HP 385 Ink
Photosmart 385 Ink Cartridges

HP 385 Printer Review

The HP Photosmart 385 is a dedicated photo printer that works just as well on its own as it does when connected to a computer. It weighs 2.6 pounds and measures a very compact 4.5x8.7x4.6 inches –an ideal travel companion for the inveterate amateur photographer and even the iterant businessperson. Unlike other mobile printers, the Photosmart 385 can be powered by battery, which is good for printing an impressive 70 snaps. It also has a car DC power adapter.

This HP device accepts photo paper and index cards through the input tray at the rear and yields the printed photo from the front. Although the input tray is rated for up to 20 sheets, it is best that the user introduce no more than 10–12 sheets to avoid paper jam and multiple sheets getting pulled in. The printing operation is primed by default to use the first 20 seconds for eliminating red eye. Excluding that time, a 4x6 color print job takes approximately 90 seconds..

The HP 385 does not hold back on providing users with printing options. A USB connects to a computer and other gadgets, a PictBridge port enables direct PC-less printing and four media card slots cover the range of memory cards, including CompactFlash Type I and II, Magic Gate, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. What's more, the consumer can connect this inkjet printer to PDAs and other handheld devices wirelessly through Bluetooth.

Photosmart 385 ink cartridges contain three ink tubes of cyan, magenta and yellow colors.. The user can expect a page yield of up to 260 pages. The 385v and 385xi compatible models offer additional features; however, nothing relevant could be found on the HP website.

Whether one prints 4x6 in borderless images or 4 x 12 in panorama prints, the Photosmart 385 ink cartridges yield crisp images of good quality The color print quality on premium photo paper can be up to 4800x1200 dpi. Another neat feature which this HP inkjet affords is that users can zoom a particular section of an image and print only that. If the extent of magnification is too high given the quality of the digital image, the printer intimates pixelization. For consistent image quality, it is recommended that the user clean the print head every 30 prints. .This HP thermal inkjet device is essentially an upgrade on the HP Photosmart 375. It comes with Real Life Technology for automatic flash red-eye removal and Adaptive Lighting for brightening dark backgrounds when using flash. Essentially it is an upgrade to the HP Photosmart 375.