The HP Photosmart A626 is the company’s latest compact inkjet photo printer, and it features an innovative touch-screen to make the printing process easier and more fun. This 4.8-inch screen holds a large, 3.6-inch LCD display for viewing images and menus, bordered on either side by the touch-screen buttons. HP is also one of the first manufacturers to provide 5x7-inch printing with the A626, in addition to 4x6-inch and smaller sizes. The Photosmart A626, which uses HP’s 110 single tricolor integrated ink cartridge, is competitively priced at $179.

Based on the same design as HP’s other A-series compact printers, the A626’s sturdier construction is enhanced by the removal of any actual buttons, other than the power button, and the inclusion of a battery compartment. (The battery is an additional purchase.) The sensitive and responsive touch-screen also features the ability to write or draw on photos using the included stylus. The integrated ink cartridge sells for $19.99 and contains three colors—cyan, magenta, and yellow.

The A626’s menus are one of the printer’s high points, with easy navigation and useful, albeit somewhat limited, options. Editing includes finger-aided cropping via the touch-screen, and embellishments like frames and album formats will be appealing to scrap-bookers. Using the A626 with computer connection allows more editing options with the printer driver, like color adjustments. The bundled software program, Photosmart Essential, was a disappointment, providing even fewer options and less control than the driver.

It takes about 85 seconds to print a 4x6-inch photo on the Photosmart A626. Compared to the Canon Pixma mini320, with an average speed of 73 seconds, or the Epson PictureMate Snap, with its exceptionally fast speed of 43 seconds, the A626 is a slow-poke.

We were hoping print quality had been improved on this latest HP compact printer, but print quality is only as good as ink quality. Since it uses the same HP110 ink cartridge, the A626 did not score much better than the company’s previous models. Dark tones are made up of a combination of the three colors, so they’re less rich than cartridges with a separate black ink. Greater print quality can be found with other compact inkjet printers from Epson and Canon.

Specifically, Canon’s latest compact photo printer, the Pixma mini320, can also print 5x7-inch photos at faster speeds and with better quality at the same price. It only features a 3-inch LCD screen, but menus are nicely laid out and easy to navigate with the Easy-Scroll Wheel. The new Epson PictureMate printers, the Dash and Zoom, have an equivalently large, 3.6-inch LCD screen (minus the touch-screen), but only print a maximum photo size of 4x6 inches. Print quality on their predecessor, the Snap, was excellent. The Dash sells for only $99, while the Zoom, which includes a CD reader/writer, sells for $199. Like the A626, all three of these printers feature an optional battery.

The HP A626 is an attractive printer with a good range of print sizes and an effective and fun touch-screen. Only a couple of compact printers can produce 5x7-inch photos, so this, the touch-screen, and an optional battery are big plusses for the A626. However, consumers with a strong interest in print quality and speed have more options available to them.