HP PhotoSmart A626 User Manual

							Whats This? help
Use Whats This? help to learn more about the available printing options.
To use Whats This? help
1.Move the cursor over the feature that you want to learn more about.
2.Click the right mouse button.
The Whats This box is displayed.
3.Move the cursor over the Whats This? box, and then click the left mouse button.
An explanation of the feature is displayed.
Download printer software updates
Download the latest printer software update every few months to ensure you have the
latest features and improvements.
To download a printer software update
1.Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
2.From the Windows Start menu, click Programs or All Programs, point to HP, and
then click HP Software Update.
The HP Software Update window is displayed.
3.Click Next.
HP Software Update searches the HP Web site for printer software updates.
• If the computer has the most recent version of the printer software installed, No
updates are available for your system at this time is displayed in the HP
Software Update window.
• If the computer does not have the most recent version of the printer software
installed, a software update is displayed in the HP Software Update window.
4.If a software update is available, select the check box beside the update name.
5.Click Install.
6.Follow the onscreen instructions.
Download HP Photosmart software
Installing the printer software update you download from the HP Web site does not update
the HP Photosmart software you might have installed on the computer. For information
about updating the HP Photosmart software, see the HP Photosmart Software Help.
Transfer photos to a computer
This section describes how to transfer photos and other files from cameras and memory
cards to a computer, and contains the following topics:
•
Transfer photos from a camera or other device
•
Transfer photos and files from a memory card
Transfer photos from a camera or other device
You can transfer photos to a computer from a connected camera or USB device (like a
Flash drive). To transfer photos, the device must be connected to the printer, and the
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40 Print from a computer
 
						

							printer must be connected to your computer with an appropriate USB cable. In addition
you must have installed the HP Photosmart software. You need to transfer the photos to
your computer to use them in image editing software, including the HP Photosmart
software that came with the printer.
To transfer photos to a computer
1.Connect the printer to the computer with a USB cable.
2.Connect a PictBridge camera to the camera port, or connect another device that
contains the photos you wish to transfer. Turn the camera or device on.
3.HP Solution Center opens on the computer. Click Transfer Photos, and then follow
the prompts on the computer. For more information, see the HP Photosmart Software
Help.
Transfer photos and files from a memory card
This section describes how to transfer photos and non-photo files from a memory card
inserted into the printer to a computer, and contains the following topics:
•
Transfer photos from a memory card to the computer
•
Transfer non-photo files from a memory card to the computer
•
Delete photos and other files from a memory card
Transfer photos from a memory card to the computer
Follow these steps to transfer photos from a memory card to the computer.
To transfer photos from a memory card to a computer
1.Make sure the printer is connected to the computer.
2.Insert a memory card that contains photos into the correct memory card slot in the
printer.
3.HP Solution Center opens on the computer. Click Transfer Photos, and then follow
the prompts on the computer. For more information, see the HP Photosmart Software
Help.
Transfer non-photo files from a memory card to the computer
Follow these steps to save non-photo files from a memory card to the computer.
To transfer files from a memory card to a computer
1.Make sure the printer is connected to the computer.
2.Insert a memory card that contains non-photo files into the correct memory card slot
in the printer.
3.
Right-click the HP Digital Imaging Monitor 
 icon in the Windows taskbar, and
select HP Photosmart A620 series > Open E.
NOTE:E may not be the drive letter the computer assigns.
Windows Explorer opens and shows the contents of the card.
4.Drag and drop files from the memory card to a location on the computer.
Transfer photos to a computer 41
 
						

							NOTE:You can also use Windows Explorer to copy files from the computer to the
memory card.
Delete photos and other files from a memory card
Follow these steps to delete photos and other files from a memory card.
To delete photos or files from a memory card
1.Make sure the printer is connected to the computer.
2.Insert a memory card that contains files into the correct memory card slot in the printer.
3.
Right-click the HP Digital Imaging Monitor 
 icon in the Windows taskbar, and
select HP Photosmart A620 series > Open E.
NOTE:E may not be the drive letter the computer assigns.
Windows Explorer opens and shows the contents of the card.
4.Select the files you want to delete, then select File > Delete.
Enhance your photos
The printer software offers several features to make printing digital photos easier and to
improve photo quality:
• Use the HP Real Life technology options to touch up photos. For more information,
see “
HP Real Life technology options” on page 42.
• Achieve the highest resolution with Maximum dpi. For more information, see
“
Maximum dpi” on page 43.
Learn how to add professional touches to digital photographs:
• Use advanced color settings to improve printed colors. For more information, see
“
Use advanced color settings” on page 45.
• Print black and white photos. For more information, see “
Print black and white
photos” on page 50.
• Use HP Advanced Photo Paper for easy to handle, sturdy, glossy photo paper with
an instant-dry finish resistant to water, smears, fingerprints and humidity. For more
information, see “
Choose the best paper for the job” on page 19.
HP Real Life technology options
HP Real Life technologies enhance the quality of your printed photos.
In most cases, you do not need to change the Basic default print setting. The Basic setting
sharpens the images that you print, and improves the quality and clarity of low resolution
images, such as those downloaded from the Internet.
You can change the setting to Full if the images that you print are under exposed or over
exposed, contain dark areas or red eye, or have colors that appear washed out.
You can also select the Off setting if you prefer to edit the image manually in a software
program such as HP Photosmart software.
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							To change the HP Real Life technologies setting
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.In the HP Real Life technologies Photo fix drop-down list, select the appropriate
setting for the photo you are printing.
Maximum dpi
Use maximum dpi mode to print high-quality, sharp images.
To get the most benefit from maximum dpi mode, use it to print high-quality images such
as digital photographs. When you select the maximum dpi setting, the printer software
displays the optimized dots per inch (dpi) that the HP Photosmart printer will print.
Printing in maximum dpi takes longer than printing with other settings and requires a large
amount of disk space.
To print in Maximum dpi mode
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.In the Paper Type drop-down list, click More, and then select the appropriate paper
type.
4.In the Print Quality drop-down list, click Maximum dpi.
NOTE:To view the maximum dpi that the HP Photosmart printer will print, click
Resolution.
5.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Change the print settings for the print job
This section describes how to change print settings, such as paper type or print quality,
when printing from a computer. This section contains the following topics:
•
Change the print quality
•
Change the paper type
•
Change the paper size
•
Resize a photo
•
Use advanced color settings
•
Create printing shortcuts
Change the print settings for the print job 43
 
						

							Change the print quality
Choose the print quality and speed to optimize your photo printing.
To select a print quality and speed
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.In the Paper Type drop-down list, select the type of paper that you have loaded.
4.In the Print Quality drop-down list, select the appropriate quality setting for your
project.
Print quality settings
•Draft produces draft-quality output at the fastest printing speed, while using the least
amount of ink.
•Fast Normal produces higher quality output than the Draft setting and prints more
quickly than the Normal setting.
•Normal provides the best balance between print quality and speed and is appropriate
for most documents.
•Best provides the best balance between high quality and speed and can be used for
high quality prints. For most documents, the Best setting prints more slowly than the
Normal setting.
•Maximum dpi optimizes the dots per inch (dpi) that the HP Photosmart prints. Printing
in maximum dpi takes longer than printing with other settings and requires a large
amount of disk space. For more information, see “
Maximum dpi” on page 43.
NOTE:To see the print resolution for the selected print quality, click the
Resolution button on the Features tab.
Change the paper type
For best results, always select a specific paper type that matches the media you are using
for the print job.
To select a specific paper type
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.Click More in the Paper Type drop-down list, and then select the paper type that you
want to use.
4.Click OK.
5.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
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							Change the paper size
Use the Printer Properties dialog box instead of the software applications Page Setup
dialog box to select a paper size. Some software applications do not list all the paper
sizes the printer supports.
To select a paper size
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.Select a paper size from the Size drop-down list.
For borderless printing, select a borderless paper size, or select a paper size, then
click the Borderless check box.
4.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Resize a photo 
Use the printer software to print a photo that is formatted for one paper size on another
paper size. Doing this can be useful if you do not have the correct paper size available.
To resize a photo for a different paper size
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features tab.
3.Click Scale to paper size, and then select the target paper size in the drop-down list.
The target paper size is the size of the paper on which you are printing, not the size
for which the document was formatted.
4.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Use advanced color settings
Use the More color options dialog box to adjust how printed colors appear.
Adjusting these settings causes the printed colors to differ from the colors that appear on
the computer monitor. These settings do not affect the original photo; they only affect how
it prints.
Follow these steps to specify advanced color settings:
To specify advanced color settings
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Color tab, and then click the More color options button.
The More color options dialog box is displayed.
Change the print settings for the print job 45
 
						

							3.You can adjust the following settings:
• Adjust the Brightness, Saturation, and Color Tone to affect how overall colors
are printed.
• Adjust the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black sliders to specify the level of each
color that is used in printing.
NOTE:When you adjust color settings, the changes are reflected in the Preview
box.
4.After specifying the color settings, click OK.
5.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Use the Whats This? help to learn about the features that you see on the Printer
Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Whats This? help” on page 40.
Create printing shortcuts
In addition to the printing shortcuts that are available in the Printing Shortcuts list in the
print driver, you can create your own printing shortcuts to save time and ensure
consistency between print jobs.
If you frequently print on transparency film, for example, you can create a printing shortcut
by selecting the Presentation Printing shortcut, changing the paper type to HP Premium
Inkjet Transparency Film, and then saving the modified shortcut under a new name; for
example, Transparency Presentations. After creating the printing shortcut, simply select
it when printing on transparency film rather than changing the print settings each time.
To create a printing shortcut
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3.In the Printing Shortcuts list, click a printing shortcut.
The print settings for the selected printing shortcut are displayed.
4.Change the print settings to those you want in the new printing shortcut.
5.In the Type new shortcut name here box, type a name for the new printing shortcut,
and then click Save.
The printing shortcut is added to the list.
To delete a printing shortcut
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3.In the Printing Shortcuts list, click the printing shortcut that you want to delete.
4.Click Delete.
The printing shortcut is removed from the list.
NOTE:Only the shortcuts that you have created can be deleted. The original HP
shortcuts cannot be deleted.
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							Print preview
You can preview a document on the computer before printing it. If the print preview does
not look the way you want it to, close the preview window and make the necessary
adjustments to the document or to the print settings. For more information on changing
the print settings, see “
Change the print settings for the print job” on page 43.
To preview a printed document
1.Open the Printer Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
2.Click the Features or the Color tab.
3.Select the Show preview before printing check box.
4.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Before the document prints, a preview is displayed.
5.Do one of the following:
• Click OK to print the document.
• Click Cancel to cancel the print job. Adjust the print settings as needed before
printing the document.
Print photos
This sections describes how to print several types of photos and contains the following
topics:
•
Print borderless photos
•
Print photos with a border
•
Print postcards
•
Print black and white photos
•
Print panoramic photos
•
Print on index cards and other small media
Print borderless photos
Use borderless printing to print to the edges of the paper.
Guidelines
• For tips on achieving the best quality prints, see “
photo enhancing” on page 42.
• Verify that the photo paper you are using is not rippled or curled.
• Do not exceed the paper tray capacity when loading media. For more information,
see “
Printer specifications” on page 81.
Prepare to print
1.Verify that the printer is turned on.
2.Load photo paper. For more information, see “
Paper basics” on page 19.
Print preview 47
 
						

							Print
NOTE:If your software program includes a photo printing feature, follow the
instructions that are provided with the software program. Otherwise, follow these
instructions.
1.Open the photo in a software program that allows editing, such as HP Photosmart
software.
2.Open the Print Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
3.Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
4.In the Printing Shortcuts list, click Photo Printing-Borderless, and then select the
following options:
•Print Quality: Normal or Best
NOTE:For maximum dpi quality, go to the Features tab, and then click
Maximum dpi in the Print Quality drop-down list.
•Paper Type: An appropriate photo paper type
•Paper Size: An appropriate borderless photo paper size
•Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
5.If necessary, change the HP Real Life technology options setting. For more
information, see “
HP Real Life technology options” on page 42.
6.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
If you printed on photo paper with a tear-off tab, remove the tab to make the document
completely borderless.
Use the Whats This? help to learn about the features that you see on the Printer
Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Whats This? help” on page 40.
Related topics
“
Change the print settings for the print job” on page 43
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48 Print from a computer
 
						

							Print photos with a border
Guidelines
• To learn how to use the photo printing features, see the “
photo enhancing”
on page 42 page.
• Verify the photo paper you are using is not rippled or curled.
• Do not exceed the paper tray capacity when loading media. For more information,
see “
Printer specifications” on page 81.
Prepare to print
1.Verify that the printer is turned on.
2.Load photo paper. For more information, see “
Paper basics” on page 19.
Print
NOTE:If your software program includes a photo printing feature, follow the
instructions that are provided with the software program. Otherwise, follow these
instructions.
1.Open the photo in a software program that allows editing, such as HP Photosmart
software.
2.Open the Print Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Printer Properties
dialog box” on page 39.
3.Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
4.In the Printing Shortcuts list, click Photo Printing-with white borders, and then
select the following options:
•Print Quality: Normal or Best
NOTE:For maximum dpi quality, go to the Features tab, and then click
Maximum dpi in the Print Quality drop-down list.
•Paper Type: An appropriate photo paper type
•Paper Size: An appropriate photo paper size
•Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
5.If necessary, change the HP Real Life technology options setting. For more
information, see “
HP Real Life technology options” on page 42.
6.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Use the Whats This? help to learn about the features that you see on the Printer
Properties dialog box. For more information, see “
Whats This? help” on page 40.
Related topics
“
Change the print settings for the print job” on page 43
Print photos 49