HP 3050 Ink
Deskjet 3050 Ink Cartridges

HP 3050 Printer Review

The HP Deskjet 3050 is a very affordable home inkjet printer that can print, copy and scan everyday text and graphic projects quickly and easily. Maximum speeds of up to 20 pages per minute for monochrome projects and 16 pages per minute for color aren't the fastest of its class, but will suffice for moderate use. With versatile options for connectivity, inexpensive Deskjet 3050 printer ink and its easy-to-use all-in-one functions, it will be a useful and low-cost printer to have around the house.

This unit can easily be managed from a desktop with its compact size of 16x16x9 inches, intuitive LCD display and control panel that offer information on Deskjet 3050 ink levels and status updates for each project. It can print graphics and photos with a maximum resolution of 4800x1200 using color HP 3050 printer ink, but reviews note that quality falls a bit behind other units in its class, with some blurring present. For text projects with a resolution of 600x600 reviews say similar things, although the output isn't bad enough to keep the device out of consideration.

With a maximum monthly duty cycle of only 1,000 pages and limited paper handling that includes only a single 60-sheet input tray, the unit is best used for low volumes. In addition to the standard USB port, users are provided the bonus of connecting to a wireless network, and Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) support makes it quick and easy to set up if your router supports this feature.

Rather than splitting them into three separate supplies, the manufacturer packages cyan, magenta and yellow into a tricolor HP 3050 ink cartridge that is convenient, but can lead to more wasted ink. Standard tricolor supplies yield around 165 sheets. Optional high-capacity 330-page tricolor and 480-sheet black HP 3050 ink cartridges double the standard supply's yield, lengthening capacities while lowering the cost per page.

This entry-level home inkjet printer is a standard all-in-one machine that offers useful features like an LCD display, wireless networking and fast consistent speeds. Its fair price tag is only further reasoning for users to strongly consider the 3050 as their new personal device.