Digital camera owners will be more interested in the HP Photosmart 1115, the little brother of the Photosmart 1315, an Editors' Choice in our issue of November 27, 2001. The stylish charcoal case is attractive, and SmartMedia and CompactFlash slots make it possible to print photos without using your computer. A special insert supports 4- by 6-inch photo paper.

Print performance was excellent for this price class, and speed was average among the entire group of printers, making it faster than some others in its price range. Plain-paper prints were smooth and sharp, with good color, excellent shadow details, and no banding. Photos had excellent color fidelity and negligible dithering or posterization.

The Photosmart 1115 comes with an excellent complement of software, including ACDSee and HP Photo Imaging Software, Photo Printing Software, and Share-to-Web, giving you a full range of tools for photo organization, editing, printing, and sharing via the Web or e-mail. One surprising feature is the calibration procedure; just print the page and it's done. You don't have to decide which pair of lines is most closely aligned; the printer does it all for you automatically.

Better dedicated photo printers are available, but it's difficult to top the combination of price, speed, and print quality in the HP Photosmart 1115.