The Way We See It
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| Excellent |
| Good |
| Average |
| Poor |
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| Setup |
7.5 |
| Print Quality |
7.6 |
| Speed |
8.0 |
| Paper Handling |
7.5 |
| Supplies |
7.4 |
| Service/Reliabilty |
6.9 |
| TOTAL |
44.9 |
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In Short: The Color LaserJet 3800 series from Hewlett Packard will compete in the small office color laser space though it is physically larger than even most business class models. The HP 3800 is available in several configurations starting under $800 for the 3800 and going up to $1399 for the 3800dtn. All versions of the printer print true 600X600 dpi with HP ImageRET and include 96MB RAM, 533 MHz processor, USB port, and PostScript3 emulation. The 3800 comes standard with a 250 sheet feeder and a 100 sheet Multi-Purpose feeder. The 3800n adds an internal network Ethernet 100 Base T and has 160MB RAM. The 3800dn ships with an additional 122MB and auto-duplex unit. The 3800dtn adds another 500-sheet feeder for a total capacity of 850 sheets including the MP tray. The printer, though quite large, was easy enough to unpack and the four toner-drum units dropped in their respective slots without a hitch. The driver installation was fairly quick. The print quality is good for most business applications though the enhanced 600 dpi limitation does show up on smaller details and color accuracy. The black text looks good. At a maximum rating of up to 22ppm, this printer compares favorably to other machines in the personal color laser printer space but is priced much closer to the business class products. The six main replacement supplies are accessible once you open the front hood on the printer. Replacing the toners is simple but the very sensitive transfer belt becomes exposed and can be easily damaged accidentally. Like it’s bigger brother the 4700n, printing monochrome on the 3800 will use all four imaging units but only the black toner. This results in a very high cost per page for black and white printing since you are forced to replace the color cartridges even if you never print color. To avoid this you must put the printer in it’s ‘mostly black’ mode.
The Bottom Line: The HP color LaserJet 3800 series is a mid-range color laser that competes with current small office models like the Ricoh CL3500n. The printer is slower and more limited compared to most business class color lasers, but much larger than other small office lasers. Limited paper handling, processor, and RAM make this printer less desirable for office users. The larger physical size and price tag make it less desirable for small office or personal users. It seems that the 3800 is priced closer to that of business class color laser printers but offer the features and performance found mostly in the small office class. The 3800n will work in the UNIX, Mac OS, and Windows environments.
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