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HP Photosmart A526
by webownage
I bought this printer after we came back from our family holiday, I wanted to print lots of pictures from Florida! I thought that purchasing the HP Photosmart A526 would have been the best option but now I realise it wasn't, you can get prints online much cheaper!
Appearance-
The printer looks very basic, like ... any other photo printer you get these days, it has a carry handle a screen, a Power button, red eye removal button, a left button, a printer button, a right button and a cancel button.
Screen -
You get a 6 CM colour LED colour screen. The screen is not the best of quality, but it is good for what you use it for, choosing the pictures that you want to print.
Print Quality -
The quality of the prints out that this printer gives is excellent, they are very high quality, and print out in as quick as 39 seconds. The only down side to the print quality is that you pay the earth for the ink, it I only buy genuine cartridges, I buy the HP 110 Vivera from Tesco for about £26 which is much of a rip off as you can get it on Amazon for only £16.99. I think it would be best to buy the genuine from Tesco as it is water proof, so if you're caught in a shower of rain, you won't need to worry about your pictures. I have sort of worked out that it costs around 0.89 per picture to print, where as if you are buying online you can get them as cheap as 28p, even cheaper if you order a lot.
Sound -
The printer is fairly loud during boot up, and first print, after the first print is over, the printer is really fast and very quiet, you barely even notice that it is on.
Durability -
I have been using this printer for over 3 years now, and it still provides high quality prints, and is in great condition considering the usage it has received over the years! There is very few marks scuffs etc etc, just general wear and tear which can be expected.
Connectivity -
The printer has many ways of connecting your photos, you can connect with your USB cable, or you can connect with a memory card, as this printer has many options and different types of cards which can be read.
These are :
CF
SD
XD
MS/Duo
Price -
The price of the printer its self is very reasonable you could pick this up for around £60 when I bought it, I'm not sure if you are still able to purchase it. The ink is in no way whatsoever reasonably priced.
Recommend -
I would recommend this printer to people who travel a lot or take a lot of pictures as it is a quick and easy way to print, however, look around and see if it is possible to get a different printer which offers cheaper ink, which will be more beneficial! I wish I had done this before I purchased this printer, as I hate paying ink which is expensive.
Thanks for reading! I hope this has been of interest to you and has helped assist you in your decision.
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Epson Picturemate Mobile Phone Edition
by phensh
*** Introduction ***
With the fast growth in the combination of mobile phones and built in camera's, you may need to consider a printing solution. You can usually transfer your pictures from your phone or other mobile device onto your PC and then use your printer to reproduce your images or you might want to consider a standalone ... option that will work much quicker and may suit people that want instant professional results without having to contend with the computer element.
*** The Epson Photo-Mate ***
This product is an ultra small desktop printer that is portable and will work independently of your PC it will allow you to print from not only you mobile phone but any device(via USB or Bluetooth) and also read from memory cards as well. The printer will only produce prints at 6 x 4 sizes (15 cm x 10cm) but its speed and ease of use make this an ideal choice for people who want a fast solution to reproducing prints from their mobile device.
*** The specifications ***
Inkjet Printer- This product uses Epson's patented Micro PiezoTM
Droplet technology to give excellent 6 color photo realistic prints at 6 x 4 print size (you will find that 6 x 4 tends to be the most popular size format for photographs)
Display- The unit has a 2.4 inch color LCD display for giving you access to the menu's and printing options and has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels(I have found the display shows the images very well and the menu's are very easy to use and navigate)
Print quality- Up to 5760 x 1440dpi on suitable media (this is ample quality for this size of print and the detail is excellent even to the most critical eye)
Memory card integrated slots-Compact Flash (I&II), xD-Picture Card, SmartMedia, SD Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, Magic Gate Memory Stick, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, IBM Microdrive, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo and MagicGate Memory Stick Duo (this will allow you to print direct from the above media cards, you can also use mini SD but you will need to use the adapter supplied with this card)
Bluetooth adapter-The mobile phone version comes supplied with a Bluetooth adapter (or dongle as some people call them) which plugs into the USB 2.0 slot on the front right-hand side of the device. This adapter will allow you to transfer images from any Bluetooth enabled device and is very easy to set up and use once you have detected and paired each of the devices which takes less than a minute to do.
PC connection-the device has a USB 2.0 interface that will allow you to connect the device to your pc should you wish to print your images from you hard-drive (I find using the printer in standalone mode without connecting to my PC much more convenient especially when printing direct from my mobile phone)
Direct printing-this device will allow you to print from any device via USB and will also work with any devices that are Pict-Bridge compatible (these will have a logo if they are Pict-Bridge compatible)
Consumables-The Picture-mate uses a Epson Picture Pack (T5570, includes Epson Picture Mate Photo Cartridge and Epson Picture Mate Photo Paper)these retail from around 16 pounds and contain enough ink and paper to produce about 100 prints(if you shop around you can get yourself big savings on these picture packs)
Power-Epson Picture Mate Lithium Ion Rechargeable Battery
This is what makes this device a great compliment to your mobile phone because it is also portable so you can take it anywhere. The battery only takes a few hours to charge and I have never reached a point yet when I have totally exhausted the battery.
Size-this product is truly small and compact and very light indeed even when the rechargeable battery pack is fitted, with dimensions of only 256(W) x 305(D) x 167(H) mm when operational and weighing just under 3kg you will have no problem finding a place to store this.
*** Ease of use ***
I found this product extremely easy to use and didn't even need to use the instructions at any point. The feature I have used the most is the Bluetooth adapter and I found this very simple to setup with my mobile phone and transferring images is also quick and simple. The instructions if you do need to use them are simple and easy to follow and give you all the information you will need to setup and use the device
*** The Prints ***
The prints are of high quality rivaling those that you would get from any high street retailer. It takes just over a minute to produce a single 6 x 4 print and the device is good at reproducing prints from your mobile phone (please note that print quality from your mobile phone will depend greatly on how good your camera feature is).The device will also allow you to do some basic editing of your prints like zoom and crop and converting to black and white or sepia (this is the old fashioned style of prints)
*** Running costs ***
The only disadvantage to this device is that you have to use the Epson photo-mate printer packs which contain both the ink and enough paper to produce 100 prints. These can be purchased from between 14- 20 pounds so it pays to look around for the best deals.
*** Summary ***
A very easy to use solution to printing from your mobile device or digital media, quick hassle free use and a very compact size make this an excellent choice as a second printer or where space is a premium. The Bluetooth adapter and being able to use this unit cordless make this a very flexible choice. Most importantly the print quality is excellent and Epson state that the prints should last over 100 years
*** Resources on the Net ***
www.epsonpicturemate.co.uk/
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