First impressions - HP Deskjet 3700 printer for smartphone owners

P is proud to announce that the DeskJet 3700 is the smallest MFP in the world, at least when it comes to printers with a built-in scanner. In addition, it is a device dedicated and particularly friendly to mobile devices, from which you can print a document or scan something without any problems and difficult configuration. Let's check how the printer performs in practice.

Size and required space - 5

The HP DeskJet 3700 is indeed an extremely small device and designed so that even when unfolded it does not need much space. The printer is 17.5 cm deep, 13.5 cm high and 40.5 cm wide. As a result, it will successfully fit on a narrow shelf, windowsill or on a small desk. Of course, unfolding it for printing requires a little more space, but not much more. We insert the paper almost vertically, which does not increase the depth of the printer, only its height. Removing the paper drawer is optional and nothing prevents it from hanging in the air. In other words, the printer is great when someone needs to use it from time to time, and when not in use, it needs to take up little space and look nice. The design is attractive and modern.

First run - 5

Setting up the printer is very simple even for first-timers. Just connect the printer to the power supply, turn it on and open the front flap. The ink cartridge holders will automatically move to the center. Then push the containers to the characteristic click and it's ready.

Connecting the printer is also hassle-free. On the card there is an address that can be entered into a browser or a QR code that can be scanned. As a result, we will be transferred to the application store. After installing the HP All-in-One Printer Remote, the program will automatically search for the printer via WiFi, ask for the password for the local WiFi network, automatically go through the next 5 configuration steps and you're done. Additional information can be obtained by holding down the information button, then the printer will print instructions on sheets of paper. Any information needed for future setup will also be printed. From now on, you can use the printer directly from your smartphone and throughout your home network.

Searching for a printer from your computer is also hassle-free. If it has been previously set up from a smartphone and is connected to the same local network as your computer, just run the printer search process in the control panel and it will be found automatically. There was no need to install any drivers or programs on Windows 8.1.

Because the printer has wireless connectivity, it does not need to be placed close to the computer. It is enough that it will be connected to a socket and be within the range of the same WiFi network as the computer. Of course, you can also use a standard USB cable, but this is a bit of a contradiction to one of the great advantages of this device - wireless connectivity.

Copying, printing, scanning - 4

Like any MFP, the HP DeskJet 3700 can self-copy a document like a photocopier, without the help of a smartphone or computer. Just insert a piece of paper into the scanner and press the color or black and white copy button on the housing and wait for the effect. The DeskJet 3700 scans itself and then prints a copy.

The HP All-in-One Printer Remote app allows you to select any graphic file on your smartphone and then print it to your printer by setting basic print quality and layout parameters. Unfortunately, you cannot choose other forms of matching the image to the card than fill the page or fit it on the page. If you do not choose paper smaller than A4, the printout will always be on a full page.

When it comes to printing documents directly from files in the device's memory, the application only understands image and PDF files. We will not print a Word file stored in the phone's memory. However, if we open a Word file, even as a Gmail attachment, it will automatically convert it and enable printing. However, this is a feature of Gmail, not the HP app or printer. Of course, we can print everything from the computer that we can open with the appropriate, installed application.

You can also scan a document and send it directly to your smartphone for archiving, or forward it by e-mail. Then we select the scanning function in the application, insert the document and after a while it appears on the phone screen. Then you can crop by removing unnecessary elements. Cropping works friendly and shows the magnification in the immediate vicinity of the cropping frame, which significantly increases precision. Then the image can be rotated, saved as JPG or PDF, shared or printed.

Be aware that the scanner does not have a flip-up lid and pulls documents in - any other solution would increase the size of the device dramatically. However, this imposes restrictions - we will not scan anything thicker, e.g. pages in a book. There is also no option to scan negatives. I checked that rigid, plastic evidence can be scanned, but it is already at the limit of the scanner's physical capabilities.

Quality of prints - 4 and scans - 3

Let's be clear - the HP DeskJet 3700 is not professional or semi-professional equipment. It has to be friendly, simple, small and inexpensive. For this reason, it is neither a photo printer nor a scanner for photographers. The device works best when printing documents, also in color, with charts, images. You can print prints and scan photos, but the quality is typically for home use. The printed photo can be hung on the fridge, used as an element of room decor. It will look good, but no one will be mistaken that it is a real print, even if we print it on glossy paper. The resolution and smooth transition of color tones is not sufficient for this purpose and was not intended to be.

It's the same with scanning. Thanks to even lighting, no risk of blur or misfocus, the scan looks much better than a photo of the document taken with a camera and gives a more professional impression. This is what a scanner is best for - scanning documents. In the case of images, the quality is medium-poor. The resolution is insufficient, the images show stripes of pixels that are not present in the print. While in a normal scanner almost always the limitation is the resolution of the source, i.e. the print, here it is the other way around. In other words, I wouldn't recommend the HP DeskJet 3700 to digitize old prints, even if it was a one-off operation and there would be few prints. The quality of the originals would be irretrievably lost if it were to be the only copy.

Social Photos - 4-

In addition, the package with the printer included two packs of 10x13 self-adhesive notes with information about the second HP Social Media Snapshots mobile application. It allows you to take photos from Instagram, Facebook, Flickr and Google Photos, and then simply print them on these sticky notes, along with a caption posted on the social network. They are a bit like Polaroid instant prints and are a simple way to create eye-pleasing memories.

The app has its limitations though. After logging into Instagram, it doesn't let you print any photo since the beginning of my account, only one of the last few dozen photos. In the case of Google Photos, we do not have access to the full online archive, nor to the albums created in it, but only to the photos in the device's memory. Of course, you can get around the restrictions yourself by downloading the appropriate photos in the Photos app, but it's certainly not the most convenient. I also had some trouble choosing the right paper size. However, I must admit that the final effect itself is pleasing to the eye and is achieved with a minimum of effort and almost zero knowledge of printing.

Costs and operation - 4

The entire HP DeskJet 3700 MFP costs PLN 299. For a combination of a printer and a scanner in one, very small package, the price is definitely attractive. A set of cartridges costs about PLN 80. Like any inkjet printer, it is not designed to print hundreds of pages a day, but rather to occasionally print needed documents. Black ink lasts for about 350 pages, and color for about 200, but keep in mind that the standards do not specify printing photos that fill the entire page, but the standard 5% ink. If we plan to print a lot and often, it will be more economical to buy a larger, more expensive printer, preferably a laser one, and not a tiny device for occasional use.

Summary

HP DeskJet 3700 is a device dedicated to occasional home use and it works really well in it. It is inexpensive, takes up little space and is very easy to use. You don't even need a computer or USB cable to print photos and documents. All you need is a smartphone with only one application necessary to operate the device. If we want to print out a ticket bought online, a presentation or a few photos posted on Instagram, or scan and send a signed document to someone, it will be a friendly experience even for complete laymen. This ease of use with a smartphone is the strength of the HP DeskJet 3700.

However, this is not a device dedicated to advanced users, i.e. those who print a lot and often, who want to scan materials in high resolution and print the highest quality prints, no different from prints made in a lab.

Therefore, when choosing the HP DeskJet 3700, it's important to know what your needs are. If the device is to be used occasionally and in the meantime does not take up space, it is a great choice. If it is to be subjected to rigorous performance and quality tests, it is not necessarily.

All-in-One Printer Remote

Printing

HP Social Media Snapshots

Scanning

Scan straight from your device