A printer is just like any other consumer item - the more specialized it gets, the more it costs. The HP Photosmart B8550 bills itself as a photo-centric inkjet printer, and it has the $299.99 price tag to prove it. This new product prints at 31 ppm in color, 32 in black, and features a plain paper tray and separate dedicated photo tray from which you can draw photo paper without having to manually change your media. The 2.4” color LCD enables you to preview and touch up your photos, and you can print PC-free via PictBridge and memory card.

 

But what makes this model stand out from the crowd of new HP inkjets is the range of paper sizes it accommodates for printing images. The Photosmart B8550 can print on paper up to 13”x19”, which is bigger than the legal or tabloid size you find in other new models like the Photosmart D7560 or C6380. Keep in mind that the separate photo tray only handles paper up to 5”x7”, so you’ll need to adjust the main tray for maximum size photos. That said, the MSRP seems a bit steep to a budget-minded person like me, but I’ll give one of the industry’s top manufacturers the benefit of the doubt until the experts say otherwise.