HEWLETT-PACKARD DeskJet 5150 review

Hewlett-Packard has some marvellous models in its range of inkjet printers but the one that impressed our judges most is the humble DeskJet 5150.

It doesn't offer any special business features such as duplex printing or networking, nor does it include card slots and front panel controls for direct photo printing. What it does have is the ability to produce fantastic quality prints at faster speeds than its competitors, and for a price that anyone can justify spending.

HP has dominated the inkjet printer market for many years, largely thanks to the quality and speed of its text prints on plain paper - a critical task for any printer. It lost ground to Epson and Canon in photo printing, but with its latest Photoret IV technology, HP's photographic output is now competing with the best of them. The 5150 shares the same print engine as many of its pricier siblings from the PhotoSmart range, and its black ink cartridge can be swapped for a photo cartridge for six-ink photo printing. Then again, its standard CMYK cartridges are capable of impressive photo prints too.

The 5150 comes with an excellent software suite, including utilities for printing photos and putting them on CD and the web to share with friends. We wish that its running costs were lower, but this is a criticism we'd level at all budget inkjets.

It didn't take long for our judges to pick the Deskjet 5150 as their favourite. It offers a successful combination of reasonable speed and superb quality at an extremely competitive price - a combination that matches the needs of most PC users perfectly.

EXPERT'S VERDICT

"Better print quality on plain paper than any other printer under £150, and results on photo paper are breathtaking."

EDITOR'S VERDICT

"A winning combination of speed, quality and price makes it perfect for virtually every PC user."