Awkward Design, Wonderful All-n-One Laser Functionality

Hewlett Packard offers a large variety of printers—laser and inkjet—to fulfill just about every printing need; large or small, color or monochrome, single purpose, or multifunction, chances are HP makes it. When we needed a multi-function laser printer to put in our data center we opted for the HP LaserJet 3380 All-n-One printer. This particular printer is attached directly to a Dell Optiplex GX-270, but I do have an HP JetDirect 175x external print server waiting to be installed.

In the Box

o HP LaserJet 3380 All-n-One printer
o Quick Installation Guide
o Software Installation Discs
o Power Brick and Cable
o Toner Cartridge
o Installation and Reference Book

Product Description (From Hewlett Packard): The LaserJet 3380 All-In-One integrates a high-speed monochrome printer, sheet-fed scanner, copier and fax machine into one unit to save you time, money and aggravation…Incredibly efficient with 32MB of memory and a 240MHz processor, you also have the speed of USB 2.0 connectivity. The printer delivers outstanding image quality using ProRes 1200…The paper tray can handle up to 250 sheets, and it comes with a 50 page automatic document feeder. You can use a variety of paper up to 8.5" x 14" as well. The color scanner reads at up to 600 x 600 dpi optical with interpolation up to 9600 x 9600 dpi. 24-bit color captures millions of colors. The digital copier produces a maximum resolution of 600x600 dpi on. Reduce and enlarge between 25-400 percent and make up to up to 99 copies from original. Make a maximum of 20 copies per minute. Its fax function provides fast, convenient faxing through a 33.6Kbps modem. Use its auto redial, billing codes, fax forwarding, fax auto-reduction, block fax barrier, fax delayed sending, polling-receive and distinctive ring detection to help your workgroup communication.

First Impressions:

One for the first things I notice about the HP LaserJet 3380 is the printer’s unusual design; the flatbed scanner sits on top of a rather high sheet feeder—into which a 250-sheet tray is fitted—giving the printer a rather large vertical footprint. I do not like the design and one would be hard pressed to utilize this printer in a small office environment.

Despite the awkward shape, the HP LaserJet 3380 like most HP printers is highly functional, well designed and built. Akin to most All-n-One units the front panel buttons and displays make operating the fax and copier portions of the unit without a PC a snap. Controls for copying documents and faxing are all displayed here, so that these two functions can be controlled without the aid of a PC. A convenient dial-pad for the fax is also located here. Limited scan functionality is afforded here, but it only allows you to scan to a an application in the software.

One feature I appreciated is the backlit display; not all HP models have this feature, which can make the display extremely hard to read especially in low lighting conditions. Another feature I appreciate is the power-save mode the printer can be set to enter after an hour. This is useful since the printer is left on 24/7 in case we need to print it from another location (it is shared out on the local PC. The unit connects to the PC via traditional parallel port, or USB (1.1 and 2.0) out of the box, a variety of external HP printer servers can be utilized as well.

The software (in my case Windows XP Professional) was simple to install, and like most of the HP multifunctional printers, offers adequate functionality giving the user access to all of the functions of the unit. Software drivers for Windows 98/Me/Se/2000/XP, as well as Mac System 9 – 10, are included on the enclosed CD. The software installation under WinXP was flawless and loads effortlessly upon restart. Sharing the printer on the network is a snap without the aid of a network card (NIC). I just shared the printer on the PC and then granted access to the “Everyone” group. No need to purchase an extra NIC for the printer though as I stated earlier an external print server can be purchased for it and connected via the USB or parallel ports. If you are considering sharing the printer on a large network a separate NIC would be advised. I recommend the HP JetDirect 175x, which can be connected via an open USB port and costs about $100.00 retail.

One of the reasons we opted for a multifunction, or All-in-One, in our downstairs work area was and is the need to occasionally scan paperwork (invoices waybills, installation documentation, etc.) into the computer, send faxes, make copies, and of course print (done daily). While a smaller HP All-n-One would certainly have done the job we choose the HP LaserJet 3380because it ships with an automatic (50-sheet) document feeder attached to the 11x14 scanner. The HP LaserJet 3380 makes handling scanned documents and or pictures easy via the document feeder and build-in software.

Like most HP printers the HP LaserJet 3380’ print quality is exceptional, but it isn’t color. The black text is sharp and crisp with no noticeable striping, however when the toner cartridge is finished, it’s finished. With most HP toner cartridges when the tone warning message comes on, you can usually prolog its life by removing it from the printer, gently shaking it from side-to-side, then placing it back in the unit. Not so with the HP LaserJet 3380; it will need to be replaced on demand otherwise nasty things will happen to your printout.

All things considered we are very pleased with the performance of the HP LaserJet 3380. The printer has seen no down-time since it was put into place almost two years ago. And while I would not recommend this unit for a small office environment where space most likely would be an issue, for our environment the HP LaserJet 3380 fit right in.

General Specifications:

o Technology: Laser
o Output Type: Monochrome Print
o Maximum Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi
o Black Print Speed: 20 ppm
o Zoom Range, Enlargement: 400%
o Zoom Range Reduction: 25%
o Platform: PC, Mac
o Media type: Paper (plain, glossy, bond, and premium), envelopes, transparencies, labels, card stock, photo paper, banner paper, brochure and flyer paper.
o Media Sizes: Letter, legal, executive, cards, envelopes, labels.
o Paper Tray Capacity: 250 sheets.
o Print Cartridges: 1 black
o Automatic Document Feeder: Standard, 50 sheets
o Software Included: HP Director, HP Scan to Web, HP Creative Photo Projects, ReadIRIS OCR.
o Weight: 30.8lbs.

Printer Specifications:

o Print speed, up to 20 pages per minute (ppm)
o Recommended monthly volume, maximum: 10,000 pages
o Print quality, black: up to 1200 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi)
o Memory Standard: 32MB
o Memory Standard: 96MB
o Connectivity, Standard: USB 2.0, IEEE 1284B-compliant bi-directional parallel
o Connectivity, Optional: HP Jet Direct External print servers: HP Jet Direct 170x, 175x, 300x, 500x, en3700; HP wireless print servers: 380x, bt1300
o Print Drivers Standard: Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000 Professional/XP, Mac OS 9.1/9.2/10/10.1

Fax Specifications:

o Color Fax: No
o Fax resolution, best: 300 x 300 dpi
o Fax Speed: 33.6 Bps
o Fax transmission speed (seconds per page): 3 seconds per page.
o Fax memory: 100 pages.
o Fax auto-redial: Yes.
o Fax broadcast: unlimited from phonebook.
o Fax forwarding: Yes
o Junk Fax barrier: Yes
o Distinctive ring detection: Yes
o Speed dials, maximum number: 130 pages.

Scanner Specifications:

o Scanner type: Flatbed
o Scan resolution, enhanced: 9600 dpi.
o Scan resolution, optical: 600 x 600 dpi.
o Bit depth: up to 24-bit.
o Levels of grayscale: 256