HP Envy 100 e-All-in-One Printer review
The HP Envy 100 looks stylish, but rivals at this price offer a lot more substance
Motors swivel the control panel up and a paper stop into place for printing, from where they return when you collect the finished job. This adds a short delay to the start of a job, but the Envy 100 was quick to produce draft text, reaching nearly 15 pages per minute (ppm). It wasn’t as rapid at normal quality, however, managing only 5.4ppm in black and 1.9ppm in colour, while photos were very slow and wouldn’t print without borders. Other than this, we were quite happy with the results. Text and graphics looked crisp and solid on plain paper, while photos were free of banding or any visible grain.
While the Envy 100’s scanner is a little slow to create previews, you don’t need to scan again for resolutions of up to 300dpi. The driver does need to rescan above this, though, with 1,200dpi being particularly slow. The interface has no auto-exposure or automatic marquee selection, making it less easy to use than some. Scans are disappointing, too, with automatic sharpening leaving obvious artefacts.
While the Envy 100 looks clever, its control panel and motorised paper stop seem over-complicated gimmicks. By contrast, the print and scan drivers seem simple, but their omission of some basic features leaves them verging on simplistic. Epson’s PX720WD is better and cheaper.
Basic Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rating | ** |
| Maximum native print resolution | 4,800×1,200dpi |
| Max optical resolution | 1,200dpi |
| Output bit depth | 24-bit |
Quoted Speeds | |
| Quoted speed, mono A4 | 27ppm |
| Quoted speed, colour A4 | 22ppm |
Tested Print Speeds | |
| Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 11m 27s |
| Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 11m 34s |
Physical and Environmental | |
| Standard printer interfaces | USB, 802.11b/g/n wireless |
| Optional printer interfaces | none |
| Size | 102x427x337mm |
| Weight | 7.8kg |
| Noise (in normal use) | 56dB(A) |
| Duty cycle | 1,000 |
Paper Handling | |
| Maximum paper size | A4/legal |
| Maximum paper weight | 280gsm |
| Standard paper inputs | 1 |
| Standard paper input capacity | 80 |
| Maximum paper inputs | 1 |
| Maximum paper input capacity | 80 |
| Duplex (code, cost if option) | Yes |
General | |
| Printer technology | thermal inkjet |
| Supported operating systems | Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X 10.4 or later |
| Other inkjet features | 8.9cm touchscreen |
| Other inkjet options | none |
Buying Information | |
| Price | £129 |
| Consumable parts and prices | £20 |
| Price per colour A4 page | 4.5p |
| Quoted life of supplied black cartridge | 200 pages (ISO/IEC 24712) |
| Quoted life of supplied colour cartridge(s) | 165 pages (ISO/IEC 24712) |
| Quoted life of supplied photo cartridge(s) | N/A |
| Warranty | one year |
| Supplier | http://www.currys.co.uk |
| Details | www.hp.co.uk |
Print Quality | |
| Number of ink colours | 4 |
| Number of ink cartridges | 2 |
| Maximum number of ink colours | 4 |
| Maximum number of cartridges | 2 |
| Quoted photo durability | 108 years |
| Quoted photo durability source | Wilhelm Imaging Research |
Tested Scan Speeds | |
| Full scan area preview | 20s |
| A4 document at 150dpi | 21s |
| A4 document at 300dpi | 21s |
| 6x4in photo at 600dpi | 29s |
| 6x4in photo at 1200dpi | 1m 51s |
Tested Copy Speeds | |
| Time for single A4 mono copy 1.0 | 23s |
| Time for single A4 colour copy 1.0 | 43s |
| Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0 | N/A |
Photo Features | |
| PictBridge support | Yes |
| Borderless printing | A4 |
| Direct (PC-less) printing | Yes |
| Supported memory cards | Memory Stick Duo, SD, MMC |
| CD printing | No |
Copy Features | |
| Maximum number of copies | 50 |
| Max mono copy resolution | 600dpi |
| Max colour copy resolution | 600dpi |
Fax Features | |
| Max mono fax resolution | N/A |
| Fax memory (maximum mono pages) | N/A |