FUZZY WUZZY WAS A BEAR ... but not my printed photos!
Written: Feb 28 '04
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Pros: makes professional-looking photos quicker than you can say Hewlett Packard Rocks!
Cons: no cons here.
The Bottom Line: with my rebate from HP, this printer cost only $24. I'm in love!
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| Donnie013's Full Review: Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart 7260 Thermal Inkjet Pri... |
I might be dating myself, here, but I’m sure there are many like me who remember that old tune …… Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear; Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy was he?
That little jingle came to mind every time I tried to reproduce a photo on my printer. My old HP812 printer, although I still use it for various tasks, just wasn’t up to par when it came to printing photos from my HP 735 digital camera. I saw more dots than were on that yellow polka-dotted bikini from the 60’s generation. (NO! I didn’t wear one! LOL)
My 812 does a fantastic job with text and most graphics. I really am completely satisfied with it, the only problem is that now, since I’ve gotten my digital camera, I wanted another toy – something that would allow me to print photos that actually looked like photos.
After doing a lot of searching, I settled on the HP7260. Since HP had a rebate program right after Christmas, I said, “Hey, why not!” So, off I went back to Staples to buy another printer.
This HP7200 is absolutely fantastic and so easy to use. First, let’s tackle the setup.
The directions are made so non-technical people, like me, can install this printer with his/her eyes closed. The CD prompts bring to from the start to the finish in about 5 minutes. Yes, I said FIVE minutes. It took longer for me to get the printer out of the box than it did to install it and hook it up.
When I say this little new toy of mine is attractive I mean, it’s sleek, modern, light in weight with a nice smooth gray and black finish. This machine would compliment any desk.
The first thing you might notice is the small black lid. When you open it, all you will find in the storage compartment is the little plastic tray for your 4x6 photo paper. It’s a very convenient place in which to store the tray so it won’t get misplaced or broken.
On the front of the printer, you’ll notice several memory card slots. Because HP has no idea what kind of digital camera you have or what kind of memory card it takes, HP created several slots for the various memory cards. You just pick the right on for your card and you’re ready to print right from your card. Just for your information, in case you’re wondering if your camera’s card is compatible, this printer will accommodate IBM Microdrive, CampactFlash 1 and 2, SmartMedia, Sony Memory Sticks, Secure Digital, MultiMedia Card, xD-Picture Card.
What if you have an HP digital camera and don’t want to keep taking out our memory card to print a picture? NO PROBLEM! You can print directly from your camera using the little direct-printing port located in the front of the printer near the memory slots. This port can also be used for your notebook computer.
We all know that printers are capable of having paper jams every so often. The HP7260 has a rear access door for just that reason. Helps you have access to quickly and efficiently clear out paper jams.
How about this for convenience? You’re in a rush. You need to print a few pictures but you don’t have time to download them to your computer. NO PROBLEM! Just press the little folder button that sits near the power button and this printer will save the contents of your memory card to your computer for you. How’s that for convenience?
Want to print just one 4x6? Just press the button with the larger person image. That’s the 4x6 photo selector. Oh, you really want to print a whole collage to let your friends see what they look like before you make those discreet 4x6 prints. Okay, then just press the button with the smaller person image. That’s your photo collage button and what you’ll get is 9 images on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper OR you can switch to get 4 images on a 4x6. It’s your choice!
While I’m on the subject of pictures, let me just toss this in here. Should you want professional-looking, borderless pictures, this HP7260 will make them up in the various sizes of the paper you plan to use. Just select borderless when you select to print. The machine does rest.
What I like best about this printer is that it can handle any size paper from a 3x5 index card to an 8.5x14 piece of legal paper. Unfortunately, it won’t print anything wider than 8.5 inches, but, hey, we can’t have it all, can we?
Keep in mind that while you can really use any company’s paper, you will get the best results from using HP paper with any HP printer.
Let me get back to that little gadget for the 4x6 prints. It’s called a paper cassette and it’s designed to hold about 20 sheets of 4x6 photo paper. All you do is fill it with the paper, glossy side down, and slide it snuggly onto the right side of the paper tray. That’s it! It’s SO simple.
Let’s talk a bit about the paper tray. While this printer LOOKS small, it can handle at any one time about 100 sheets of paper. Need to make cards? Again, you can place between 20 and 40 card stock papers (depending on thickness) or 15 envelopes or 20 sheets of labels. Ever wonder how corporations make those nice transparencies for their speeches? You can do it, too. HP can handle 25 transparencies to help you on your way to a great presentation.. What to make iron-on transfers? No problem. This printer can also handle 25 sheets of iron-on transfer papers! Now, that’s a lot paper for any one printer to handle. (Of course, these projects would be done one project at a time but hey that’s a lot of work for one printer and it does it flawlessly.)
I know by now, you’re wondering about the inkjet part of all this. The amount of ink you will use really depends on the work you do. It can’t be put any simpler. While HP makes their product so you won’t use up excess ink, if you use this printer for all your text files and don’t change to a black inkjet, you’ll find yourself in a bit of a problem. You’ll be running out of ink very quickly.
Changing the inkjets is a piece of cake. Just open the entire top of the printer and gently push out the inkjet. Snap the new one in and you’re good to go!
The inkjets are a bit expensive but not much more than any other inkjet on the market. My one bit of advice is to not use the refilled ones. They are not proportioned in color ink the exact way that HP proportions their new inkjets. Therefore, your color will be slightly off. For the best color, I really recommend using the HP color inkjets in the HP printer.
Should you need to remove a color inkjet and temporarily replace it with a black inkjet, don’t worry about the color one drying out. HP gives you an INKJET HOLDER for just that purpose.
Okay, almost done here but I know I’m forgetting something. Hmm! Oh yeah! The printer formats everything to JPEG for easy sharing with emails. (Don’t you just hate those photos that come with .eml on them? I still can’t figure out how to switch them to JPEG in order to save them in any particular program.) The HP makes life so much easier!
My new HP7260 is compatible with Macintosh as well as IBM compatible computers.
Well, I guess I’m finally done here. My final note is that this is one awesome printer and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
Donnie013
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Member: Margaret Brennan
Location: Punta Gorda Isles, FL
Reviews written: 450
Trusted by: 288 members
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