HP Photosmart D7360

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The Photosmart D7360 is HP's latest offering in the competitive dedicated photo printer arena. Judging by the speed, the D7360 is likely to garner a lot of interest in the photo enthusiast and professional circles, especially when it's marketed as the world's fastest photo printer in comparison with competing models (available as of April 2006).

Upside: The great attraction is, of course, speed. Based on HP's specifications, the Photosmart D7360 printer is capable of producing 10 x 15-inch prints in as little as 12 seconds (on normal color photo mode with draft quality on photo paper), while a similar print at best quality would take 49 seconds.

Whether these claims stand up to actual tests remain to be seen but it would interesting to observe how the printer fares in real-life usage--notably, the Photosmart D7360 printer would attract professionals looking to churn out photo proofs and contact prints in double quick time for client reference and approval.

Design-wise, the Photosmart D7360 printer incorporates an adjustable 3.4-inch touchscreen color LCD display with an improved interface and menu layout. This should enhance user experience by doing away with the clutter of multiple controls and buttons often seen on other similar products, as well as adding a much-needed element of user-friendliness and intuitive control. The larger display also means some basic photo-editing can be done on the printer. A lot more photo details can be viewed on the LCD prior to the actual printing as compared with earlier HP models.

The Photosmart D7360 printer is well-designed and stylish, a definite and welcome move away from the blockish grey boxes of yesteryear. It evidently takes a cue from Apple's trademark simplicity and white exterior, a look which is increasingly becoming popular among new printers being introduced into the market. Another such example is Lexmark's latest range of multifunction inkboxes.

PictBridge compatibility and optional Bluetooth capability via a wireless adapter allow for PC-less and untethered print operation. HP also introduced its newly formulated HP Advanced Photo Paper (initially announced in 2005), which is recommended for use with the Photosmart D7360 for optimum speeds. According to HP, the new media has increased display permanence, improved gloss uniformity and enhanced photo feel.

Downside: This is not so much of a downside but we were hoping that Bluetooth connectivity would come standard instead of being an option. Additional paper-handling options would also be useful as well, with double-sided duplex printing as standard.

Outlook: Technical specifications look promising. While the speed can only be achieved with the use of original HP media, the lower costs and print quality of the photo paper are easily incorporated into any photo printing workflow. The larger LCD is also another big plus since any additional viewable detail is always welcome.