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TGP Choice

HP Printers - The Choice of the Pros Recently, TakeGreatPictures.com contributor Jon Sienkiewicz spoke with legendary photography Douglas Kirkland to discuss why he uses HP printers and papers for all of his exhibits.  Jon also shows you compact printer options to bring to the backyard barbeque or family get together. Article rating: 3.90

Douglas Kirkland can use any brand of inkjet printer in the world. Besides enjoying the rare distinction of having been a photographer for both Life and for Look magazines during the glory years of photojournalism, he’s worked on the sets of over 140 motion pictures. “Including some which will never be heard of again!” he’s quick to point out. Among those that will live on forever are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Moulin Rouge, Out of Africa, and Titanic. He’s photographed most of the world’s most beautiful women and is a living icon of photographic excellence. So, which inkjet printer does Douglas Kirkland use?

“All my shows today are printed using HP printers,” Douglas Kirkland told me. “People can't believe how brilliant the colors are.”

"As far as printers go,” he said, “I'm very happy with my HP Photosmart 8750 printer as well as the 130 Design Jet which I really, really love. They both work very well for me. The 130 makes prints two feet wide by and as long as you want on roll paper. I have some on exhibit that are 2 by 10 feet. I prefer HP printers because of the brilliance of the colors and the excellent definition in the prints."

It’s easy to understand the allure of the HP Photosmart 8750 Professional Photo Printer. It produces magnificent borderless prints up to 13x19 inches at astounding resolution. The extra large output capability is a significant advantage for pros and serious amateurs. That expanded flexibility is something important to consider when you upgrade your printer. And if you are looking for high quality and complete color fidelity, the HP 8750 Professional Photo Printer uses nine separate ink colors to faithfully reproduce every shade you can imagine. Fleshy skin tones, luscious landscapes—even steamy street shots—all look better when printed on a high quality HP professional photo printer.

If you’re a serious photographer you probably already know that HP sells more professional inkjet photo printers than any other manufacturer—because they deliver the quality that pros demand. But you do not have to be a professional to enjoy pro-quality prints. HP is also a leader in portable “snapshot printers,” the kind you take to a party or family gathering.

Compared to the Photosmart 8750, the HP Photosmart 475 Compact Photo Printer lives on a completely different planet. Whereas the 8750 has massive output capability and the uncompromising high quality features that pros demand, the 475 is small, nimble and extremely portable. Plus it has a feature that makes it unique among snapshot printers: 1.5GB of internal memory allows it to store up to 1,000 images so you can print anywhere without being connected to a computer. It’s the perfect compact printer for classrooms and for the office, and at 3.3 pounds it’s easy to carry back-and-forth. It also prints 5x7 inch prints in addition to traditional 4x6s (a nice feature seldom found in printers in this class). Print resolution is optimized for photo quality, and output is up to 4800x1200 dpi.

Printing directly from a memory card (or the internal memory) is a snap thanks to the bright, built-in 2.5” color LCD monitor. And printing is fast—as little as one minute in most cases. Print enhancements include red-eye removal and HP’s proprietary Real Life “adaptive lighting technology” which produces improved prints from images captured under less-than-perfect lighting conditions. You can also add decorative borders and frames and of course, crop and zoom.

Sound like a lot? There are more features that make it truly perfect for family fun and get-togethers. After capturing family snapshots all afternoon you can download them to your HP Photosmart 475 for printing. And you’ll be making prints you can really be proud of. Then, if any family member wants their own set of original image files you can attach an optional CD writer to the printer and burn the images to a CD—without using a PC in between. You can also connect the printer to a TV set and display a slide show—it even comes with a remote control to facilitate clicking through the slides.
 
Does someone in your family have a camera phone? The HP Photosmart 475 Compact Photo Printer allows them to print wirelessly from a suitably equipped camera phone (or PDA) with the optional HP Bluetooth bt450 wireless printer adapter. Meanwhile, serious photographers can snap in an HP Gray Photo Inkjet Cartridge and can create black and white prints reminiscent of the one you might have made in your bathroom-darkroom thirty years ago.

In other words, “multifunction” suddenly has a new definition for photographers.

The HP Photosmart 475 Compact Photo Printer retails for less than $250 (street price is even lower), and each print will cost you a little less than a quarter (by my calculations). Considering all of the useful and unique features it has it’s hard to resist.

Final bit of advice. Whether you opt for the desktop-size HP Photosmart 8750 Professional Photo Printer or the take-me-along HP Photosmart 475 Compact Photo Printer, pick the right paper. Is it absolutely necessary that the paper and the printer you use are the same brand? No. But it is important that the paper you use is properly matched to the printer’s characteristics, and in most cases the paper that is sold by the printer manufacturer is the better match for obvious reasons. If you are confused about which paper to feed your printer, check out HP’s website. You’ll find five paper selection tips that will guide you to the right choice—and to higher quality inkjet prints.

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