Introduction
The HP DeskJet 2630 is billed as HP’s most affordable wireless all-in-one printer ever. It’s designed for the occasional home user and can print, scan and copy. With the printer’s built-in wireless, you can easily connect up your devices wirelessly and print from anywhere in the home.
More than anything, the HP DeskJet 2630 offers good value for money and users love the simplicity of making prints from their mobile devices.
Physical Features
The HP DeskJet 2630 has a relatively no-frills, friendly-looking case. It has a flatbed scanner on the top with an LCD control panel to the left of it. This is used for operating the printer, scanner, and copying features. There are buttons for power, cancel, Wi-Fi setup, information, color copy, and monochrome copy, but more complex operation of the machine can be done remotely via web administration panel or HP mobile app.
The small LCD panel does a good job of advising the current status of the machine, including ink cartridge levels, Wi-Fi signal quality, and print job status.
The paper input tray is at the back and supports up to 60 sheets of standard paper, and the output tray at the front is designed for a maximum of 25 sheets of standard paper.
A USB cable is not included in the box, though this is to expected of an ultra-budget printer like the DeskJet 2630. It does, however, come with a full set of standard ink cartridges that can be expected to print around 120 black pages or 100 color pages.
Connectivity
The HP DeskJet 2630 is one of the easiest printers to get up and running thanks to HP Wireless Connect and the apps for smart devices. Apple AirPrint is supported, and with the HP All-in-One Printer Remote app, you can have scans instantly sent to your mobile device.
It’s really impressive how these features that just a few years ago were only found on high-end printers have found their way into affordable, simple multifunction printers like the HP DeskJet 2630.
Print Quality
The low price of the printer does not mean the print quality suffers. In fact, the HP DeskJet 2630 gives you excellent prints. Black-and-white text documents are crisp and sharp, and color images are vibrant.
At its best print quality, the DeskJet 2630 has a 1200 x 1200 dots per inch print resolution for black and white documents. It shines best at color photo printing, though, with up to 4800 x 1200 dpi when printing from a computer. The quality of the printing rivals much more expensive printers, and we’ve no doubt you’ll be happy with any photos printed by the DeskJet 2630 provided the correct photo paper is used.
Print Speed
The HP DeskJet 2630 prints fast enough for home use. It’s fine for student projects, occasional photo printing, and receipt and invoice printing for a small home office.
For either black or color prints, expect to print around 5.5 pages per minute. If you’re printing in draft quality, the printer will output around 7.5 pages per minute on average.
Ink Cartridges
The DeskJet takes two cartridges – a black cartridge and a tri-color cartridge.
Two cartridge sizes are available; standard ink cartridges and HP high-yield ink cartridges. The standard size ink cartridges are rated to print around 120 black pages or 100 color pages. The high yield (XL) black and color cartridges will get you more than three times the prints each, at 120 pages and 330 pages respectively.
The DeskJet 2630 is compatible with the HP Instant Ink Service. Assuming you live in a region that supports HP Instant Ink Service, you can sign up for this subscription service that automatically sends you new ink when you need it. Your printer will automatically contact HP when it’s time to send out new ink. Multiple subscription plans are available, and in some cases, the first 15 prints you make each month are free.
Ongoing Running Costs
The HP DeskJet 2630 is designed to be an occasional use printer. It has a great low initial price but if you print thousands of pages with the 2630, the price of the replacement ink will quickly make the overall lifetime cost more than if you have chosen a more expensive inkjet printer or an entry-level laser printer.
Having said that, the price of replacement cartridges is lower than most competitors. With the DeskJet series, HP has reduced the price of a printer while avoiding ratcheting up the price of ink to compensate. For occasional home family use, the DeskJet 2630 is a perfect choice, and instead of missing features like wireless connectivity or a good flatbed scanner, you can have it all at a low price.
HP suggests that the recommended monthly page volume of the DeskJet 2630 is between 50 and 100 prints, though it can handle up to 1,000 pages a month if required.
Conclusion
The HP DeskJet 2630 is a good option if you’re an occasional print user but when you print you want it to be a good quality print every time. The DeskJet 2630 is relatively slow at printing and the ink can become expensive if you begin printing thousands of pages, but the quality of prints and the multitude of features make it a strong choice for those who want to make occasional prints at home and who don’t want to fork out a huge initial sum for a printer/scanner/copier they won’t use too often.
