++ HP Photosmart 3310 All in One Printer Copier Scanner Fax

I bought this printer when they had just came out... I tracked the availability date and pre-ordered, and had the first one available. Over the years, it has outlasted 4 computers, 3 laptops, and 2 wireless routers, so I guess that puts everything in perspective for me. It has been through 5 moves, two of them crosscountry. It still performs as well as the day I bought it, with a few exceptions listed below, and the photo quality is still on par with the best printers. No, its not the best photo printer, nor the best scanner or fax (as if anybody still faxes anything anyway), but it is good enough at most everything. I actually still prefer its 4x6 photo output to that of the various upload and pickup services at Walmart and Walgreens, and it saves a trip each time.



Now the bad: Yes, the ink cartridge capacity is a joke. They don't even last a week, let alone their rated lifetime. I think it is because if you use it infrequently, it wastes a lot of ink "priming" the pump each time. I can hear it do it. HP has just come out with jumbo ink cartridges for this printer, so this will help out a lot, though a little too little, a little too late, IMHO.



I have had two real hardware failures. The optical sensor that the printer uses to do "borderless 4x6" prints has gone out, so the borderless feature no longer works. Selecting bordered prints allows me to still use the printer. Also, the wireless has gone out, and actually prevented the printer from working on the net, but disabling the built-in wifi and just cabling it to the router fixed the problem. It worked fine for the first few years, and then suddenly quit working.



The reason I am writing this review is to detail a solution to a technical problem many reviewers appear to have had. After one of my moves, and the printer being in a packing box for 6 months, it would no longer print upon re-starting it. It would give "out of ink" error, but looking at the error code gave "unauthorized print cartridge". The printer had the same cartridges as before the move, HP cartridges, so basically the printer somehow forgot the cartidges plugged in. HP support knew nothing about how this security feature worked, so I had to turn to user forums on the web. Forcing a full re-start and re-boot, and even re-flashing the firmware did not fix it. I thought the printer was dead. Finally, in one last attempt, I bought all new cartridges for the printer, did a reset, and then installed them. It worked, and the printer is still working today. I caution against this approach, as a full set of cartridges will cost as much as a new printer, so only you can decide if the gamble is worth it to you. I believe that the printer forgets the cartridges if power is fully removed from the printer for a long period of time, so leave power connected (printer can be off, though), but this is just a guess.



So, long story short, a mixed blessing. It is really the best printer I have ever owned, and has aged very well, but is has also been a huge source of stress and headaches.
(65 customers reviews)
Customers Rating=2.5 / 5.0

More Detail For HP Photosmart 3310 All in One Printer Copier Scanner Fax

• Color prints, copies, scans, and faxes
• Up to 32 ppm print speed, 4,800 dpi resolution
• Print without PC using the 3.6-inch QVGA display
• 4,800 dpi scan resolution, 48-bit color
• Built-in Ethernet, USB, and PictBridge interfaces; PC and Mac compatible