Check out the HP Photosmart A636

Last week I excitedly opened the box to my new and very compact HP Photosmart A636 printer. As a professional photographer, this printer is outstanding. My business partner and I are family photographers as well as school portrait photograhers. We often do onsite printing for photography fundraisers where we print photos on the spot for events such as galas, daddy-daughter dances, school reunions and school fundraisers. This printer meets all our needs for fast, portable and lab quality photos in a snap. In just the week since I've used this printer, it has proven to be a contender with even the best of the larger printers in all but the larger size prints.

One of the best features of this printer is its easy-to-view, intuitive, touchscreen display. Without the hassle of having to get out my USB cable to connect my camera to the printer, or the more laborious process of connecting my computer to my printer after downloading all of my shots, I can simply take out the SD card from my camera, put it in the appropriate slot directly in the printer, and view, adjust, resize, recolor and print out exactly what I want. This printer can print in wallet size, 4x6", 4x8" (for greeting cards), 4x12" panorama, or even 5x7", which is one of the most popular sizes for our business. The printer looks like a little boom box, complete with a handle which makes for easy carrying from room to room or table to table as we take and print our shots during an evening dinner photo-fundraiser. For the "i-wanna-touch" generation, who grew up using iPods like my 3 children, the touchscreen on this printer makes it easy for them to take their photos to print in an instant. They can crop, design a border, add a graphic or caption from the built-in array of object in the gallery. The ink dries instantly, and the printouts are borderless, true edge-to-edge printing. For a professional photographer, or for the family on the go, this is absolutely a printer worth considering. Probably the only drawback is you will need to have plenty of ink on hand because everyone in your family will want to print on this very accessible and fun printer.