HP Deskjet F2400 All in One Series

This review is for the HP Deskjet F2400 All in one Printer.

Setup

This printer is pretty tough to set up. You are provided with a disc which you have to install onto the computer and once you have done this it takes a good 30 minutes for the software to load up and all that loads up is the drivers for the printer which you need and a piece of software which is there to talk to you about the ink.

You then have to try and put the cartridges into the printer which again is pretty simple but once you have them in there you have lights flashing all over the place and your left confused about how you deal with the lights. Just click the on and off button and it will print this piece of paper asking you to look at how it turned out so you can work out if the printer has the alignment correct. Once you have gone through all this procedure you are then finished and ready to begin.

Design

The design of this printer is pretty nice you have this blue type of colour mixed with a silver tint for the majority of the printer and you have a thick bulky look to it. On the left hand side on the top is the power button and this is not easy to ignore as it is fairly big.

You then below the power button have got this little section with miniature pictures and they will flash up depending if there are any issues with the printer at all such as a paper jam.

At the front if the draw tray which comes out for you to insert the paper into and then you have the fold down function which allows you to play the cartridges inside.
Round the back are where the main power connection is plugged in and the USB cable you need to use as well to create a connection with the laptop and the printer.
The rest of the design is just coloured plastic and that is it really.

Statistics

This printer is 43.7 cm in width, 29 cm in depth and 16 cm in height. The printer is extremely big looking when you are viewing pictures but when you take it out of the box the size seems to increase further. This could be a worry for some people.

This printer weighs a massive 4.9kg which to me is to excessive for what you are getting here. This could be a worry for people with weak computer desks or people who struggle to carry heavy objects so with the added sizes and weight it could be a tricky piece of equipment to move.

There is also 4800 x 1200 DPI for which is actually pretty much standard with most printers.

The printer claims it can print 20 pages per minute in black ink and I have to say this is absolutely correct. I did 20 sheets of paper the other day without paying much attention and it was out within a minute and in quick drying ink as well so that is definitely truthful.

If you are doing a coloured page you could get up to 16 pages per minute and this yet again is spot on as well and you might be able to achieve a much higher rate than this as well.

If you’re doing a full page photo you can perhaps do 4 a minute but that is the best you can achieve. They recommend you can obtain 5 but that sadly cannot be done.
You can store 100 pages apparently in this printer but when I have tried this it begins to have issues with how accurate the page goes through the printer at so the best option is to store 50 pages and that is it.

The Scanner size is flatbed and the dimensions are 215x297 mm which is not too bad and I would estimate this is standard with most printers.

The copier can copy 20 images per minute and have them printer and sadly this is very wrong because the images take a while to scan and print so that is a hard figure to justify.

Your copier can increase an image from 25 – 200% which all depends on yourself and how big you want the image to turn out.

Printing

I like how this printer actually prints the pages for you. If you are like me and tend to just click on print and wait for the outcome then this printer might shock you. Every time you attempt to print a document out whether it is a simple picture of just a document with words on a menu pops up on the computer screen and tells you the percentage of the print which is done but also the other good part is it will tell you how much ink the print might require and how much you have left as an estimate so again that is very good information to have available to you.

You will find if you want an essay printer off really quickly this printer can deliver very good speed and it does it with ink which seems to dry instantly. Every time I have printed a document out there has never been an issue with ink which is still wet or even making marks elsewhere on the sheet of paper.

When it comes to pictures I find you definitely need photo paper and the reason is even though the quality of the picture on a normal sheet of plain white paper is not too bad the ink tends to take a while to dry but if you push against the picture you sometimes pierce the paper altogether and ruin the image you have printed off.
The speed for the prints you receive is always very quick and perhaps it is too quick for comfort as you might assume it might not be printing correctly but I have never had an issue yet with printing and no colours not showing it accordingly or problems with text out of place.

Cartridges

The cartridges for this printer are extremely easy to obtain and most local retailers who deal with computers tend to have them available. There price is yet again fairly good and I have known places sell the black cartridge for just £10 and the colour cartridge for just £12.

I think the prices are good and you will find the cartridges can last an awful long time, they suggest after 1000 pages of text you need a new black cartridge and recently I did a notice to people where I work and had to print over 1,500 sheets of paper and I still have ink left so it is very good for the cartridges lasting a long time.

The Scanner and Copier

The scanner is pretty simple to use although I worry with the lid overall as it can be a tricky thing to hold down when the scanning takes place.

When you want to scan and item you place it face down and you click on the scan button on the printer itself and it will scan the images for you directly to the computer. You then have the image once scanned appear and you can alter is by cutting off the edges and increasing the size. You can take this route and then print it how you want it to appear.

You could alternatively do the copying part which is where you just click on copy and how it scans it will print out and that can be done in either black or white or by colour.
This copier is pretty good but if you hang a book page perhaps slightly out of the boundary then it prints the image like that so I would recommend doing a scan first to see exactly what you’re printing out.

Good Points

This printer actually does deliver when it comes to the statistics it provides for you. There are a few it might not necessary adhere to but in my view it does what it says it will do. The speed for which the images and text are printed are done effortlessly and without any issues.

I think the menu you get given on the screen every time you are using the printer very good because I love to know an estimate of how much ink I have left and if you reach a certain point the printer tells you to purchase more so you have some available for when the time comes. You would hate it when you are printing something important and the ink finally runs out and ruins it all for you.

There is no sound to this printer, the only time you tend to hear anything loud is when the copying function is being done and that can be a loud noise to begin with but silent when the printing begins. At first you are amazed it has printed so quickly with hardly any sound and sometimes you get pages print with no sound at all so that is impressive for me.

I think the prices for the cartridges are absolutely fantastic and this is prices for them without me doing much research to other places either so for the duration they last and for the great price of a replacement you’re getting a real bargain there.

Bad Points

The setup for this printer can take what seems forever. You get a disc and you just need to load it on but it tries to delete other printers you have on your system and demands you shut down programmes and it takes forever. The best part is if you want any guidance with installation the instruction manual is mainly in other languages and not your own. You have just 2 pages of help and even though that is pointless as it does nothing to assist you.

The size of the printer might be an issue for people because we all like a printer stored away when we are not using it but available when we do so I tend to use mine on a computer desk I have but some people might not have a big enough desk to use this printer on so that is a problem which needs looking at and serious consideration by many.

The loading tray for me might be the final problem as when you put in anything from 60 sheet to 100 you tend to find the image or text has come out completely different and at an angle so you are recommended to me to just put a maximum of 50 sheets inside.

Summary

I personally love this printer because it prints so fast, it has good life for the cartridges and price and you can have good scanned images and copied documents all done from the one machine.

The size might be a stumbling block due to the space you might need to store this device but for me that is just a side issue.

I paid nothing for this printer and the current best price was Argos for just a small sum of £34.99 and this was just before Christmas and I was stunned how cheap it was going for.

Perfect for a small office or a teenager during their exams.