I love computers, and I make sure that I'm updated with the best and the most excellent devices in the market. And when I found the HP Photosmart Premium CD055A#ABA All-in-One Printer, I just knew I had to get it. When I use it, I find ultimate satisfaction because it provides all my printing needs. But what makes this printer model so special? Read this review and find out.
Design
This model has a nice, sleek, black exterior with a beautiful gloss finish and very functional yet aesthetic features. The printer has a weight of 16.4 pounds and the dimensions of 17.8'' x 18.62'' x 7.83''. It's a good fit on the computer table's printer space, but you can also keep it on a desk or on a shelf. The printer scans, copies, and prints with excellent HP-standard quality.
The printer has a black body with simple plastic material, and the top panel is finished with a glossy texture that adds a great aesthetic effect to the device. Because it's black, the printer isn't easily affected by damages of weathering and long-term use. It shows no stains, no scratches, and no marks, except perhaps dusts and tiny particles which can be easily swept away by a swipe of clean cloth. The beautiful aesthetics of this printer will definitely last long if it's maintained properly.
The model is easy enough to use, simple in functions, but very useful. Apart from the screen and printing dock, the device is pretty plain with not much peripherals, confusing parts, or breakable components. It's basically a single box with multiple functions, a display, and an outlet for print-outs.
The printer has an integrated and intuitive 3.45'' CGD touch screen display panel with Touch Smart controls, and this is where you can view, edit, and adjust your photos before you print them out, even without using a computer.
Printing and Other Functions
Quality printing is made easier by this model. The device can print up to 33 pages per minute of black-ink print-outs and 32 pages per minute for colored print-outs. This makes printing extremely speedy so you can print your 100-page-long thesis for school or progress report for work. But the printer is specially designed for printing photos, and it can certainly do this job well. You can print borderless photos on this printer up to letter sized photo papers (8.5'' x 11''), and you can even print without using a PC. Simply activate the device and you can print files or photos through Bluetooth, memory cards, PictBridge cameras, and USB devices.
The scanner is a flatbed type which can create files with resolutions of up to 4800 dpi, and if enhanced this can increase up to 19,200 dpi. The bit depth of the scanner is 48-bit. It can only scan documents of dimensions 8.5'' x 11.7'', and there is no transparent materials adaptor, so you can only scan short bond paper or letter sized documents and A4 sized documents which are printed on white paper, and not on acetate and other transparent media. This isn't a problem, though, unless all the documents you have to scan are in legal sized papers or 8.5'' x 14'' in size.
The copier is also similar to speed with the printer, which is able to print up to 33 copies per minute for black-ink documents and 32 copies per minute for colored documents. You can print up to 99 copies in one instant, and you can also reduce or enlarge your documents from 25% to 400%.
Other Features
The machine has no fax function, but if you need to fax, you can always get a phone with fax, or maybe get a different model of printer. The model is wireless-enabled, which means that you can operate it with a computer through the use of internet connection alone. You can use several computers to print on this machine all at once even if they are all in a separate room, as long as you are connected to the internet. This makes printing so much easier, and you don't have to get multiple printers for multiple computers - just an internet connection.
The CGD display has its own features which you can use to edit your photos which include HP Photo Brightening, HP Adaptive Lighting, HP Smart Focus, and HP Auto Red-eye Removal. You can also minimize paper use and save the environment from clutter by using the duplex printing function which can be set to automatically print on both sides of the paper. The device is Energy Star qualified, which means that it saves energy, helping Mother Nature and preserving the scarce natural resources that humans have been constantly abusing.
Conclusion
If you're looking for an excellent all-in-one printer that prints great quality photos, the HP Photosmart Premium CD055A#ABA All-in-One Printer is the perfect model for you. The only thing lacking on this device is the fax function, but that can be arranged by other devices. I use this for home printing, printing family photos, producing high-quality documents, scanning textbooks, and copying notes from other printed media. So far, it's done excellent work and I haven't had any problems with it except for the excessive ink use, since the printer uses two black cartridges - one for printing documents and another for printing photos. If you aren't mindful of the amount of printing you do, you might find yourself changing cartridges every week. For me, this can be a problem if you don't use your printer properly, but I manage it, although it takes a little more work.
Overall, I would give this device a score of 8 out of 10 because of its excellent performance, with the excessive ink and no-fax on the side. But right now, it's on sale in most online retailers and the price is well worth the functions of the device. So if you're deciding to get a good all-in-one printer for a good bargain, this printer is for you.
