Photosmart D5460

If you don’t need scanning and copying, HP’s Photosmart D5460 is a decent buy. It delivers good quality printing and has some of the frills associated with the Photosmart range.

The D5460 looks similar to its multifunction counterparts in the range. It has the same basic shape but less buttons and only a three-way navigational pad. This simplicity makes the printer easier to use.

It has three separate input trays for different uses. Along with the main paper input tray, there is a motorised photo paper tray and a direct CD/DVD printing tray. This allows users to keep at least two different types of media stocked at all times.

The D5460 doesn’t offer the fancy connectivity options of the Photosmart multifunctions: it has no Wi-Fi or Ethernet, but its USB connection will do the job for local printing. However, there is an integrated card reader supporting MemoryStick, SD, xD, CompactFlash and a PictBridge-capable USB port, as well as dedicated quick access buttons for photo printing.

The D5460’s print speed is on par with both the Photosmart C5380 and Photosmart C6380. It is quite fast, with draft text documents printing at an average of 20 pages per minute, with the first page out in 16.2 seconds. Printing the same document at normal quality halved the speed to 10ppm. Graphical documents print at an average of 18.2ppm in draft quality, with normal quality colour documents printing at 6.1ppm. Photo printing is also on par, with 4x6in photos printing in 28sec and a standard A4 photo taking 1min and 16sec.

The D5460 produces easily readable text documents, despite the comparatively low hardware print resolution of 600x600 dots per inch. Colour documents are similarly impressive: colour is vibrant and accurate, and it overlays with text well, with no misalignment evident.

Photos are excellent, but there is still room for improvement. The D5460 seems to mix the failings of both the Photosmart C5380 and Photosmart C6380, with slight evidence of both banding on photos and track marks from the print rollers. Despite these slight issues, the D5460 remains an excellent photo printer for families and amateur photographers, and it's certainly one of the best in its price range.

Direct CD/DVD printing is a welcome feature. As with other HP products boasting the same functionality, the D5460 works by lowering a dedicated input tray and placing the CD or DVD on a specific palette that slots underneath the main paper tray. The accompanying software guides users through a few steps from basic template and design to specific print size and optional text. The software is certainly functional for the average user, though some people might want a program with more comprehensive options.

The D5460 uses five dual-drop Vivera ink cartridges for an average cost of 19.9c per page; this is a reasonable cost, though certainly not the cheapest on the market.