Compact photo printers have been one of the success stories of the last few years.

Having a small, portable printer that can create real-life snaps from memory cards or a digital camera has complemented the boom in digital photography – the question is where manufacturers go from here?

HP thinks the answer lies in producing larger prints and the Photosmart A618 can print 7 x 5in (18 x 13cm ) photos, as well as the more common 6 x 4in (15 x 10cm) type. To do this, the printer has to be a little wider than earlier models, but other than that, the mini-toaster design is pretty similar.

There’s a 6cm screen on top, which can be angled up for viewing, and there’s a square button-ring to its right, for navigating the menus and previewing photos. To the left of the screen, you can select various effects, such as PhotoFix, via another square cluster of buttons.

Open the front cover of the HP Photosmart A618, which becomes the paper output tray, and the back cover, which opens just far enough to slip in 20 sheets of photo paper, and you’re set up. Four memory card slots on the front accept all the common types and opening a small cover reveals the single, three-colour print cartridge.

There’s a spring-loaded carrying handle, which folds itself away neatly, and add an optional battery pack can be added to make the A618 fully mobile. It also has Bluetooth, so you can print straight from a camera phone. It connects to a computer via USB.

Print quality is good, with smooth colour transitions and fine detail from HP’s Vivera ink, though some shadow detail, even with PhotoFix image enhancement, was lost in our test prints.

HP supplies consumables in packs for 60 or 120, 15 x 10cm prints, including ink cartridge and print blanks and the 120 print pack pricing gives a cost per print of just 18p, which is very good.

Print times are slower than HP claims, taking 1min 50 and 2min 10 respectively for 6 x 4in and 7 x 5in photos, but overall and considering the £150 price tag, it's a good refresh for HP’s compact photo printer.

Also consider
Canon Pixma mini260
Overall: Prints good-quality photos, has a user-friendly design and comes in at a decent price
Rating: 4
Price: £119

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