Making a good impression amid fierce competition

By CHRIS BARTON

Buying an inkjet printer these days is a nightmare. Spoiled for choice in so many categories - from the cheap entry-level through mid-range and photo quality to the all-in-one multifunction models - it's hard to know where to begin.

The low-cost printers look like a bargain, but then you find they've often got really small print cartridges which run out in no time and cost almost as much as the printer itself to replace.

Then again, the razor-and-razor-blade pricing strategy - cheap razors, expensive blades - seems to apply to all inkjets. And when you buy a photo quality printer, the running costs go up again - on expensive glossy photo paper.

Putting such annoyances aside, I tried out HP's Deskjet 5160 - a mid-range photo quality printer - and HP's PSC 1210, an entry level all-in-one (minus a fax).

At $239 the Deskjet 5160 is the same as the 5652 model ($317) but without a two-sided printing accessory. Its breadbox styling and compact size (449 x 425.5 x 145mm) fit nicely on any home office desk - although the output tray is a little flimsy.

But it's a breeze to set up with an easy-to-follow poster and a self-installing CD for the software. The unit supports Windows 98 and up, and Macintosh OS 8.6 or later. The printed manual is rather skimpy but that's compensated for by the "printer assistant" software that tells you everything you need.

The print cartridges are easy to get at for replacement in a separate compartment at the side. There's also a nice feature in the software that estimates how much ink you've got left - handy but also depressing because it's a constant reminder of when you next have to fork out. At Dick Smith, the black cartridge costs $44, the tricolour $78 and a photo cartridge costs $69.

The 5160 really impressed in text printing - rocketing through pages in fast draft mode (rated at 19 pages a minute) while keeping very good quality.

With PhotoREt 4 (photo resolution enhancement technology), photos were generally crisp with smooth gradations, though this required some tweaking with the "HP photography" software. It also does borderless prints - although I found the paper size and orientation settings a bit fiddly to get right.

With the photo cartridge installed (removing the black cartridge) you get HP's six ink colour printing which gives some improvement to photo output quality, but not as dramatically as I had expected.

I also tried the 4800x1200 optimised dots per inch (dpi) colour mode which makes printing ridiculously slow and hogs vast amounts of memory while doing so - and, as far as I could see, makes no discernable difference in output.

Overall, however, the 5160 is great mid-range text printer with the added benefit of good quality photo printing.

The HP PSC 1210 is very compact for all that it contains - printer, copier and scanner - and at $199 it represents great value for money. There's no output tray so printouts simply churn back on to the input tray which can be a bit of a pain. But like the 5160 it's a cinch to set up and the array of buttons and LCD menu on the side really make it almost idiot-proof to use. Just place what you want to scan or copy face down under the lid and press the appropriate buttons - couldn't be easier.

The machine's rather tight interior makes it a little difficult to insert the ink cartridges through the oven-like door. But the automatically printed calibration sheet which you then put on the built-in scanner makes cartridge alignment a dream.

As a printer the PSC 1210 generated good-quality photo outputs similar to the 5160, but the big downside is that it doesn't do borderless prints which is a real shame. Text outputs were also very good, with draft prints coming out very clean and fast - albeit a little noisily.

The scanner on the PSC 1210 had good colour fidelity with the scanned images remaining sharp and losing only a little of their vibrancy and contrast. A drawback, however, is the anchored cover which makes copying slightly thicker media such as magazines impossible except by leaving the cover up. But the ease of use of this device and the combination of features you get for the price make it a hot buy.

HP PSC 1210

$199

Pros: all-in-one compact printer, scanner, copier, decent performance for the price.

Cons: scanner lid doesn't detach for book scanning, no borderless photo prints, a bit noisy.

Rating: 7.5/10

HP Deskjet 5160


$239

Pros: excellent text quality and speed, good quality photo output.

Cons: fiddly software settings for paper and printing options.

Rating: 7/10.