HP COLOR LASERJET 2840 COLOR TONER CARTRIDGES SET

HP Laserjet 2840 Review

Overview:

At the time of the HP Laserjet 2840’s release in 2007, it was one of the few color laser print centers in the sub $1000 range. Now, refurbished units can be picked up at a bargain, but don’t’ expect this rapidly aging device to be able to compete in the area of speed with the much faster models available today.

Pros:

Back when color laser multifunctional units had just dropped below a thousand dollars into the three digit price range, it was basically a market that consisted of two devices. One of them was the HP Laserjet 2840 and the other was from Canon, the ImagaClass MF8170c. They were similar in many ways, though the HP outperformed the Canon in many ways. Unfortunately, both models are now bordering on obsolescence due to their slow performance speeds, but are still very capable of producing a variety of impressive color output, be it at a sluggish speed.

The HP Laserjet 2840’s control panel is intuitive and obviously well designed. Buttons are paired together according to their relative functions, making for a very user friendly arrangement. An LCD screen and alphanumeric keypad are also part of the dedicated controls, and when dealing with faxes, one touch dial buttons are included as well via five speed dial keys.

Also found on the front of the HP Laserjet 2840 are a set of media card slots. Using portable storage devices, users can print photos and other data directly from media cards, making the HP Laserjet 2840, effectively, a stand alone printer as well as copy and fax machine.

Cons:

The color scans produced by the HP Laserjet 2840 are of disappointing quality, and the unit is surprisingly noisy when printing. Being a laser printer, it is virtually silent when not in operation, but once output starts cranking out the device roars much louder than the sleeker units currently available.

Truly though, the device’s major down side is, as stated earlier, its horrendous print speeds. While printing in black and white at 20 pages per minute is merely frownable, its 4 page per minute color print speed is absolutely awful. Keep in mind that when rating print speeds, HP deals with a print area the size of a postage stamp, so full sized pictures will take considerably longer to print. There is a slight redeeming quality to the monochrome print speed, however, and that’s that it remains at 20 pages per minute whether printing in draft mode, normal quality mode, or at best quality.

The reason behind the HP Laserjet 2840’s incredibly slow print speed is its ridiculous, old print technology that uses multiple pass color printing. Using a carousel, four pass system, each page is cycled four times through the printer, each time printing in a different color. This process is not only far outdated, but extremely loud as well. The HP Laserjet 2840 seems to rattle and bang much more than other machines both of its era and when compared to much more efficient units now on store shelves.