Cheap and cheerful, just like your mother! (HP Deskjet F4280 All-in-One)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	HP Deskjet F4280 All-in-One
Date:	07/09/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap

Disadvantages: bit flimsy looking

I was blessed to buy this printer for just £10 from Staples, when bought with a £10 pack of paper. However, it normally retails at £35. It's a printer, scanner and copier in one.

First impressions are on how bulky it is, and how cheap it looks; it's definitely a budget end product, all plastic flaps. It looks a bit like a cool box or a lunch box, and it certainly isn't sleek or designer cool.

I was delighted to see it is very easy to set up, with a simple instruction book taking you through the six or seven steps and away you go.

In terms of the scanner and copier, it works as a standalone unit which is pretty cool. As a printer, you simply install it with the CD and it works like any other printer.

It says it has a special ink dispenser gadget that saves ink, but I can't really comment as I've not had it long enough to run out.

In terms of printing, it's as good as anything I've ever used, creating crisp prints. My computer friend told me the ink it comes with is pretty good, and certainly better than budget stuff which is nice to know.

The scanner and photocopier are (I can't help but think) just gizmos, particularly the copier which is little more than a scanner is it? Still, it can only add to the charms of what I simply bought for its printing use.

The worst thing is the way that it doesn't come with a USB cable. You need a USB 2.0 A-B cable, which were £13 at their cheapest in Staples. However, I got one for 98 pence delivered from play.com, so there's my biggest tip!

All in all, this is an adequate printer scanner copier. It does the job perfectly well, but is bulky and cheap looking which will put some off.

Summary: do it!