HP PhotoSmart 7150

Buying a near photo-quality inkjet printer used to be easy. It was simply a matter of seeing which Epson model you could afford.

Note that phrase "near photo-quality" though, since there wasn't an inkjet in the land that could reproduce the same level of detail as even the cheapest snapshot camera.

How things have changed. Not only has Epson been matched by both HP and Canon in the quality stakes but with the right printer, you can run your own digital photo processing operation from your back bedroom.

Judging by its performance in our tests, the right printer is the HP PhotoSmart 7150 and we'll spoil this review now by saying it produces some of the best photo prints we've ever seen from an inkjet printer.

As far as inkjet printers go, the 7150 cuts a bit of a dash. The case is made from silver and black plastic, so it'll clash nicely with the rest of your PCand the rounded edges give it a lower profile than most.

As with all HP inkjets, the paper tray juts from the front of the case and doubles up as the collection for printed pages.

Usefully, the 7150 also automatically detects what type of paper its printing on and adjusts its operation accordingly so you don't have to fiddle with the driver and run the risk of accidentally ruining a print.

Even more usefully, the USB port at the back for plugging in a PC or Mac is joined by a port at the front for plugging in a digital camera. Providing you have a compatible HP camera, you can print without the computer even being connected, let alone switched on.

Speed-wise, the 7150 is a bit of a duffer, turning in a pitiful 1.5 pages per minute with black text and 0.2 with an A4 colour photo.

When it comes to quality though, the 7150 is in a class of its own. Text is wonderfully crisp, though not quite as black as it could be on plain paper. Images fare better on plain paper and have bags of detail with bright colours.

Switch to HP's photo paper, however, and you might as well be looking at a traditional photo, such is the quality.

DETAILS
Price:£157

Contact: HP 0870 5474747
www.hp.co.uk

See also:

Lexmark Z65p

An affordable inkjet that supports most types of memory card and offers two paper trays.  31 Mar 2003

Canon i550

High-quality printing at an amazing price.  20 Mar 2003

HP Photosmart 7350

The output is quality, but can you wait for the Photosmart 7350 to finish printing?  11 Oct 2002

Epson Stylus Photo 950

The Stylus Photo 950 delivers excellent picture quality but at a hefty price.  25 Jul 2002

Lexmark Z55

Fast photo prints for under £100.  15 Jul 2002

Canon S750

A 'photo-quality' inkjet printer at a fair price.  04 Jul 2002

Hewlett Packard 1315

The Photosmart 1315 lets you print straight from a camera.  18 Jan 2002

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