HP Photosmart 385

Supercompact, equipped of multiple memory cards reader, powered also by batteries, connected via USB and Bluetooth, shows a remarkable printing quality, does not need the PC to work. These in short the characteristics of HP's solution for the portable photographic print. An accessory thought for whom wants to try the emotion of the small format photo also in travel.

The Photosmart 385 remembers the form of a toaster, with round lines and aspect solid and compact. On the top side there are the buttons of control and the color LCD display. Two front and rear doors protect the memory card slots and the print rollers from the dust.
The standard endowment provide the AC power supply, a color ink cartridge, a 32 MB SD memory card, a kit of photographic paper of various format, the manuals, the PC management software.
Who wishes the wireless connection, can buy the Bluetooth USB dongle, inserted in the front PictBridge connector, that lights up of blue during data transfers.



The on/off button has the dual function to start up the device and unlock the front and rear doors and the display. Pressing it in depth up to hear a light click is necessary.
The front panel lodges the slots for the more diffuse formats of memory, among them the Compact Flash II, used by the Microdrives.



The insertion of the ink cartridge is very simple. Open the side door, insert the cartridge in the slot up to hear a blocking click, close the cartridge slot. All these operations are signalled by the printer display, that guides the user in a faultless way.

Inks "Vivera" used by this printer are studied not to fade with contact with light and atmospheric agents. Preserve intact their brilliance for tens of years and guarantee a duration superior than traditional film photographs.
There are available cartridges in three-colour process and the very beautiful grey tones cartridge, ideal for keens on the black & white.



The print quality is remarkable for a only three colours cartridge. Test images can not be evaluated on the monitor of a computer, but I assure you a tonal depth and a definition decidedly unusual for a compact printer. Prints without borders and panoramic large photos are possible, with times of print of the order of the 90 second for the classical 10x15 format.

Is advisable to leave the photographies dried for some minute before putting fingers above and causing bad marks. Photographies must be however preserved in a dry place and in shelter of light to preserve the freshness of the colours and the print paper to the best. If you want to expose the photographies, print a double copy and store it.

Besides the system Bluetooth, the Photosmart can be completed with useful accessories for the use in mobility. The Lithium Ion battery guarantees about 70 photographs of various format and keeps the charge when is not used.



The car power supply connects into the hold for car lighter and recharge the battery of the printer. It is supplied with a plug adapter for several HP products.



To finish, the bag in waterproof cloth, with a shoulder strap of excellent quality. It contains all the accessories and offers a sure protection for the transport.

The cards reader of the printer, is seen by the system as a normal archive peripheral, separated from the printer. In the tray area (the zone nearby to the clock) the symbols of the memory card and the printer are shown. This characteristic allows to use the Photosmart as a normal card reader and writer device, of big versatility. The card reader works only when the printer is on.

Thanks to the 2,5 inches LCD display and to the perfect ergonomics of menus, we can print and modify the photographies, directly from the memory card or from the camera (through PictBridge interface). The selection of the images and the various actions are clearly shown on the buttons, so not to require the consultation of the manual. Numerous functions are available, among which the red eyes removal and the exposure correction. An interesting characteristic is the possibility of printing single frames from video fiel present on card in several formats (MJPEG, QuickTime, MPEG1).


 

Focus on PictBridge The PictBridge interface is a communication standard between the cameras and the printers. It allows to print directly without using the computer. The connection happens with a normal serial cable (for istance USB) and uses a communication protocol common to all the PictBridge peripherals. The print takes place directly from the digital camera, using its menu. Several company support PictBridge, among them: Canon, HP, Kodak, Olympus, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Casio, ecc.

Who owns a Nokia 6600 smartphone (or other compatible models), can print directly from the telephone through the Bluetooth connection. It is necessary to associate to the phone the printer, that is seen as a normal Bluetooth peripheral.



The Printing Utility supplied whith the Nokia 6600 was projected in cooperation with HP, so it works to the perfection. Select the photography from the Gallery of images and send it to the printer.



The result is a card with all the image data and to the center our masterpiece!

The peripheral connects to the PC (or the Mac) with the USB cable (or via Bluetooth if the PC provided with this interface). The interface slot is in the rear door, near the feeding hold. After connecting the device is necessary to install the software and the printer drivers, to manage the peripheral.
The supplied elaboration utility, offers numerous functions for the modification and the improvement of the prints. The user interface is simple and intuitive, without giving up advanced color control functions.



Virtual coloured filters are available to turn a color photography into black & white and exalt the colours.

The section Projects, allows the creation of numerous jobs, thought also for printers of big format different from the Photosmart 385. A signal deserves the creation of panoramic views, obtained in total automatism with the simple selection of adjacent photographs.



Twelve photographies taken freehand with the sun to the sunset, were stuck whole to the perfection, cut out and correct so as have a constant exposure and without jumps. The result is remarkable.



The printer driver is complete of numerous functions, among which the print without borders and the print preview at native level (that is without need of a specific software).
The Printer other HP peripherals present, are managed by the HP Director panel, that controls scanners and digital cameras.

An ideal printer for who loves to travel and touch his/her photographs with hand. The wide connectivity dowries and the print quality recommend this product to that all who wish a printing system compact and simple to use, to keep in a corner of the desk or take over the shoulder during the adventures.

The cost for each review is 100 EURO, including VAT, product test, research and deepenings (possible creation of user manuals), graphics and photographic production, italian translation. Please ask for multimedia and conference delivering.

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