My New Baby: HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer

I’ll admit it-  I’m not a huge gadget girl. Oh, sure, I’ll THINK I am, but when it comes down to getting them out of the box, reading the manual, and hooking them up? Fuhgeddaboutit. I like my technology already in place and behaving seamlessly.

So imagine my chagrin when my old printer developed an insatiable apetite for paper- ESPECIALLY if it were part of a school project due first thing in the am. She also may have been a wee bit tipsy, making messy lines whilst printing.

Something had to change, but I fretted at the thought of dealing with an installation and…gasp…techno-change.

Then fate stepped in, and the kind folks at HP offered this sleek beauty to review- I was thrilled to meet her, but not so much to install a new Techno-family member.

But my worries were for naught- from start to finish, it took us half an hour to get the Photosmart Premium out of the box and up and running. (Bonus: the printer comes packed in a huge eco-tote bag inside the box! I used it for hauling Christmas gifts.)

It was actually Christmas Eve when we set her up, and there was no warm-up period. I was all, “Hi, nice to meet you and we’ve got three gift certificates, six restaurant.com certificates, and oh yeah, sixty three photos to print by morning…Welcome!”

Because of course, I had bought stacks of frames to give as gifts to my family, only to find them buried under a pile of wrapping paper on Christmas Eve with no pictures in them. But Photosmart saved the day, cranking out print after print that looked as though I’d spent a fortune on them.

I normally edit pictures in Iphoto, but used the HP Photosmart Studio software that comes with the printer to make changes- it was very intuitive, and definitely had native controls that allowed me to crop, darken, and brighten to my heart’s content. The photo tray also holds 5x7 photo paper, in addition to the standard 4x6.

I used cardstock to print the gift certificates, and waited with bated breath for the inevitable paper jam that would have ensued with my previous printer. But this time- zip. Just spat them out on the desk and continued. To say it was a welcome change is an understatement.

But the most unique feature of the HP Photosmart is the included attached mini-monitor, with web capabilities. It comes pre-loaded with apps, such as Fandango for printing movie tickets, Mapquest for those last-minute driving directions (my most hated printing chore prior to this- I had ALWAYS packed up my laptop, before remembering I had no idea where to go.)

But now, I just hit the screen, type in directions, and print.  Or,  for a little road entertainment, I use the scrolling touch feature to check out coloring pages that come pre-loaded. Those came in VERY handy with sick children this week.

Appearance-wise, it is a large printer, but sleek. She looks like a concierge of sorts, sitting on the desk waiting to hear how she can be of service. And truly, she is.

The wireless printing function, for me, is a revolution. I don’t know why hooking up a printer cable always felt like such a major deal, but it did. Now, I hit print and she springs to life. It’s taken the procrastination factor out of paperwork- always a welcome value.

All in all, I highly, highly recommend the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer- the quality of print and ease of use out of the box make it a winner in my book.

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