HP OfficeJet printers are designed for home offices and small businesses. In this article, we have two products from the HP OfficeJet series, which are HP OfficeJet 5255 vs 3830. Both are available under the one hundred bucks line. However, there are notable differences in their features and performance.
Continue reading below learn more about:
– Which printer that is more compact and space-friendly
– Which printer that comes with larger paper trays
– Which printer that supports duplex printing
– The performance of HP OfficeJet 5255 vs 3830
– Other features and capabilities of these printers
– Why you should choose HP OfficeJet 5255 to get the best value
Dimensions
First of all, let’s start from the dimensions to ensure that these printers can actually fit on your desk. For home and small office users, a compact and space-friendly design is often a must. This is why all-in-one printers such as HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 exist in the first place: to put multiple functions into one neat space-saving package that you can put easily on your work desk.
As a matter of fact, both HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 are already quite compact. You probably won’t find any trouble in fitting either printer into your room. But, if you think that you need an even more compact unit, take a look at HP OfficeJet 5255 vs HP Envy 5055.
Interestingly, HP OfficeJet 5255 is actually the more compact of the two. It measures 17.53 inches wide, 22.22 inches deep, and 7.81 inches tall with all the trays extended. However, it is still slightly heavier at 14.44 lbs.
On the other hand, HP OfficeJet 3830 is a thud bigger. It requires a space of 17.71 inches wide, 22.55 inches deep, and 10.66 inches tall in order for all of its trays to be extended. However, it is slightly lighter at 12.37 lbs.
Both printers have plastic construction. They are well-built and tough. They look quite conventional, just like most other HP home/office printers. Each model is equipped with a 2.2-inch mono touchscreen for control. On HP OfficeJet 5255, the touchscreen is on the center of the front side, whereas HP OfficeJet 3830 has it near the left side. In terms of design, HP OfficeJet 5255 is a slightly better choice than HP OfficeJet 3830 because of the more compact and space-efficient dimensions.
Paper Trays
HP OfficeJet 5255 vs 3830 both have horizontal paper trays. However, the sizes differ. The 5255 model can hold more paper sheets than the 3830 model, which is not surprising because it has been designed for a heavier duty cycle.
The input tray of HP OfficeJet 5255 can hold up to 100 sheets of paper. However, the output tray only has a 25-sheet capacity. On the other hand, HP OfficeJet 3830 has a 60-sheet input tray and also a 25-sheet output tray.
Both models are equipped with the automatic document feeder (ADF) feature. By using the ADF, you can scan multiple paper sheets without having to swap them one by one manually. You can put them in a single stack and insert them into the ADF, which will automatically take them one by one. This is very convenient. Both models here have 35-sheet ADF trays.
When choosing a printer, getting a bigger paper tray capacity is always more convenient. Even if it is just the input tray that is bigger, it will still allow you to reload the paper sheets less frequently. However, everything comes back to how much and how often that you usually print. If you rarely need to print more than 60 sheets per week, then HP OfficeJet 3830 will still be a fine choice.
Recommended Monthly Duty
As mentioned above, HP OfficeJet 5255 vs 3830 are designed for different levels of duty cycle. HP OfficeJet 5255 is meant for relatively more frequent printing, though it is still unsuitable for heavy office work with multiple users. HP OfficeJet 3830 is more for home use with occasional printing.
The recommended monthly print volume of HP OfficeJet 5255 is 100 – 400 pages. If you usually print within this range per month, HP OfficeJet 5255 is a great choice. It won’t overwork itself. However, if you usually print more than four hundred pages per month, you need a more capable printer. The maximum monthly duty cycle of HP OfficeJet 5255 is actually 1000 pages, but you risk shortening its lifespan if you make it overwork too much.
On the other hand, the recommended monthly print volume of HP OfficeJet 3830 is 100 – 250 pages. It is fine for occasional printing. Most home users don’t need to print more than 250 pages per month.
But, then again, if there are multiple people in your home who will use the printer, the volume will add up – so this is something to consider as well. HP OfficeJet 3830 also has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 1000 pages. But, as mentioned above, frequently overworking your printer may shorten its lifespan.
Duplex Printing
The next difference between HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 is the support for duplex printing. What is duplex printing? Duplex printing, also known as two-sided printing, is the ability to print on both sides of a paper sheet in one go, so you don’t need to re-insert the paper sheet in order to print on the other side.
HP OfficeJet 5255 should be your choice if you need duplex printing. This feature is incredibly convenient if you often need to print on both sides of paper. It will save a lot of time. And re-inserting pages to print on both sides can be very annoying and confusing – there are times when you insert the pages in a wrong position so that the front and rear sides have different directions – duplex printing can eliminate that for you.
HP OfficeJet 3830 doesn’t support duplex printing. So, with this printer, when you need to print on both sides of paper, you need to re-insert the pages manually. This is probably not a big deal if you never or rarely need to duplex print. Still, it doesn’t hurt to have duplex printing ready when needed, especially since the price difference between HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 isn’t that much.
Print Performance
In terms of print performance, the difference between these two models is rather marginal. Both models have a maximum print resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi, which should be good enough for most documents. Both models are also capable of printing at 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi when printing on HP photo papers at the 1200 dpi setting, ideal when higher image quality is needed.
These printers are rather slow, but this is understandable because they are not meant for heavy work. HP OfficeJet 5255 is the slightly better one of the two, as it can print at 10 ISO ppm black, 7 ISO ppm color. When printing in the fast draft setting, it can print at 20 ppm black, 17 ppm color.
On the other hand, HP OfficeJet 3830 is slightly slower with printing speeds of 8.5 ISO ppm black, 6 ISO ppm color. In the fast draft setting, however, it is almost as fast as HP OfficeJet 5255 with printing speeds of 20 ppm black and 16 ppm color.
Other Features
HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 are all-in-one printers with scan, copy, and fax functions. Each of them is equipped with a flatbed scanner which has an optical resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi and a size of 8.5 x 11.69 inches. However, when scanning with the ADF, you can insert a paper sheet of up to 8.5 x 14 inches.
Their scanners are great for text documents and images. Scanned text is sharp, and even images are quite accurate and detailed. However, for scanning professional-quality photographs and preserving the highest levels of sharpness and color accuracy, you may need a more powerful or perhaps a dedicated photo scanner.
For copying, the maximum resolution is 600 x 300 dpi. Both models can produce up to 50 copies per run. Meanwhile, for faxing, the maximum resolution is 300 x 300 dpi. Both models support copying and faxing colored pages.
Each model here has a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port to connect to a computer. However, they also have built-in 802.11b/g/n WiFi. You can connect either printer to your home’s or office’s WiFi network so that you can print from any device in the network. Both models support mobile printing via Apple AirPrint, HP ePrint, and HP Smart App.
Both HP OfficeJet 5255 and HP OfficeJet 3830 work with HP 63 ink cartridges. The standard-size cartridges can print up to 190 pages black and 165 pages color, whereas the extra-large cartridges can print up to 480 pages black and 330 pages color. Users in select regions (including the United States and Canada) are eligible for HP Instant Ink, which is an ink cartridge delivery service based on how many pages that you print per month.
HP OfficeJet 5255 vs 3830
Conclusion
Between these two models, HP OfficeJet 5255 is more recommended. It has better features and performance, while the price difference from the lower model is not much. It has duplex printing and better print speeds. Also, it has a bigger input tray and is able to handle higher print volume.
