HP Photosmart D7360

A large and comparatively heavy of the printer and featuring a touch screen, the HP D7360 feels like it’s built to withstand abuse. It uses HP’s new separate single-colour ink tank system, featuring photo magenta and cyan inks, and an ingenious system for recycling ink that might otherwise be lost through maintenance cycles like print head cleaning.

Elsewhere, the D7360 is more traditionally HP, with front paper loading, meaning you must remember to position single-sided paper upside-down. There is a dedicated 6x4 media feed, too, though the printer driver may refuse to acknowledge it. Most printers accept the settings made in the printer dialogue from within, for example, Photoshop. But the D7360 printer driver often overlooks such preset choices as paper size and orientation, forcing you to reselect them. HP will argue that the driver shields you from technical jargon. I’d argue it makes its own difficulties.

Speed is compromised by a 25-second wait after the paper is first moved into position, but quality A4 borderless prints arrive in as little as a minute and 15 seconds. Photo prints could do with slightly more contrast and better black density, but HP has improved colour saturation by reducing it, while detail in red areas is much improved on earlier HP printers tested.