HP Photosmart 2575

The HP Photosmart 2575 feels like a cut above the average inkjet multifunction device (MFD). While many MFDs suffer from being more than a little flimsy, this one is sturdily built.

A multiformat memory card reader (Memory Stick, SD, Compact Flash and Microdrive) sits at the bottom of the printer along with a Pictbridge-compatible USB port.

Installation and setup were simple and operation is similarly easy. On the top right of the printer sits a sizeable 6.4cm colour LCD screen that allows you to preview photos before you decide to print.

A range of other controls are positioned to the left of the scanning bed and provide quick access to functions such as copy and scan, as well as emailing or sending the image straight to a designatedphoto-editing program.

During testing, we found the quality of the scanner to be commendable and speedy, taking just 20 seconds to scan a colour A4 page at 300dpi. Print quality is equally impressive. We managed to achieve 6.6ppm (pages per minute) for text, although this dropped to 3.14ppm for a pdf file containing both graphics and text.

As is the case with most printers these days, borderless photo prints are available. What's not so common is an MFD that is capable of producing reasonably high-quality photo prints. We didn't notice any speckling or banding, which is highly unusual with MFDs.

Realising home networks are commonplace, HP has taken the sensible decision to include an Ethernet port with the Photosmart 2575. This means you can attach it direct to your router and print from any PC on the network.

This is one of the more expensive MFDs, but if you're after high-quality prints and a decent range of features the HP Photosmart 2575 is well worth the extra money.

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