HP Photosmart 475 GoGo Thermal Inkjet Photo Printer (4800x1200 DPI, Colour, 64MB, PC/Mac)

Thermal Printers Suited For Receipts, Work Orders and Simple Jobs

A thermal printer like this one is typically used for situations where simplicity is the highest priority: a portable printer, for example, or a printer for receipts, work orders, or other forms. It uses specially coated paper that changes color when heated. Most thermal printers change only to black, but bicolor models can create two colors depending upon the temperature applied. A thermal printer cannot mix colors or create shades of colors, so it's best used for text documents or extremely simple graphics.

Uses Four Primary Colors of Ink to Produce Color Palette

This type of inkjet printer uses the basic four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. (Some extremely low-end printers might even mix colors to produce black). This array is sufficient for creating a wide color palette, but differences in ink type and marking technology will affect how printed colors look.  

The first three colors come in either a unified "tricolor" cartridge or in separate cartridges. Black is always separate. The tricolor cartridges are more compact, but they’re also wasteful because you have to replace the entire cartridge whenever you run out of any one color.

Compatible with Macintosh and other Apple systems

Printers such as this model are compatible with computers designed by Apple, meaning it has at least one appropriate connection type and also has drivers written for the Mac OS X operating system.

Compatible with Microsoft Windows Operating System

Printers such as this model are compatible with computers that use the Microsoft Windows operating system, meaning it has at least one appropriate connection type and also has drivers written for Windows.

Compatible with Both Apple and Windows Operating Systems

Printers such as this model are compatible with computers designed by Apple that run either Mac OS X; or computers that use Microsoft Windows. In addition to having at least one appropriate connection for each computer platform, it should also come with drivers written for both operating systems.

Installed Memory is Ideal for Five or Fewer Users

This printer's installed memory is sufficient for small offices or workgroups that print typical business documents, such as memos, spreadsheets, or simple Web pages. If you have more than six people using the printer or the printer handles heavy traffic, you will want more memory than this printer provides.

Paper Capacity is Sufficient for Home Use, Small Documents

This inkjet printer's maximum sheet capacity is low. It's probably sufficient for single users or a family, printing simple documents or school reports, nothing over 10 pages in length. If you regularly print longer documents, however, you should seek a model with a higher-capacity input tray--unless you enjoy refilling it constantly. Rule of thumb: If you're refilling the input tray more than once a day, you need a higher-capacity one.

USB Interface Connects Quickly and Easily to Your Computer

This printer uses USB (Universal Serial Bus) to connect to your computer. Connecting a printer via USB is very easy; just remember not to do it until the installation routine tells you to -- or risk having to start over.  

The original USB version 1.1 was slow: 12 Mbps (megabits per second). USB 2.0's faster bandwidth of 480 Mbps is plenty for a standalone printer.

If You Use a Sony Camera, Print Right From Its Memory Stick

This printer can read and write to Sony's proprietary flash memory devices called Memory Sticks, and with an adapter, could also support variants such as Memory Stick Pro, Duo, Pro Duo, and Micro. Few non-Sony devices use Memory Sticks, however, the company is so large that there's still a good chance you might need to read data from one someday.

Got an Olympus or Fujifilm digicam? Print Right From the xD Card

This printer has a media slot that accommodates xD-Picture cards, one of the removable storage devices used by (mostly Olympus and Fujifilm) digital cameras.

Allows Photos to Be Printed Right From Your Camera's SD Memory Card

This printer supports Secure Digital (SD) cards; the most common storage card format used by digital cameras. MiniSD and MicroSD cards can be read by using a basic adapter. A newer standard, SDHC (HC as in "high capacity") is not backward compatible, so the slot may not read these cards. The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It's also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data. 

If you use SD cards to store photos, you can insert the card into this slot to start printing photos (instead of hooking up your entire camera via a cable). Make sure that whatever printer you buy accommodates the storage format you use.

Print Photos Right From Your Compact Flash Memory Card

This printer has a media slot that accommodates Compact Flash (CF) cards, one of the removable storage devices used by (mostly digital SLR) cameras.