Review: HP DeskJet 460wbt inkjet printer

You can count the number of portable A4 inkjet printers on the fingers of one of Homer Simpson’s hands.

At the top of HP’s stable is the DeskJet 460wbt, the final ‘wbt’ indicating its compatibility with two different wireless standards.

This printer can be used as a conventional desk-bound device, by connecting it to mains power and a PC's USB 2 socket. However, you'd missing out on this printer's special features.

Install the DeskJet 460wbt a second time, choosing a wireless connection, and it will communicate with a suitably equipped desktop, notebook or handheld computer via either wi-fi 802.11b or Bluetooth (cards are supplied). It doesn't support the faster 802.11g standard, though.

Only wi-fi or Bluetooth can be used at any one time but clip on the removable, rechargeable battery pack at the back and the DeskJet 460wbt will run on its own power for up to 450 pages; coincidentally the rough capacity of its ink cartridges.

The DeskJet 460wbt has a simpler design than most HP inkjets; fold up the back cover and it becomes a rear paper-feed tray, with paper ejecting straight to the desk at the front.

The printer uses two standard ink cartridges, one black and the other tri-colour, but you can also replace the black cartridge with either a three-colour photo cartridge or a three-tone, photo grey one.

While print speeds are about that of the older USB standard, print quality is very good, pretty much up to the standard of an equivalent HP desktop printer. There’s a little feathering of black text, but nothing to complain about.

Photo printing on high-quality glossy paper is also good, with naturally rendered colours and little in the way of banding (stripes across the printout).

We tried printing six-colour output, which also worked well, though we could see little difference in the quality.

Since the DeskJet 460wbt uses the same cartridges as several other HP desktop inkjets, running costs are not appreciably higher and you're looking at around 2p per black text page, or 25p for a colour graphic one.

It's a good choice for a high-quality, truly mobile inkjet printer.

Also consider
Canon Pixma MP800R wireless MFD
Verdict: A well-made, high quality printer that makes it easy to share photo printing, scanning and copying functions around the home or office
Rating: 5
Price: £329