HP brings its 'Instant Ink' service along with a new printer
We've all known for some considerable time that the price of inkjet printers is often subsidised, because most owners will ultimately spend much more money on ink than they did on the printer in the first place. That's had the dual impact: people are very mindful of what they print, and they also seriously consider opting for taking a punt on third party supplies, even though the makers hate them doing that.
The Envy 4520 is therefore a printer on a mission; to provide a good reason for buying original ink through HP's new cost-conscious 'instant ink' service. Before we go into details about that, let me explain the technical virtues of the Envy 4520, a printer that previously I would have probably given a much harder time.
For less than £60, the HP Envy 4520 all-in-one Printer could be considered something of a gift horse, if you're happy for such a noble steed to be made of black plastic. It's a single bin A4 printer that can accept a wide range of stock including envelopes and even weighty 200 g/m2 card. Combined with its flatbed 1200 x 2400ppi colour scanner, it also becomes a copier - though, thankfully, HP decided to circumvent the abuse I would have given them for including a Fax as part of the package, so that's as far as the multiplicity of function stretches in this case.
Using computer output, the print engine can achieve 4800 x 1200 dpi, and the system has 802.11n class wi-fi along with USB for those who prefer wires. Setting up is really easy, because you can select and key the wi-fi password through the touch panel, and most versions of windows will go and get the driver automatically once it's on the network.
It's not going to break any speed records in terms of pages per minute, but for occasional printing it can work at a more than adequate rate, especially in draft mode. ISO-tested speeds are 9.5ppm black and 6.8ppm colour, and the first print is out in around 20 seconds.
The paper tray can take 100 sheets of A4 between 64 and 90g/m2 stock, though the output facilities can only handle 25 sheets before they begin to fall on the floor. HP included a cute motorised output arm that automatically swings out when the printer goes into action, that can be folded away afterwards to reduce the desktop footprint if that's beneficial to you.
With a design of this size and price there isn't room for a feeder for the scanner, so dual sided operations are managed manually. While the scanning resolution is much higher, for speed the copying function is limited to a reasonable 600 x 300 dpi.
As this isn’t a flagship design I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary to be included here, but what facilities the Envy 4520 does have to offer are workmanlike and modestly packaged.
However, there are a few small issues that I need to point out to anyone about to flex their plastic and pick one up - like the fact that HP didn't put a flash card slot on this design, and that the LCD touch panel is remarkably small and only greyscale, if one can live with a few cost reducing choices, none of these things are the end of the world, I suspect.
However, HP did really irk me by placing Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink in the same cartridge. Inkjet printer makers have been doing this for decades now, and it does make cartridge management straightforward, if nothing else.
The downside of course, at least if you're a consumer, is that should you use all of the blue, for example, you are forced to replace the whole cartridge even if there is ink remaining unused in the other colour chambers. It's a frustrating waste, to say the least.
Normally, I'd be raising an unruly mob armed with digital pitchforks to complain, but rather cleverly HP has deflected some of my criticisms with the Envy 4250's inclusion in its 'Instant Ink' masterplan. This is a monthly subscription service linked directly to the printer so that it knows when to order you replacement ink in a timely fashion. For up to 50 pages a month you can pay £1.99, and there are higher tiers for those that print more that offer even greater savings.
What's nice about this setup is that if you don't use the printer much your allowance is carried over, and you can stop it at any time if you've found an alternative source of ink or just decided to stop killing trees for a while.
Anything that reduces the cost of printer output at home should be celebrated, though the exact impact of 'Instant Ink' for your exact print patterns is something you'll need to explore yourself. HP claims that it can reduce the cost by 70%, though my experience tells me third party ink can be even cheaper.
What I can confirm is that for the occasional colour print, quick scan or copy, there is relatively little wrong with the HP Envy 4520 All-in-one printer. Mark Pickavance