HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One Wireless Color Printer, HP Instant Ink, Works with Alexa (K7V40A)

Short version: If you want a reasonably priced, reliable printer that is simple to install and easy to use, this HP Officejet 3830 is a great choice.Set-up: The set up takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and it instantly works with all your devices on the same wifi network. There's no need to download a particular app (though it offers a good one if you like that sort of thing), nor does it require any special set up with your computer.Use: This printer is self-explanatory and intuitive. The touch screen isn't very large, but it's much more responsive than the one on my old HP Envy 100, so it's actually an improvement for me. If you can use a regular sized touchscreen smartphone, you can use this with no problem.Ink: After comparing the various manufacturers' ink cartridge options for ink jet printers, I've found them all to be comparably priced, but I prefer HP, because (1) it requires only two cartridges (black & color), whereas other printers often require one black and three or more color cartridges*; and (2) the HP Instant Ink program (which is optional) is cheaper and extremely convenient. *I know some people have complained about the single color cartridges, preferring to use individual colors to conserve ink. My response to that complaint is twofold. First, in my experience, when one color is out, the other colors are close behind, so the convenience of the combined cartridges is worth it. Second, any ink waste that results from the combined color cartridges is minimal compared to the "waste" generated from separate color cartridges. With combined color cartridges, there is one cartridge, one sealed package, one paper insert and one outer box. With individual color cartridges, there are three (or more) plastic cartridges, three sealed packages, three paper inserts and three outer boxes. That's a lot of unnecessary waste!Other issues: The only other concern that's been raised in the Amazon reviews is the paper feeder. Apparently a few people have complained that it grabs several pages at once, causing paper waste and jams. I've noticed that sometimes the paper doesn't fully load into the feeder, and when that happens, it can cause this problem. The paper feeder itself is a bit awkward. Still, as long as I make sure the paper is properly and fully loaded, I don't have this problem. All things considered, this is a fairly minor problem with an otherwise excellent printer.Long Version - HP v Canon:I literally gave away my brand new Canon MG7520 printer and replaced it with this HP Officejet 3830, and I couldn't be happier. After my trusty old HP Envy 100 took a spill off my desk and shattered, I researched printers online to select its replacement. I've always had HPs at home and work, but I wanted to find the best value regardless of brand.Although the expert and consumer reviews were generally all over the place, with printers receiving 4.8 stars on one website and 2.4 stars on another, I noticed that on most sites the Canon printers were rated the highest of all the major brands. Based on that research, I bought a Canon MG7520 on sale at Best Buy.Though I'm no computer expert, I have set up a number of similar printers for myself and my family members, and based on my experience, I knew it shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes to connect my new Canon printer. Over one month and countless wasted hours trying to get that thing to work, I finally packed it up and donated it to Goodwill (the Best Buy return period had long since expired, and I didn't want to waste any more of my time, even just trying to sell it on Craigslist).During that month of fruitless efforts to get the Canon printer to print something other than the Printer Connection Settings sheet, I tried everything to get it to work with any of my devices. I used the included installation disk; I downloaded the drives and software from the website; I manually installed the drivers; I followed the instructions in the box and the (different) instructions online; and I even talked to Canon customer support several times. Nothing worked.After waving the white flag, I bought this HP Officejet 3830 from Amazon. Two days later (thank you Prime!), it arrived. Ten minutes, 47 seconds later, it was printing from my desktop, laptop, phone and tablet. I never even had to look at the instructions.HP install: Plug in, enter wifi password, insert paper, print.Canon install: Plug in, choose LAN connection type, enter wifi password, download app, change LAN connection type to "offline" set up, register printer, change LAN again, select online options, try to connect, if connection fails even when connected, try to decipher cryptic installation instructions, start all over, etc etc. You get the idea.Does Canon print better photos? I wouldn't know, but I've heard it does. If you're buying a printer primarily for photo printing, perhaps Canon is the way to go. But if you need a printer for everyday, household/small business printing needs, I highly recommend HP, and in particular I recommend the HP Officejet 3830. It's easy and it works. Oh, and the photos look just fine.

I just received my printer today, so I am hoping to update this in a few weeks after I've used it for awhile. For now I am going to focus on the packaging, startup, setup, print quality, and durability.I want to take a quick moment to state the fact that HP took the effort to make packaging a breeze! I opened the tape up on the box and the first thing I see it the printer on it side in a bag surrounded by the nice sturdy styrofoam. Now normally when anything is surrounded by styrofoam of any sorts, its a big pain to get it out of the box by yourself. Well HP took the time and thought of the consumer! The plastic bag they wrapped the printer in had handles on it so I was easily able to lift the printer out of the box by myself.After unpackaging the printer the directions of first initial setup was printed very clearly. There are no words printed on setup page, but the pictures are pretty detailed in my opinion so there shouldn't be too much of an issue. I took the tape off and followed the instructions of setup and it took me about 5 min to set everything up. (Connect to my wifi, print the alignment page, scan for the first time etc). (The hardest part for me was inserting the black ink cartridge which was my own fault because I didn't have the right angle at first.)I want to point out I only gave durability 3 stars because the whole body is made of plastic. I know most printers are made of plastic nowadays, but to me this is less durable plastic and honestly if it gets tossed around quite a bit I'm not so sure it would last not that you should be tossing your printer around in the first place haha.Connecting to my wifi was a breeze. After printing the test pages and whatnot the final set was to visit a web site and download drivers which I'm not a novice to. HP wanted me to download their app for Windows 10, but decided not to because I can print from any program itself and not have any extra software. I have not tried printing from my smartphone yet (android) but when I do I plan on updating this review.I have printed a few pages, scanned, and even printed photos on photo paper (4 x 6) and everything has turned out great. I only have changed one setting and that is to print at max DPI so I get the best pictures. I also want to add that the printer comes with ink. Not too much, but enough that you might be able to print about 15-20 text pages. I've printed 2 4 x 6 photos as well as a few text documents and I still have ink in the original cartridges.The printer touch screen is very responsive and not laggy like some are.Overall, this is a great printer for the price. I feel that whoever is reading this will make a great decision and buy this printer.EDIT 1: Mobile printing was a breeze. I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge which I connected to the same WIFI as the printer, found a document that I wanted to print , selected the printer on my phone which showed up immediately and printed. My phone showed a message stating that it may take a few seconds before it would start printing because the document had to go through a server first but this was not the case. I selected print and it started printing right away. The quality was just as good as if I printed it off of a PC too.