, of which I had to do because of router change, a couple of clicks and link laptop with disc in to printer via usb cable, it checks latest software etc then wifi/router settings and sends to printer, brill. Had a Kodak 5.1 before this that stopped working wirelessly after 3 days and no amount of fiddling would get it to work so sent it back - this is almost a third of the price yet so much more user friendly.