HP LaserJet 3015 All-in-One
Starting at: $149.00
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Dan Littman
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
The good: Inexpensive; easy to use.
The bad: Disappointing text and scan quality; can't scan bound documents; limited memory and paper capacity.
The bottom line: The HP LaserJet 3015 does the trick for students and families, but small businesses can do better with a different printer.
The bottom of the HP LaserJet 3015 houses the 150-sheet tray with a 10-sheet bypass for envelopes, letterhead, and heavy paper stock. Unfortunately, there's no second paper tray option, so small offices will need to refill the primary tray often.
With a touch of a button, the top half of the machine pops open, exposing the combination toner cartridge/imaging drum, which costs $70 and is specified to last a mere 2,000 pages (that's a hefty 3.5 cents per page; laser printers usually print at 2 cents per page). The back sports a USB 2.0 port, a parallel port, and a telephone jack with a pass-through jack. The HP LaserJet 3015 installs itself almost automatically under Windows and also runs under Mac OS releases less than five years old.
One design peculiarity appears within the input document feeder: it pulls from the bottom of the stack instead of the top page. It didn't jam or pull two pages at a time, so HP must have worked out the mechanics carefully. However, we had a hard time remembering to put the documents in facing the right way.
Using the HP LaserJet 3015 is easy, in part thanks to its crystal-clear control panel. The panel separates each function into groups of buttons, including a set of seven speed dials, fax setup controls, and a numeric keypad. A two-line LCD has arrow buttons beside it to navigate the menus. The HP LaserJet 3015 comes with 32MB of memory, enough to hold about 250 monochrome fax pages.
Like HP's high-end enterprise printers, the HP LaserJet 3015 installs an HTML viewer with its drivers to monitor the printer's status from your PC, print reports such as fax logs, and update information, for example, adding fax numbers to the phone book that is shared between your PC and the device's own memory. The HP software suite also includes ReadIris Pro OCR, which converts scanned pages into live text on your PC; a basic send-fax interface that appears in the list of installed printers; and a simple TWAIN-scanner interface window with a few image-editing features.
Printing performance
The HP LaserJet 3015 turned in mixed performance in CNET Labs' tests. It printed 12.4 pages per minute (ppm) of text and 9.8ppm for graphics. This score is above average and very close to HP's claimed speed for the machine: 14ppm.
The LaserJet 3015's print quality, however, didn't impress us. Its text output was sharp and clear but looked a little too dark nonetheless, with hairy letters here and there. Its graphics output fared even worse, with inconsistent density in the graphical elements and images.
| Copy speed | Grayscale speed | Color scan speed | Black graphics speed | Black text speed |
Scanning and copying performance
In our tests, the LaserJet 3015 scanned color documents as quickly--or rather as slowly--as it scanned black documents, with a score of only 1.3 pages per minute, making it the slowest multifunction laser we've tested. With a fax-style or sheetfed scanner, the 3015 can't scan anything thicker than one single sheet. The printer, however, managed to copy at 4.1ppm, comparable to most laser multifunction printers we've seen.
Unfortunately, the printer's scan quality wasn't any better. The color images looked yellowish, washed out, and inconsistently tinted, even though the details were good and the images were sharp. We found the same problems with grayscale. The image offered great contrast in dark areas, but in lighter areas, the contrast was off, together with the gradient. Overall, the document was too bright and therefore somewhat washed out. We do not evaluate the quality of the photocopies produced.
| Grayscale quality | Color scan quality | Graphics quality | Text quality |
Learn more about how CNET Labs tests printers.
Performance analysis written by CNET Labs project leader Dong Van Ngo.
HP treats its consumer-grade printers with enterprise-grade service. The LaserJet 3015 comes with the industry-standard one year of limited warranty, plus 24/7 toll-free tech support. You can enhance this coverage by buying three years of warranty coverage for an additional $159.
The printer package itself includes a long, detailed fax-features manual and a brief but clear guide to the other features. These printed documents are supplemented by a more thorough onscreen manual. HP's Web site also provides a lot of product-specific information, support via e-mail, and driver updates.
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Most Helpful User Review
stars 3 of 3 users found this review helpful
"Good Multifunction if not on a network" By
Pros If you are not using the HP Jetdirect print server and the printer is not on a network it will work well.
Cons Once a LAN is involved, go a buy something else. HP does not how to solve the issue once the network is involved. I even had a HP technical person told me the fax was not support via the network a nd their proprietary print server. What a fiasco!! I per
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Specifications
See full specsQuick Specs
- Office Machine Functions: Copier Fax Scanner Printer
- Printing Technology: Laser
- Media Handling / Max Original Size: 8.5 in x 15 in
Which printer is right for me?
Choosing the right printer can be a daunting task. There are several different types of printing technology to choose from, each suited for different needs. Printers come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny travel companions to workgroup workhorses; some are geared toward photographers, others are for multitaskers. And the many specifications for resolution and speed can be misleading. As a rule of thumb, inkjet printers are a must for long-lasting photos, while laser printers are best to produce speedy text documents.
We've compiled a handful of typical user experiences that should help outline what type of printer is right for you. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new printer for.