The HP T830: Large Format Plotter & Scanner Review

The Most Affordable Large Format A1 & A0 Plotter In Singapore!

This is the brand new HP T830 all in one printer, and boy am i excited to bring you this review! The team at HP has definitely hit a home run when it comes to design , functionality, cost and features with this particular model. They have actually designed a machine that for years and years was needed in the AEC market. This machine is available for sale now athttp://www.largeformatspecialist.com.sg for our Singaporean customers.

So that being said lets take an in depth look at this machine:

Key features:

Speed: The machine is fast, and i mean really fast, it churns out an a1 sized document every 25/seconds. At the price point of this printer , you will be hard pressed to find a speed on any other model.

Processing: i really like how this machine is able to quickly process the document through a variety of mediums from direct printing or even cloud printing.

Connectivity: One of the biggest headaches a customer has, is that of connectivity. A number of scenarios are often encountered, either there is no lan connection, or there is only wifi connnection. HP has made it so easy to set up and transport. The machine is able to connect to your own Wifi signal easily. The real charmer here is that, suppose you don’t even have a wifi network and you don’t have a lan, So what do you do? Well at this level HP T830 will generate its own wifi signal, so that your site office staff can connect wirelessly to the printer, and also have any visiting members send prints directly through this wifi that the HP T830 is generating! So your covered on two fronts!

Paper Loaded: Ok so we all know that A1 drawings are a little inconvenient at times to handle. Sometimes you really just need an A3 or even an A4. So what do you do, well you get it printed on the laser machine that’s in your office. Hang on a moment what if you don’t have that. Sigh…i guess its time to go and get it printed elsewhere….or print an A1 size drawing…such a waste….Well not anymore, the HP has an amazing loader whereby it can load A3/A4 sheets of paper……and guess what… you don’t even have to change the paper roll! simply load it in and select the size and your ready to go!

Thumb drive: The other really easy and straight forward feature of this machine is the fact that you can easily load in a thumb drive and print the files off your thumb drive. This comes in especially handy when your in a rush, do you really need to sit in front of your pc and wait to do the settings and then go and print when you have more important things to do. The machine accepts a whole bunch of file formats, most importantly PDF / Jpeg files. This feature is something you don’t find in any other machine brand in this class.

Build Quality: I am really pleased that finally, HP has made a machine with a tough build quality, the key being the stand, do remember the sturdier the stand the better your quality of print will be. The new machine has a really strong stand and its built really well. The body remains the same of a plastic composite.

Scanner: The scanner in any site office is….well these days not really utilized. More and more companies do not see the need of having a separate scanner or even making copies. This however doesn’t mean that the scanner is irrelevant. This only means that people will not spend more to buy a scanner and will end up outsourcing their scanning needs. This however can be rather costly.

So this machine bundles in an inbuilt scanner for producing large format scans which can be saved to a thumb drive, network, or even be emailed. Alternatively it can also be used as a copying function. In addition to all of this, if you wish to preview your scan, you can use your tablet computer and connect to the T830 for an easy workflow. Do take note that this scanner is fairly basic and if you wish to look at scanner solutions which are more robust, you may look here. Overall, if your not going to be scanning alot of drawings and it really is once in a while, then you cannot go wrong with this machine.

Inks System: In this area, i find the HP T830 has a significant value to add to the customer experience, in terms of cost of ownership. If you forget everything i have said here, please remember this. The HP T830 is a 4 color machine and requires no waste ink tank. Unlike other machine configurations which have a 5 color or 6 color ink cartridge i assure you that for the AEC industry 4 colors is enough. All the 4 colors are utilised and they are affordably priced.  Please do not purchase a 5 color machine if you are not going to do any rendering work nor print on photo gloss. 4 colors is all you need, and HP gives you the option of using a 40 ml cartridge or a more economical 130ml tank. Overall this is good value for money.

Options: You will find that the new machine comes with a couple of options, so lets take a look at the options which are available.

1. Rugged wheels : If your gonna be moving your machine about, upgrading to these all terrain wheels is a good idea. The build quality is fantastic and offers you great stability when transporting the machine from one site to another.
2. Printer cover: in some sites the machine is prone to dealing with lots of dust and dirt! so the best way to protect your investment is using an all cover option

Summary:

In summation, i find that a majority of site offices will benefit from the use of this machine. It is mobile, versatile, intuitive and ultimately functional. Its easy on the pockets and cost of ownership is low. The only feature that could use a better upgrade would be that of the scanner, otherwise everything else about this machine makes it stand out to any machine in its class category! Should you have any questions please do contact me marco@uscgp.com, or give us a call at : 627836110. If you need to look at other machines or even require the data sheet then visit http://www.largeformatspecialist.com.sg for more information. I have also included below a bunch of vidoes that will better explain the workings of this machine and make it a compelling case for yourself and your management.