The HP Photosmart A526 is adorably tiny, standing just 8.9 inches wide at its base, 4.6 inches deep, and 5.4 inches tall. It weighs a feather light 2.7 pounds and a flip up carrying handle makes it easy to tote around. The printer's blue front panel opens to serve as an output tray and reveals memory card slots and a USB PictBridge port.
Opening the front panel also causes the paper input panel located in the rear to pop open. The input area holds up to 20 sheets of photo paper. It can handle paper up to only 4 inches wide, but in various lengths, including 4x6, 4x8, and 4x12 for panorama prints. The A526's control panel is exceedingly spare and simple.
The centerpiece is a 2.4 inch color LCD for previewing photos. Left and right arrow keys flank the print or OK button and let you scroll through the contents of your memory card. A cancel button and a red eye removal button are the only other features.The A526 uses a single color ink cartridge that costs $20 to replace. HP also offers a combined ink and paper value pack that can produce 120 prints for $35. The per print cost, based on the value pack, is 29 cents per 4x6 print.
