HP Deskjet 2622 Review: Affordable All-in-One Wi-Fi Printer

Welcome to our HP Deskjet 2622 review. This is one of HP’s most compact and affordable all-in-one inkjets, which aims to keep home printing simple through a fully-featured Wi-Fi interface.

HP are by far the largest manufacturer of printers in the world, and the quality of their business and office laser printers is well known. But do they maintain the same levels of build quality for budget products such as the Deskjet 2622 reviewed here?

That’s exactly what we intend to find out. So stay with us for our comprehensive HP Deskjet 2622 review, as we put the budget inkjet AIO through its paces and help you decide if this is the right printer for you.   

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Printer Overview

HP Deskjet 2622: Compact Design

The wireless HP DeskJet 2622 All-in-One printer is designed for use at home or in a small office. Small is the operative word here, as a home printer mustn’t take up too much room.  This is not a problem with the Deskjet 2622 — it has a very small footprint and both the input and output tray fold away when not in use, which makes for a neat and compact form factor.

As this printer supports Wi-Fi Direct, there’s no need for messy interface cables — you can site the DeskJet 2622 anywhere that’s convenient. And if you have to move it occasionally, you’ll be grateful that this printer weighs less than 8 pounds, meaning one person can easily carry it.

On the left edge of the printer is the control panel, which consists of press-to-hold buttons for all the main functions (power, system info, copy start) and a big red panic button! Above that is a small LCD which shows the number of copies, wireless status, error codes and ink status. It’s not as useful as some of the larger displays fitted to HP’s more expensive products, but it provides all the key information.

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Ink Cartridges

One of the most important considerations when choosing a printer is the cost of replacement ink cartridges. With a two-cartridge multipack retailing for about £20, the cost of replacement ink can quickly mount up. To solve this problem, HP have come up with a rather brilliant solution.

Instant Ink printing plans are based on pages, not ink cartridges. You decide how many pages you’re likely to print every month, and select the appropriate plan. Your printer tells HP that you’re low on ink, and HP delivers new ink cartridges straight to your door. You won’t get new ink cartridges every month, but you’ll always have ink!

The scheme is also environmentally friendly: HP supply you with pre-paid recycling envelopes, and returned ink cartridges are disassembled then combined with other recycled plastics to make new cartridges.

As you can see below, the monthly fees are very reasonable. You can change your plan any time you like, and you’re not tied in to a yearly contract.

Not only is this an incredibly convenient scheme, it can also save you up to an impressive 70 per cent on the cost of replacement ink. And you can go ahead and print as many full-colour photos as you like — they cost the same as black and white pages. That’s because your monthly fee is based on the number of pages you print, not on the amount of ink you use.

And the best part? The HP DeskJet 2622 comes with a two month Instant Ink free trial, which starts as soon as you fit the first cartridge into the printer. So that’s two months of free ink: a real bonus if you’re on a tight budget.

Print Quality

For a budget printer, the print quality is surprisingly good. When it comes to print resolution, the higher the better, and the 1200 by 1200 dpi black and white resolution is better than a lot of printers costing twice as much. As a result text edging is very accurate, and the grey-scale contrast is excellent.

For colour printing, the DeskJet uses optimised dpi to produce a 4800 x 1200 resolution. To achieve this, the paper is moved more slowly through the printer, allowing the print heads to layer multiple dots of ink in the same place. This creates richer, sharper and more intense colours — particularly on the photo paper supplied.

We’d prefer a faster print speed, but at this price between 5 and 7 ppm (pages per minute) is totally acceptable. The TTFP (Time to First Page) of 14 seconds is fairly high, but again this is to be expected for a budget printer and it’s never more than a minor annoyance.

Of course, at this price duplex printing (printing on both sides of the page) isn’t included, but it’s good to see that HP’s software supports manual duplex. This means you have to turn the page over yourself,  but we can live with that!

Wireless Printing

The HP DeskJet 2622 printer is a very versatile product when it comes to print sources. You can choose to print using the supplied USB interface lead, or you can opt for a completely cable-free set-up. This gives you the freedom to wirelessly print documents or photos from your computer, or from any smartphone or tablet.

We definitely prefer the wireless option — it’s just as fast as using a cable but it’s far more convenient. There are many different ways to wirelessly connect, depending on the device you want to use.

• HP Smart App: Send anything to your printer from any device, such as your mobile phone. You don’t even have to be on the same Wi-Fi network  — just press ‘print’ and your document will be waiting when you get home.
• Apple AirPrint is another option for iPhones and iPads
• HP Print Service Plug-in: Similar to the HP Smart App, but you don’t need any special apps installed on your phone or tablet.
• Wi-Fi Direct: Allows you to print from an external device even if you don’t have access to a Wi-Fi network. This is ideal for guests, as they needn’t have your password in order to print.

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Our Opinion

It’s hard not to be impressed by the Deskjet 2622. For very little outlay, HP have come up with an easy-to-use and worry-free all-in-one inkjet, which easily handles the ad-hoc duties of a home printer.  Wi-Fi printing is made easy through the HP Smart app, and the Instant Ink scheme promises to make expensive cartridges a thing of the past. Add to that some useful copier and scanner functions, and this is a great budget printer.

Features

• Space-saving, compact design
• Comprehensive connectivity with Wi-Fi Direct and HP Smart
• Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi optimised resolution
• Instant Ink plan gives affordable replacement cartridges
• Includes scan, fax and copy functions

A Final Word

Thank you very much for reading our printer review. If we’ve given you a better idea of whether the HP Deskjet 2622 is for you, then our work here is done! If you already own this printer, or another HP model, then we’d love to hear your comments. Maybe you’ve got some printer tips for us? Either way: just use our comments box, or click one of our social media icons.

FAQ

Is HP Deskjet 2622 an inkjet printer?

All HP printers that have the word ‘Deskjet’ in the name use inkjet technology. ‘Deskjet’ is a brand name belonging to HP, so other manufacturers can’t use it. HP also own the brand name ‘Designjet’, which is used for their high-end commercial inkjet printers.

What ink cartridge does the HP Deskjet 2622 use?

The Deskjet 622 uses two ink cartridges: one is for black only (pigment-based), the other is a dye-based tri-colour cartridge (Cyan, Magenta and Yellow). In the US the product number (for both cartridges) is HP 65; in the UK and Europe it’s HP 304.

For the black (only) there’s an oversize cost-saving cartridge, which is numbered HP 65 XL or HP 304 XL. If you use for the Instant Ink service, the cartridges HP delivers are larger than normal, but these aren’t available in normal retail outlets.

Is HP 2622 Deskjet wireless?

Yes — in fact, the best way to use this printer is wirelessly. You can connect to it over Wi-Fi using an Android or Apple app or a Print Service Plug-in, and then you can print from your phone or tablet. You don’t even have to be on the same network as your printer. And if you use Wi-Fi Direct, you just have to be in the same room — no networks needed!

How do I connect my HP Deskjet 2622 printer to WiFi?

Judging from some of the customer reviews we’ve seen, there seems to be a lot of confusion over the best way to do this. But the process is actually quite simple. The secret to success is to make sure you download HP’s Smart software before you start the set-up, and you’ll also need to install the correct drivers. And you should note that the default password to use is 12345678.

Your computer must be on a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network — HP doesn’t support 5 GHz networks. Also, you’ll need to be using a dynamic IP address, as a static IP won’t work with the software.

The printer’s installation process at some point will reach the ‘Network’ section. Choose the ‘Wireless’ option, and then allow your network settings to be sent to the printer. After a couple of minutes, you will receive a confirmation message on your computer’s screen saying the printer has been found and it’s been set up as a printer on your network. And that’s it!

Unfortunately, sometimes this automatic setup fails, and so you might have to set up the connection manually. This is a bit more complicated, but HP have produced some useful guides, which step you through the process.

How do I clean the printhead on my HP Deskjet 2622?

Over time, a build-up of dried ink and dust can clog the nozzles, which causes streaking or even blank spaces on the paper. All Deskjet printers have a built-in cleaning process, but sometimes you’ll need to start the process yourself to fix an immediate problem. Start by finding the HP Deskjet icon on your desktop and double-clicking. Find the ‘Printer Services’ tab and then click ‘Clean the Print Cartridges’.

Once the process has finished, print a test sheet to check the results. If there’s still evidence of streaking or blank spaces, then click ‘Intermediate Clean’ and print another test page. Normally this more thorough clean will have solved the problem, so click ‘Done’ then ‘Prime’. If you still have a print quality problem, then you’ll need to remove the cartridges and clean them manually. Remove the power cord before you do anything else!

After removing the cartridges, place them wide side down on a piece of kitchen roll. Dampen some cotton buds with warm (not hot) water, and squeeze out any excess water. Without touching the copper contacts, clean the edges around the nozzle plates on the bottom of each cartridge. Get some new, clean cotton buds and gently clean the cartridge cradle. Allow the cartridges and cradle to dry (but for no longer than 30 minutes)  and then re-fit the cartridges.