PRINTING. The HP Envy 4500 prints using inkjet technology, which sprays liquid ink onto the paper from a moving head. It prints text very well, nearly as good as a laser printer. Text printing was reasonably fast, 7.9 pages per minute, costing 5.9 cents per page. Its color graphics printing is very good for reports, newsletters and web pages. It has an auto duplex feature that lets you print both on sides of the page, with no loss of quality. The multi-color ink cartridge must be replaced when a single color runs out.
SCANNING and COPYING. Scanning performance was very good, fine for general-purpose scanning. It can scan or copy an area up to 11.7 x 8.5 inches. Copying performance was excellent, producing copies very close to the original.
CONTROLS and DISPLAY. The printer has a medium-size 2.1-inch display screen.
CONNECTIVITY and NETWORKING. It lacks USB PictBridge for direct printing from cameras. You can connect directly to a PC with a USB cable, or to your network router wirelessly with WiFi. You can also print items emailed from the Internet. The printer can access the Internet directly using downloadable 'apps', letting you print information from news and entertainment services. This printer was noisier than most while printing, so you might want to locate it away from sleeping areas.
