HP DeskJet All in One 3720 review

Little more than a mobile phone but full of features like a bulky multifunction, HP Deskjet All in One 3720 is a printer dedicated to those who, having no special printing needs, want a complete and extremely compact product. A printer that surprised us, however, also for the print quality and for its being extremely SMART.

There are Smartphones, SmarTVs, Smartwatches and now, thanks to HP, even SmartPrinters.

HP Deskjet All in one 3720, the smallest All in One in the world, it is in fact just that, an intelligent multifunction that encloses scanner, copier and printer, in a compact and lively body that measures when closed just 140mm in height (little more than an iPhone), is 403mm wide and has a depth of 180mm. The design is modern and although at first glance the small 3720 gives the impression of a “fragile” product, we can guarantee that it is fairly resistant even in those parts, such as the paper trolley, which are usually more exposed to accidental impacts. The plastics are however quite light and also contribute to making the printer easy to transport, also thanks to the absence of wires - apart from the power supply one - which makes it almost as comfortable as a portable printer.

La HP Deskjet All In One 3720 it is available in three different colors, white / blue, white / pearl gray and white / sea water; to change is the upper part of the printer and the front HP badge. Priced at just $ 60 on Amazon, the 3720 is also arguably the cheapest wireless all-in-one around. The Wireless features are among the greatest advantages of this printer. The connection with is rather simple and intuitive. Once the updated software has been installed, which can be downloaded from the internet, a wizard helps us in the first installation and especially in connecting to the home wifi network. Once the procedure is complete and the test print has started, the small 3720 is ready for use.

The WiFi signal is always very strong even if you move the printer to rather shielded corners of the house and, in our tests, we were able to print even by bringing the small house from HP upstairs compared to the one where the modem was located / router. The Deskjet All in One 3720 is also packed with the features Airprint, which allow you to print directly from your iOS or Android mobile phone, without the need for any special configuration or external software. Just click on the Print button and the printer will be automatically detected by your smartphone. The Wifi functionality is, ultimately, so well functioning that not even once in our month of use, we have felt the need to use the supplied USB cable. If this is not enough, it is even possible to print from outside the home, by sending your print to a specific eMail address. The supplied software seems to support this vocation, and in fact the two HP All-in-One Remote and HP Social Media Snapshots apps are optimized for mobile use (Android, iOS and Windows).

Print and Scan

Print quality is generally very good considering the price and the main “Home” use of the product. We particularly loved the rendering with color documents, which on glossy paper appear very faithful to the original image on the screen, as well as the good rendering of the text, defined enough, although not at the level of HP's most advanced InkJet or Laser printers. It's in the photo printing, in any case, that the little HP gives its best: Especially when used with photo paper, the Deskjet All in One 3720 returns detailed images and vivid, vibrant colors.

Print speed in normal mode, both text only and images, is pretty good (about 8 pages per minute for text, 4 pages per minute for color documents), while the printer is quite slow when selecting the printer. highest quality and printing on photo paper, taking even more than a couple of minutes to print a photo on A4 sheet.

During our tests, we also had the opportunity to try a new adhesive photo paper in 10 × 13 format. HP advertises this new product as ideal for printing images from social media, and in fact, come to think of it, the final effect is that of a modern Polaroid, with the convenience of being able to save shared images online, even on paper.

One of the most important aspects for a printer is the cost per page. The Deskjet is equipped with two cartridges, one for black and one for tri-color, both with numbering 304. While for black and white printing we have not managed to run out of the cartridge yet despite the over 100 printed pages (HP claims a yield of 120 pages, but we are sure we can greatly exceed this limit) with color printing things did not go quite as well. In fact, we were able to print 5 full-page A4 photos plus about 18 photos in 10 × 13 format before the final inability to continue printing. In reality, the cartridge depletion signal appeared after just 5 A4 photos and 9 10 × 13 photos, but this did not stop us from continuing with our prints. Another interesting difference compared to other printers is that the 3720 series allows you to continue printing even if one of the two cartridges is completely exhausted.

Fortunately, the cost of HP cartridges is not very high: on Amazon both cartridges can be purchased at a cost of about 10 euros each (which makes about 7 euro cents per copy in B / W) while the XL version is available at a price of 25 euros.

HP in any case, even for this printer, also provides a service called Instant ink which allows you to print as many color or b / w copies as you want at a flat rate every month. A solution that is certainly very convenient, but which is perhaps not really “in target” with the type of user this printer is aimed at.

Scanning, as well as copying, is very simple thanks to the printing software and it takes only a few seconds to make a photocopy. In fact, what surprised us at first glance was HP's ability to place a scanner in such a small device. The trick, of course, lies in having eliminated the glass top: instead of placing the sheets to be scanned on the table as in a classic multifunctional, with the 3720 you just need to insert the sheet into the appropriate slot of the scanner and you're done. In a few seconds you will have your copy or your digitization.

Final comment.

HP Deskjet All in One 3720 is a smart printer, designed for "off-site students" without much space or for those who want a small and economical multifunction that really does everything: photocopying, scanning and of course printing, in the simplest way . All without ruining the aesthetics of a modern studio. The print quality, especially for the photos, is really good considering the street price of the product, while the cost per page could have been better. Ultimately, however, we would certainly recommend it if you feel represented in one of the aforementioned categories.