Printer
envy.
A
couple of months ago we reviewed the Epson ECOTANK ET-4550 printer; a
pretty full-on bit of kit with a pretty full-on price tag. Although
that particular printer did everything you could wish for, it kind of
left us longing for a trimmed-down, cheap-as-chips printer that...
well, just printed really well without our bank manager having to
give us a call. We've found it in the HP Envy 4520 All-in-one
Printer.
Whereas
the Epson effort would've set you back £370, this pint-sized little
trooper from HP costs less than fifty quid. Having said that, it
doesn't mean that the HP Envy 4520 All-in-one Printer is 'cheap' and
of low quality, just that it does exactly what it says on the tin in
a capable way. The unit itself looks very much like a classic home
printer, with the paper tray on the bottom, the feed-out area at the
front, and an opening lid on top protecting a scanner plate.
The
'all-in-one' moniker boasts that it can “print, copy, scan, photo”,
which basically means it is a printer and scanner that is capable of
producing glossy lab-quality photograph prints (if you use the right
kind of paper). There is no mention of faxing, but let's face it –
who the hell faxes any more? One thing it does feature is WiFi, which
is an essential thing for printers to have today.
After
plugging it in, switching it on and entering the WiFi password, we
were ready to print after just three minutes. Getting a document to
the printer from your laptop or mobile device is incredibly easy as
the HP Envy 4520 All-in-one Printer just appears there in you printer
list automatically. We're pretty sure that only a couple of years ago
adding a printer to your laptop was a real pain; not so with this
little beauty.
Oh,
and look; when you print something a supporting arm graciously pops
out. We love touches like that.
Ooooo... It's a lovely action. @HP pic.twitter.com/91hzHDRO8H— The Test Pit (@thetestpit) May 22, 2016
As
well as easily receiving your documents to print and your items to
scan, the HP Envy 4520 All-in-one Printer can also be exceptionally
handy when you don't even have a computer or phone around. Flick
through the settings on the 2.2 inch touch display and you'll find
handy pre-loaded files such as notebook paper, graph paper, a lined
paper – should you be short and need to grab a few pages to write
on before a meeting or lecture. It might not sound like much, but
it's actually a wonderful after-thought; one that acknowledges that
not everything is a digital document.
Another
blooming handy aspect of this surprisingly feature-packed wireless
printer is HP Instant Ink. Should you wish to activate it, your
printer will automatically order you a new set of ink cartridges once
it detects that the current ones or low. There is a monthly charge
for this service (not a big annual bill, thankfully), but if you
print a lot, or indeed plan to use this in your office, this would
definitely be a service to consider.
At
the end of the day this is very reliable printer that produces great
looking printed sheets, both colour and black text on white, with
lots of useful added extras. And look, you'll only have to pay...
£44.99