About a week ago I found the HP Deskjet 2540 Series printer on sale at Walmart and could not pass it up for $59 (on sale) The exact model of my printer is HP Deskjet 2542. I believe that HP sets up a different number for each retailer so if you bought your printer from say Best buy it might have a different number at the end. To my knowledge any printer that says 254(any other number) is the same.
I had another HP printer and ever since we got a new router it just would not connect properly plus I wanted to be able to print from my iPhone and iPad and that printer did not have that capability. It does seem that over time that hardware becomes obsolete and just needs to be replaced. It still works so I will be giving it to charity as I am sure someone will be pleased with it. It takes the same ink so I will not be wasting any ink as I will remove and use the remaining ink from the printer.
What’s in the Box
printer
power cord and power supply
USB connection cable
quick start guide
Software CD
Instructions
black ink cartridge
color ink cartridge
Set Up
Setting up the HP2540 series printer was easy. I followed the quick start guide and also consulted the book because I wanted to use it primarily to airprint. I was glad I did look at the book because it said if you want to airprint to set that up first. Maybe I just read it incorrectly but it seems if I had followed the instructions and set it up on my laptop first I would not have been able to do the set up for my iphone and ipad
Setting Up the Printer
There is some tape on the printer to hold things in place during shipping. Just remove the tape, plug it in and follow the instructions for loading the ink cartridges. It was pretty easy to install the ink by looking at the illustrations they provided.
Mobile Device Only
If you only have an iPhone or iPad or any other supported mobile device you can use this printer and you do not need a router in order to use it. There is no software to install just follow the instructions in the book. This is a great printer for people who only have tablets or mobile devices. When you go to print you will have disconnect from your wifi if you are connected because it uses that same connection. Remember after you print to connect back to your wifi if that is what you are using. If you are using cellular service you should have no problems.
Using with a Laptop or Desktop Computer
If you are going to use this with a computer it says in the book that you can use the airprint but you have to install the software anyway so to me it seems easier to just use the router connection if you have one. If you are not using a wireless router you could still use the airprint function to print from your computer. This might come in handy if you wanted to keep your printer in a different location than your computer. I could see this being handy for those with a small amount of desk space.
The set up was easy. I just put the CD in and it walked me through the set up. It did require that I briefly hooked up my computer to the printer with a cord to detect and configure the network settings so that I could print via my router. If you are just using airprint that connection may not be necessary. The whole process only took 15 minutes or less from opening the box to printing but for someone more tech savvy I bet you could have it set up even faster.
The Printer
The printer is white which was not my first choice of colors but actually it blends in well. I was hoping to get a black one but the price was right so I got this one and as it turns out since the wall behind it is white it blends right in.
I like that it has a small footprint. The bottom part is actually smaller than the top so when you pull out the paper tray below you are not needing a lot of extra space for your printer. Dimensions 16.74″ wide 12.04″ deep and 6.17″ high. These do not include the paper tray on top or the bottom.
Printer Functions
As a printer
you can print from laptop, desktop or any supported mobile device. You can print wirelessly or you can plug in and use the printer with a hardwire connection. I honestly would not recommend this printer if you do not want to print wirelessly because you could probably get a printer for half the cost without those functions.
As a Scanner
To scan any paper in color or black and white open the flat bed scanner located on the top of the printer and place your photo or document on face down and close the lid. You can then use the functions on your computer software to save your scan to a file.
As a Copier
If you just want to make a copy of something it’s very easy to do. Just open the scanner and place your photo or document. Check settings on the display for print type. Then choose to make a color or black and white copy. The printer does a great job of making copies quickly.
Ink Use
The HP Deskjet 2540 all in one series is designed for home use. This is a great printer for occasional use but if you are printing a lot of documents you will run out of ink quickly. The printer works fine for our uses and I probably replace ink once or twice a year. I knew when I bought this how well it uses ink because the one we had before this used the same ink. There are settings that can save you ink such as printing in draft for things you just need a quick copy of. Ink used is HP61 one black and white and one color. There is a 61XL series of ink that you can buy that gives you a little more ink. I usually buy the regular because once with my old printer I bought the XL and it would not recognize it. It was hassle to return so I never tried it again.
Printing Photos
The HP Deskjet 2540 does a decent job of printing photos but if you are planning on using the photos for framing I would recommend getting them printed professionally. The ink does tend to fade over time on things I have printed. It is relatively convenient to get prints made at retailers or even mailed to you. If you are buying this as a photo printer I would suggest getting something else.
Final thoughts and Rating
Everything considered, for the price this printer gets 5 out of 5 stars. The set up was easy, it prints from all of our devices, the ink works well for our uses and it is just a good all around everyday printer. It also does not take up a lot of space.
