Syntax's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Photosmart A636 Compact Photo InkJ...
It Seemed Like A Bargin I purchased this item before christmas at Walmart, they had run them on sale very cheap, and it looked like a great deal, a HP photo printer, that I could use in the car, and print photos on the spot right off my memory card.. and it was only $50. I bought a lesser model as well for $30.
INK Well the printer was cheap, but the ink was not. I quickly found out that the printer came with a half empty cartridge and that it only printed about 30 4x6 prints before it ran out. The new ink cartridges were about $25 and gave about 70 prints per cartridge if your conservative.
I also found that these cartridges seem to dry up alot quicker than the full size printer ones do, and that once they do, there is no getting them working again. So unless you use this printer alot, which isnt really practical due to costs, you end up wasting the ink.
Paper I knew from past experience with HP that if you use other papers with thier ink, the colors tend to shift, you get blues that look like purple, and dark photos at times. HP has told me outright they formulate thier ink to work with thier paper, and that you should not expect great results if you use aftermarket ink or paper. HP photo paper doesnt come that cheap either.
Cost of Prints So if you add up the cost of ink.. ~$0.30 a print and paper ~$0.10 a print. Your looking at something like 40-50 cents a print. Which is twice what a consumer photo lab charges like walmart.
Bottom Line Its a great novelty item. If you want prints instantly.. for instance a business picnic, or a family reunion. Then this might be a great item. Plan on using up the ink in that one sitting, and handing out photos right there and then. People will love it..
But if you want to buy this item for the ocassional print. Maybe to print a photo here or there, or carry it around in your car, it just wont work. The heat will dry out the ink, the cost isnt really affordable, 4x6 isnt really to handy for anything but photography.
I think this printer fits a tight market.. If you think you fall into that small group that would get some use from this, its a great printer, the prints are good quality when using HP's ink and paper. Speed is decent, usability is good.
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