If you open up the packaging of HP's new Photosmart A636 compact printer you'll be forgiven for suffering an instant sense of déjà vu, as this is an upgrade of the virtually identical Photosmart A626.

There are times when you need a heavy-duty, full-on printer that's capable of churning out large volumes of documents, and there are times when you need something relatively cheap and cheerful to print off photos when you're on the move or at a friend's house, and access to a PC is not always easy. It's in the latter situation that the A636 comes into its own.

Designed in stylish black, around the size of a small toaster (252 x 117 x 134mm) and weighing no more than 1.52kg, the A636 comes with a built-in carrying handle. An adjustable paper tray at the back can handle from 10 x 15cm to 13 x 18cm paper sizes and on top is a big, bright and bold, tilting, 12cm touch screen with accompanying stylus.

The output tray drops down from the front to reveal a series of memory card slots that can accommodate just about anything you can throw at them (CompactFlash Type I and II, Magic Gate, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard, Smart Media, xD-Picture Card). In addition there's a USB 2.0 port for PictBridge usage, flash cards or optional Bluetooth and wireless connectivity.

Should you decide you do want to print off photos via your computer, then there's a suitable USB connection round the back. One major advance is that there's no need for a separate software disk to install your drivers as they're all built-in, and it's literally a matter of minutes before you're up and running.

Where this machine goes from just handy to fun, though, is with the imaginative box of tricks that you can access via the Creative icon on the Menu screen. As well as the usual red-eye correction and Photo Fix (which is on by default), you can add a host of frames, add separate captions, create albums and photo layouts, add clip-art, design greeting cards, apply Design Gallery effects (such as pet-eye fix, sepia and touch-up) and even draw directly onto the photos before you print them. There are 20 different colour options for drawing and labelling and five font styles, so there's plenty of scope for letting your mind roam free.

The other major improvement is the quality of the finished images. The print speed is still relatively leisurely (we averaged about one and a quarter minutes per print) but the HP 110 Tri-colour Inkjet cartridge, using HP's standard smudge-free Vibera inks, turned out vibrant, authentic, crisply defined colours. If you're planning a sleepover or just want to process your photos while on holiday, this could be a valuable piece of kit.

Verdict
If you haven't yet purchased a compact photo printer to keep with you on the move where PCs might be hard to come by, then the Photosmart A636 produces good quality images with a host of editing and fun creative features.

Company: HP

Contact: 0845 270 4142

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