Click ‘n’ Print without a PC

The highlight of this tiny printer is its PC-free operation. If you own a digital camera that saves all shots on a solid-state memory card, then this printer can be used to directly print the pictures without hooking it to a PC. It supports a host of removable media cards like compact flash, smart media, memory stick, secure digital, and multimedia cards. The Photosmart 130 can print at a maximum resolution of 4800x1200 dpi. For PC connectivity, it supports USB 2.0, though no cable is provided along with it. It’s also USB 1.1 compatible in case your PC doesn’t support 2.0, though the printer speeds are slightly affected.

The printer supports three printing modes–best, normal and draft. We tested the printer using several different types of color pictures, which included tests for richness of color, skin-tone, speed, and details. It took about 1 min 12 secs to print in best and normal modes and a 1 min and 9 secs in draft mode. On the quality front, photos were very clear and smooth. Print quality in best and normal modes was excellent, though it was very difficult to differentiate between the two. It can print photos with or without border in three different sizes of post card, wallet, or thumbnails. Another highlight of the printer is an LCD panel that shows current print settings and status. There’s a set of buttons on its top panel that make it easy to print from memory cards. You can even save photos and other files from the memory card to a PC at the push of a button. 

Apart from having drivers for all desktop versions of Windows, it also has drivers for Mac. It also comes with Photo & Imaging software, which allows one to manage the photographs and their printing. This software among other things, has an image editor and provision to create a VCD with a photo-show of the pictures you want. 

The Bottom Line: This printer is mainly meant for people owning a digital camera, since it can print only post-card sized pictures. It comes bundled with photo-paper so that you can get started with printing immediately. The best part is its per print cost of around Rs 5, which given its excellent print quality, makes it a very attractive buy. 

Amboo Srivastava and Sanjay Majumder at PCQ Labs