HP Envy 100 e-All-in-One Printer review

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Verdict:

The HP Envy 100 looks stylish, but rivals at this price offer a lot more substance

Review Date: 31 Aug 2011

Price when reviewed: £129

Buy it now for: £215
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.currys.co.uk

Reviewed By: Simon Handby

Our Rating 2 stars out of 5

User Rating

HP's Envy sub-brand is applied to its premium models, which are distinguished by their slick styling. This inkjet multifunction peripheral (MFP) is a striking mix of glossy black plastic and brushed metal alloy. Like several Epson MFPs including the Epson Stylus Photo PX720WD, the Envy 100 looks like a high-end VHS recorder from the early 90s. There's no obvious gap for printed paper to emerge, while the paper cassette is slotted into the base and is only big enough for 80 sheets.

Plug the Envy 100 in and the only obvious control is a power symbol illuminated on the front panel. Touch this and the panel lights up with an 8.9cm colour touchscreen surrounded by illuminated, context-sensitive buttons. The whole assembly can be tilted up to a comfortable angle.

HP's interface is like a smartphone's, combining touch-activated icons and a list of applications that can be scrolled with a gesture. Unfortunately scrolling wasn't smooth, while audio feedback arrived up to a second after the button press it related to, leading to confusion and repeated presses. There are several sub-menus, which took between four and nearly 10 seconds to load, adding to the overall feeling of unresponsiveness. The system includes downloadable apps and clever features such as preview views of photocopies, but its sluggishness made it tedious to use.

The Envy 100's print driver splits options between two tabs: Layout and Paper/Quality. Although it's easy to select most everyday print options, some are hidden away in a separate Advanced page. We wouldn't normally expect to delve into advanced options to select borderless photo printing, for example.

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