HP Photosmart 385 £99
What does the maker say?
"Designed for families who want to be able to print true-to-life photos wherever they go, either from a memory card, a PictBridge-enabled camera or wirelessly from a Bluetooth camera phone."
Good points
A nice, compact printer, with internal software that eliminates red-eye in your photos. You can print wirelessly from your mobile, if you have Bluetooth, and photos cost just 19p each. You can buy the printer ink separately from the paper, and the small cartridges minimise waste.
Bad points
The menus are slow to navigate, and it is slow to print from a computer - it took a full minute more than the Canon and the Samsung. More importantly, when you look at the prints very closely, they are a little grainier than those from the other printers we tested
Marks out of 10
10
The last word
Despite the quibbles about print quality and speed, the Photosmart 385 is a smart little device. It is a joy to use, as long as you are happy to wait, and is the joint cheapest to run. The phone printing option is excellent, and the editing tools on the well-built menus are first-rate.
Epson Picture Mate 500 £99
What does the maker say?
"A compact personal photo lab. It has a handle, and if you use the optional battery you won't even need to plug it in. Just bring it with you, take your shots, print out and share the photos."
Good points
An excellent piece of design: the ink cartridge slots in like a video, so first-timers can't go wrong, and the screen is bright and clear. You can sort images by date, and children can add Disney frames to theirs before printing. The printing cost is 20p per photo.
Bad points
It's bulky - perhaps not helped by the carrying handle - and there are more features on the HP printers. As for print quality, fine details were sometimes a little soft, and there was a very slight purple tint on black and white images. The empty ink cartridge is big and not eco-friendly.
Marks out of 10
10
The last word
It might be bulky, but it's sturdy, making it good to use on the move. Epson claims the prints won't fade for 100 years - impressive if true. The menus hide advanced features that you will use more and more as your confidence grows.
Epson PictureMate 100 £59
What does the maker say?
"With the Epson PictureMate 100 it's as easy to produce impressive photos as it is to take them. Produce superb photos taken on your digital camera anytime, anywhere and with ease. You don't even need a computer."
Good points
Simple to use: scroll through your pictures, check the ones you like and press go. There are no tricky menus, and nothing to learn. It's easy to put in the ink and the paper, too. The build quality is first-class, with an internal power adaptor. Prints cost 20p, and the upfront price is a bargain.
Bad points
Advanced users will lament the lack of editing tools, and all that scrolling gets wearing. Despite missing some of the PictureMate 500's features, it's heavy - weighing 2.7kg - and like the upscale Epson model, has a bulky, wasteful cartridge.
Marks out of 10
8
The last word
It's a good choice if you can't afford the PictureMate 500, and fine for printing from a computer rather than the picture card slots. Recommended for first-timers, but the keen will quickly outgrow its basic features.
HP Photosmart 475 £149
What does the maker say?
"Designed for people who will enjoy the freedom of being able to store, view, edit and print favourite photos, in rich colour and large format prints, almost anywhere."
Good points
The only printer here that can produce 7in x5in shots - the premium size in high street print shops - as well as the usual 6in x4in. It also has a built-in hard drive, so you can archive pictures from your memory card without hooking up to a computer. At 19p a print, it's cheap to run.
Bad points
Having the option of bigger pictures diluted the quality of the smaller ones: it didn't handle 6in x4in paper too well, and the prints were grainy on close examination. Printing from the memory card slot is slow - it took almost a minute more than the Samsung.
Marks out of 10
7
The last word
An extra inch in each direction makes a big difference to your pictures. And the built-in hard drive makes this the first printer to really deliver on the promise of digital photography without a computer. That makes it the top recommendation for the technophobic newcomer.
Canon Selphy CP710 £99
What does the maker say?
"Now the whole family can print glossy photos direct from camera, camcorder, memory card or computer. With its optional battery pack, the versatile Selphy CP710 provides fun, portable photo printing at only 22p per print."
Good points
The second fastest printer on test: just over a minute when printing from a computer and an extra 30 seconds direct from a memory card. It's also the lightest one here, and there's a built-in cable to connect your camera
Bad points
At 22p a print, it's not all that cheap. That's not helped by the size of the film-based cartridge you have to get rid of when it runs out. The paper tray is mounted awkwardly and feels a little flimsy, and the built-in screen is very small.
Marks out of 10
7
The last word
By melting rather than spraying the ink onto the page, the Selphy guarantees grain-free results, and the postcard markings on the back of each sheet are nice. But the menu system is confusing, and the paper tray is a touch inelegant.
Samsung SPP-2040 £99
What does the maker say?
"Life moves at high speed and you must be quick to capture it all. The SPP-2040 series digital photo printer can keep up with you. Edit on the colour LCD, and print photos that look like you just picked them up from the photo lab - in only 60 seconds per page."
Good points
Extremely fast, printing from a memory card in just 59 seconds, and taking only three seconds more to print a photo from the computer. And picture quality is not sacrificed to speed. By far the most attractively designed printer of the bunch.
Bad points
As with the Canon, the paper tray sticks out of the front, and adds considerably to its size. It also uses the same cartridge system, so there's a lot to throw away when it's empty. At 25.5p per print, it's expensive in the long run.
Marks out of 10
6
The last word
The good looks, speed and crisp output are attractive option, but while the ticket price is average, running costs are a serious issue; four pictures from HP cost less than three from this Samsung.
