★★★★★ 4
Very capable large format color inkjet printer
This thing is big. It’s replacing our Brother color laser, which didn’t get a lot of use (but is great for quick and cheap prints).
The HP is longer in one dimension but less tall, so is roughly occupying the same space but with more wall visible (so looks less intrusive).
Heavy. I could (and did) lift it on my own but all the packing and instructions say for 2 people to lift it. It’s manageable but I see why there’s that warning.
Build quality is mostly plastic but sturdy enough for a static object. Scan lid opens easily, trays extend smoothly etc. Feels well build overall, no concerns.
You can download installation instructions using a QR code and it’ll guide you to also install the HP app. The app ideally requires an account, mandatory if you plan to free trial the Instant Ink I think.
I had an existing old HP account and used that. The setup was way enough but there’s a weird UI step in the app during pairing where the setup modal is blank grey with a greyed out “Next” button. Looks like it can’t find the printer. Wrong! Just hit Next to proceed. Weird and stupid and I wasted time figuring it out. Loses a star for that.
Other than that, setup went fine and test print came out decent. WiFi connected ok and it also has Ethernet. The Brother only has WiFi but is flaky / goes to deep sleep too often. Testing with WiFi has been fine but I feel better knowing I can hardwire into my switch if there are issues! The HP shows on the network as an AirPrint target, and my Mac found it without issue / set up its own drivers.
The fold out touch screen is nice, I wish it could be angled horizontally and not just vertically but it’s fine and responds predictably to touch.
Colors and text are bright and crisp. Not quite laser crisp but pretty darn close to these old eyes. The colors are also better / truer in my opinion.
Had issues with feeding vinyl sticker paper sheets, which repeatedly generated paper jam messages (at no point was the paper jammed) and wasted a lot of time. Willing to blame the paper / media (it’s slightly tacky) but our laser handled it ok.
When it finally did print, I noticed some print quality issues / flaws repeatedly in the same places. Unsure of the cause and doesn’t impact subsequent printouts on other paper.
Really like the ability to print larger (A3!) size. Note that scanning does not accommodate larger papers (up to Legal / same as the Brother).
The supplied ink installed easily but they shipped me more as part of the Instant Ink trial. Subscribed to the lowest tier, which is affordable-ish (they just raised the lowest tier to $1.99 for 10 prints per month) but still costlier than laser. Not a huge fan of vendor lock-in / subs but did see in the fine print that HP allows third party inks to be used, which is reassuring if the subscription doesn’t make sense long term.
While printing, the motion of the printer head caused my desk to shake. Worth bearing in mind if you plan on printing heavily while sharing a desk with it. Noise isn’t too bad, better than the laser printing noise we’re used to (lower frequency noise on the HP). I would not print during a zoom call though (noise + shaking).
At time of review, $350 for a large format printer with built in scanning (and Ethernet) seems pretty decent. It’s not a bargain but it’s fair.
Need to spend more time with other media and have ordered more paper types to test with. Will update if anything changes my rating but so far I feel like it’s a capable replacement for the color laser given our relatively modest print volume and need for higher quality color prints.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2026
