Although it uses only four colors for photo printing (the pigment black is for text printing), the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One does a remarkable job of reproducing difficult colors like reds and blues. Black and white images were very neutral in tone although darker than the screen image. The tone ramps weren't as smooth as a six color printer, showing some banding from black to gray where the extra gray inks will give you a smooth transition from one extreme to the other. Skin tones with the HP Fax All-in-One were excellent.

Because there is no straight feed path, heavy stock is out of the question with the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One. Trying to print to a 300 gsm photo rag only jammed the printer at the start of the paper feed.

The HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One also includes the ability to print directly to CD/DVD media - this is the first printer I've seen here in the US other than Epson that supports this, and it's a very handy feature to have around. To create layouts, you'll use the HP Create application (Figure 6) included with the software install.

Figure 6

Another unique feature to the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One is the iPrint Photo application (Figure 7) for your iPhone or iPod Touch. The app uses the BlueTooth connection to let you print any image on your iPhone or iPod directly to the printer.

Figure 7

It's hard to find fault with the prints from the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One. Color reproduction is excellent, especially with colors that typically give inkjet printers difficulty. The included profiles are accurate and give you a bit more control over the output than you'll have by using printer managed color. I recommend keeping the printer in color mode rather than using the grayscale mode for more neutral prints.

Conclusion

For $299 the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One is a lot of printer for the money. Image quality is excellent, and on par with the Photosmart B8550. You're limited on paper choices though - heavy weight media won't work with the curved paper path, but if you want to print on gloss or luster finish papers, you'll be happy with the results.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-use	3.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5

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