Is the HP Deskjet F340 any good?

[gothor]

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Hey everybody!

I saw a HP Deskjet F340 at Wal-Mart for $69. I've only used my old
Epson Stylus Color 600 since the mid-90s, so I don't know how to spot a
good buy.

At $15, the HP black ink carts are about $8 less than an Epson black
ink! But I'm worried about hidden costs. (I've heard that inexpensive
printers sometimes don't print many pages per cartridge, etc.)

So, is the HP Deskjet F340 for $69 worth it?

And is the Deskjet F340 much worse than the F380 I spotted on HP's
website?

Thanks.

 

[measekite]

X-No-Archive:

Hey everybody!

I saw a HP Deskjet F340 at Wal-Mart for $69. I've only used my old
Epson Stylus Color 600 since the mid-90s, so I don't know how to spot a
good buy.

You can get a Canon IP4200 for about $20.00 more on sale that is light
years better.

At $15, the HP black ink carts are about $8 less than an Epson black
ink!

Canon carts are about $12.00 at Costco

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

X-No-Archive:

Hey everybody!

I saw a HP Deskjet F340 at Wal-Mart for $69. I've only used my old
Epson Stylus Color 600 since the mid-90s, so I don't know how to spot a
good buy.

At $15, the HP black ink carts are about $8 less than an Epson black
ink! But I'm worried about hidden costs. (I've heard that inexpensive
printers sometimes don't print many pages per cartridge, etc.)

So, is the HP Deskjet F340 for $69 worth it?

And is the Deskjet F340 much worse than the F380 I spotted on HP's
website?

Thanks.

You need to look at the cartridge numbers the printer takes. This is
more important than the actual model number.

The F all-in-ones are HP's lowest end, cost cutting printers. They
only take the 21/22 cartridges. These printers cost 2.2x more to print
than last year's models. However.

If you plan on printing only a few pages a week, if you don't plan on
using color much, but need it once in awhile, if you plan on having
long periods of time between prints, if you plan on going on vacation
for weeks or months, then this kind of printer would be good for you.
The cartridges are only good for 200 pages or less, but as you said,
they are cheaper, and the printhead is replaced with each change. The
F340 might be rather slow though, and since it is the lowest end model
you can get, might be more prone to breakage, etc. I would look for
some reviews.

If you plan on printing all the time, lots of color, lots of photos,
etc, then you want to find a printer that will take the 56/57 or 96/97
cartridges, as these are the same ones that last year's printers took,
and hold much more ink. However, the first HP all-in-one that takes
both the large black /and/ color tanks is $350 or more. You may be
better off with the Canon MP500 ($200, less if on sale) if you are
planning on doing lots of printing, as it has decent sized tanks,
individual colors, and can be modified to print on CDs/DVDs (which is
a disabled function in the US).

The HPs that take the tiny tanks are only a good deal for people who
barely print at all. You will save on the initial purchase but will
spend dozens of times more in ink than if you had bought a more
expensive printer. But if you only print rarely, then it's less
wasteful when the printheads clog up from disuse.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[Bob Headrick]

If you plan on printing all the time, lots of color, lots of photos,
etc, then you want to find a printer that will take the 56/57 or 96/97
cartridges, as these are the same ones that last year's printers took,
and hold much more ink. However, the first HP all-in-one that takes
both the large black /and/ color tanks is $350 or more.

The above is not quite true. The Officejet 7210 is a
fax/copier/printer/scanner with automatic document feeder. It uses the
96/97 cartridges and sells for $299, often with $50 rebates. See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-238444-410635-12019-f51-391152.html
or search froogle or similar.

- Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[andmalc]

The above is not quite true. The Officejet 7210 is a
fax/copier/printer/scanner with automatic document feeder. It uses the
96/97 cartridges and sells for $299, often with $50 rebates. See:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-238444-410635-12019-f51-391152.html
or search froogle or similar.

- Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

Compromises would be the new $150 C4180 (takes the 98 black $20/400
pages = 5 cents / page or 4.5 if you buy the twinpack) or the $200
C5180 (takes the 02 black $18/480 = 3.5 cents / page vs. 3.75 for the
7210 #96). Both offer respectable 3000 page/month duty cycles and the
newest software packages. The C5180 has built-in Ethernet.

 

[Nellie]

You can get a Canon IP4200 for about $20.00 more on sale that is light
years better.


Canon carts are about $12.00 at Costco

 

[Nellie]

I purchased the F340 at Wal-Mart last weekend and have experienced
severe problems ever since. After installing the printer, I
intermittently started getting pop ups, my CD drive would open and
close by itself, I was unable to type in sites I was working in and
letters would randomly begin typing on my screen, Internet Explorer
would automatically launch on its own and the Web Site that ALWAYS came
up when this happened was "HP Club" where you access HP Tech Support,
download and/or buy products etc. When I contacted HP Technical
Support, after being passed from one person to another, most of whom
could barely speak or understand English I might ad, the told me that
my computer was being attacked by spyware and the only fix for this
problem was to purchase SpySubtract from them for a cost of $29.99.
Now don't you think it's very odd that I wasn't having these problems
prior to the installation of the printer, and the site that
automatically launched when the strange things happened on my computer
just so happened to be the HP Support site?? Too coincidental. Then I
came to find out that if I just download Ad-Aware or Spybot that it
should take care of my problem. I have downloaded this software and it
has been a big help, but I am still having a few problems. After
running Spybot, it says there are 3 problems that cannot be fixed.
Does anyone think it is possible that my printer installation disks
contained a type of code that would all of a sudden cause these
problems and it is just a gimmick of HP to sell this SpySubtract to
people like me who are not very computer savey? And the 3 problems
that cannot be fixed by Spybot, is it possible that the only fix for
those problems is on this SpySubtract disc that HP is unloading on me
for $29.99?

 

[measekite]

I purchased the F340 at Wal-Mart last weekend and have experienced
severe problems ever since.

I told you but you did not listen. Bring it back and go get a Canon
Ip4200 or 5200 and use Canon ink. If you do not then you surely will
get what you deserve.

 

[Bob Headrick]

After
running Spybot, it says there are 3 problems that cannot be fixed.
Does anyone think it is possible that my printer installation disks
contained a type of code that would all of a sudden cause these
problems and it is just a gimmick of HP to sell this SpySubtract to
people like me who are not very computer savey? And the 3 problems
that cannot be fixed by Spybot, is it possible that the only fix for
those problems is on this SpySubtract disc that HP is unloading on me
for $29.99?

SpySubtract is not an HP product. What are the problems that Spybot
finds but cannot correct? I have used Hijackthis in the past to help
remove spyware. See http://s89223352.onlinehome.us/mirror/hjt/ It is
best to run the program and then post the results in a forum for that
purpose rather than blindly remove items it finds.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Arthur Entlich]

It would surprise me that HP would intentionally use some type of
spyware that is causing major problems for your system.

There are probably some sites on the web that can look at the specific
problems Spybot or Ad-aware are indicating and tell you what to do to
resolve them.

Art