If you are looking for a wide format printer, you don’t have a lot of choices. Most manufacturers only offer a couple of options, and one of HP’s options is the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720.
This printer is advertised as a wide format printer for general office use, with great graphic capabilities as well. We’ll see if it lives up to that promise in our HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 Review.
HP OfficeJet Pro 7720
The Good
- Wide Format Printing
- Efficient Ink Cartridges
- OfficeJet Capabilities
The Bad
- Huge Footprint
- Single Paper Tray
- Small Screen
Early Bottom Line:
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 is an ink efficient wide format printer that creates high-quality tabloid prints quickly and at a lower operating cost than most competitors.
Background Info
What is a Wide Format Printer?
Wide format printers are printers which print in tabloid size (11 in. x 17 in.) or larger. They are typically used for things like art prints, small blueprints, or data sheets. There’s a wide range of paper types available for tabloid printing.
Who is a Wide Format Printer for?
In short: any customer who needs one. A wide format printer creates prints which are twice the size of standard letter size prints. So if you need to print posters, menus, large spreadsheets, booklets, or anything else at a large size, this HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review is for you!
What You Need to Look For
When purchasing a wide format printer, you’ve got your biggest criteria out of the way already; getting something that prints larger. So now you just have to look for the normal printer things.
Because this is advertised as an office printer, this HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review will look at print speed, ink efficiency, paper storage, and special business features. Print quality is also something to pay attention to, because wide format printers tend to be used for graphics at some point.
HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 Review 2023
The Good
Efficient ink
Wide format printer tend to be heavily geared towards photo and graphics printing. Because of that, the ink costs haven’t been a major selling point. However, the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 is designed to print documents at a lower cost per page.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 takes the same great ink that the HP OfficeJet Pro 8700 series took. The HP 952 and 952XL cartridges are some of the most cost efficient inkjet cartridges on the market.
The standard size cartridges print about 1,000 pages of black and 700 of each color. That works out to a little more than three cents per page of black and each color. The 952XL cartridges print up to 2,000 pages of black and 1,600 for each color. That’s just two cents per page for each color and the same for black.
At those printing costs, this printer will cost even less than many laser printers. And since wide format laser printers are insanely expensive, this is a major point to start off this HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review.
Great print quality
High quality prints are something that are generally expected from wide format printers. With a 1200 dpi max print resolution, and dense high quality ink, the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 will print high quality images even on tabloid size paper.
Wide Format Printing
It should go without saying at this point, but the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 is a wide format printer, so it can print up to 13 in. X 19 in. More than likely if you are looking for this printer you’ll be wanting to print tabloid or ledger size paper, which this printer can handle easily.
Any paper size from 4 in. X 6 in. all the way up to 13 in. X 19 in, and all paper types from document paper to photo paper to lightweight cardstock will work in this printer just fine.
Print speed
Another thing most wide format printers don’t offer is fast print speeds. The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 offers the same great speed you’ve come to expect from other OfficeJet Pro printers.
This printer will produce black documents at twenty-two pages per minute, and color prints at eighteen per minute. For a wide format printer, and pretty much any inkjet printer, that is lightening fast.
Simple UI
In my opinion, HP has some of the most user intuitive printers there is. The color touchscreen has clear icons and text for whatever functions you want to use. You just jab your little sausage finger at the copy icon and click start.
Installing your printer on your computer is also a breeze. You just go to HP’s website, search for your product number, and install the software. Easy as 1, 2, 3.
All in One features
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 has the full range of business features. It can fax, scan and print duplex documents, and scan to email. It also has additional security features that some businesses I.T. departments are looking for.
The Bad
Single paper tray
Other HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 reviews tend to forget about this. When you print tabloid sized documents, you probably won’t be printing that size all the time. That’s why it’s great to have two paper trays; one for large paper and one for letter size.
That’s a big drawback to the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 for me. With only one paper tray, you’ll be changing paper sizes rather frequently. HP does offer a second paper tray with the HP OfficeJet Pro 7740, which is available at a higher price.
Huge footprint
In my home state of Minnesota, we have a word for printers this big.
Uff da!
This thing is huge. Like, get a friend to help you move it type of huge. It won’t fit on most computer desks, and you’ll probably have to allocate a special place in your office for it.
Small screen
In my opinion, the screen on this printer is too small. I have big, chunky fingers, and sometimes I click the wrong icon by accident. These days everyone is used to touchphones having larger and larger screens; it would be nice if printers followed suit.
High Priced Cartridges
The cartridges for this printer last a long time, and the cost per page is really low. However, the cartridges themselves are expensive by inkjet standards. Replacing all four cartridges will run you around one hundred bucks, so be sure to budget accordingly.
No HP Instant Ink
When I first saw this printer in our showroom, I was super excited. The OfficeJet Pro 8700 series qualified for HP Instant Ink, so I assumed the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 would as well, since they use the same ink. But, I was wrong.
It makes sense that wide format printers would be excluded, since they use twice as much ink as letter size documents. I understand, but it’s still disappointing.
The Bottom Line
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 is an excellent choice for a wide format printer, especially for office use. While Epson printers may have better scanners, and the HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 has better storage and features, this HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review has shown that it’s a great printer. It’s fast, efficient, high quality, and I highly recommend it.
HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 Review Verdict: 4/5 Stars
Our HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review has shown that this printer is a great option for anyone who needs to print documents at tabloid size or larger. If you need a wide format printer that will fulfill all of your all in one office printer needs, then look no further.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 offers all the same features as this HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 review mentioned, plus more. It has a second paper tray, a larger touchscreen, and the ability to print from a USB flash drive. It’s a beast!
It’s well known by those in the industry that Epson is the king of scanners. They are superior in both resolution and color replication. If your primary focus is printing and scanning stunning quality images, you’re going to want to give the Epson Workforce WF-7710 a look.
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Wanted to replace my 8610. Suggested to purchase HP 7855. We print mostly text, labels & photos occasionally. What model would you have recommended?
Thank you for your help.
I would recommend you take a look at the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015. It’s the new version of your 8610, and better for documents than the HP ENVY Photo 7855.