HP PhotoSmart 7150

...I had.
Anyway this HP printer states it can print 14PPM mono and 12PPM colour – that is pages per minute as I said before.

The printer is compatible with windows 98/ME/2000/XP – 32bits Mac OS 9.1/X (10.1 or greater).
I did have to make sure that it was compatible with my computer otherwise it would have been a waste of time and money; also that it had USB ports.
Which it does.

Well I knew which printer ...
...
The cartridges are HP 56,57 and 58 which come in around the £15-£30 mark.
To install the ink is straightforward, you open the small hatch, and lift a compartment door for each type of ink, then click it into place.

All explanations are in the two booklets provided.
These are quite clear and easy to follow for the basics.
There is also a quick installation guide sheet, which was very useful.

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I was getting fed up with my printer which I had for the computer. It was drinking the ink as though it was water.
It was in a package deal when I bought my new computer about eighteen months ago, so was okay for a while
With my daughter using it for her art work and because I wanted to do some prints from my digital camera I felt that I wanted and needed a better printer which had decent quality picture prints but not costing as much as the ones that you can actually put the photo memory card in.

It really came to a head when I printed a photo on my old printer for my aunt and the colour was so bad that I would have been better using felt pens.
I feel very loath to tell people what it was because I really like the manufacturers, as my first printer was from the same company and was good - not as excellent as this one though.
Well okay it was an Epson C40. The positive points for the Epson was that my assignments were printed out well, but for colour and detail I needed to change.
I had a rough idea of what I liked because when I was looking at cameras I saw some different printers.
I wanted something that would have great quality photo pictures, but also could be used for everyday printing without too much effort and of course ink.
Well I suppose I would not know about the ink consumption until I actually had one up and running.
The other issue was the costs of replacement cartridges. I find that this is a rip off really because once the company has got you to buy the printer you then have to buy ink to run it and get your pictures.
Catch 22.

The Hewlett Packard Photosmart P7150 printer was the printer that I was interested in.
One of the main reasons why I liked the look of this was that it had 4800 x 1200 DPI Resolution - which is the dots per inch meaning that the higher the amount the better the print quality.
It also stated that the superb picture quality would be, when the correct paper is used on par with the photographic labs.

I was not so interested as to the pages per minute that it could print because I thought that anything would be quicker than the printer that I had.
Anyway this HP printer states it can print 14PPM mono and 12PPM colour – that is pages per minute as I said before.

The printer is compatible with windows 98/ME/2000/XP – 32bits Mac OS 9.1/X (10.1 or greater).
I did have to make sure that it was compatible with my computer otherwise it would have been a waste of time and money; also that it had USB ports.
Which it does.

Well I knew which printer that I wanted now I had to find it at a reasonable price. Around the shops I had seen it for £150.00. I knew from my brother in law that when he had shopped on line he had found some electrical goods cheaper than in the shops, so I thought that I would try and find a bargain.

I tried several sites and then it was between two, both, which stated the same price that was £114.99.
I decided to use Comet direct as the postage and packaging was free and the delivery dates provided suited me very well.

All the places selling this product made you aware that a USB cable was not provided with the printer – which to me sounded stupid, but I could use my existing one.
This would cost you an extra £7.50 - £12.00 depending on the quality of the lead and where you buy it from.

The box arrived and I was eager to get started. As usual with electrical products it was packed between polystyrene blocks.
In the box were the instructions to connect it to your computer and software for the printer. There were also two cartridges – one mono and one photo colour.
And due to a regular colour cartridge being used for normal printing there is a print cartridge protector, which is designed to keep the print cartridge fresh when not in use.
The printer can use two cartridges at one time, one of the colour cartridges and the black cartridge.
The cartridges are HP 56,57 and 58 which come in around the £15-£30 mark.
To install the ink is straightforward, you open the small hatch, and lift a compartment door for each type of ink, then click it into place.

All explanations are in the two booklets provided.
These are quite clear and easy to follow for the basics.
There is also a quick installation guide sheet, which was very useful.

However I did not realise that there was much more to this printer than my previous one.

The advantage is that you can change the settings for whatever you wish to print and whatever paper type that you are using.
Some of which I have never heard of, but you can keep it on automatic if you like.

You can use the ink economically or have a higher quality depending on the standard that you want. There are four print quality choices Best, Normal, Everyday and Fast draft. You can even change the order that you wish to print the pages in, which is ideal when I'm typing up my assignments – that is when I remember to change it.

Compared to my previous printer the quality of the colour and the speed was outstanding and more superior. The excellence of the print is so good that you cannot see any lines. With my old printer there were many.

The photos are excellent and look as though they have been done professionally.
I did use the freebie paper that came with the printer, trying to make sure which way to put the paper in the printer. Again it tells you in the book.
The paper tray is flat and easy to get to and to use. There is a rear access door to clear a paper jam and because I have my printer under my keyboard this is not easily accessible
Like I mentioned the printer is fast, it is also reasonably quiet, well less noisy than some.

You can have the option of printing in different sizes and this includes envelopes. Most of the choices are accessed through the computer and you can do many things
Even having borderless prints.
You can adjust the colour settings from the menu and there is the choice of poster printing or double sided printing, though I have not used that because you need something else for it. (To buy that is)

Also from the printer menu is the option to change the settings for how much ink is used and the drying time. That’s amazing.

This printer is definitely worth the money, and although I have not used all the features yet I know that its performance and the quality of the photos and other printed pages would take a lot of beating.
I know that I will be saving on getting pictures developed, but still not sure about how long the ink will last.
I do know that there are cartridges that can be refilled, but I do not know whether the quality would be as good.

Thanks for reading and happy printing
Mary-Jane

 

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