One of the first things you'll notice about the Apollo APO P2250-101 ink-jet printer is its clean, curvaceous lines. In soft gray and transparent aqua, it could be a great-looking addition to either your teenager's room or your own "iMac-style" décor. In addition to looking great, this sleek printer capably delivers the goods.
In our tests, we found that Apollo APO P2250-101 provided extremely high-quality printing. Using a two-carriage system, it produced 3 ppm of strong, vibrantly colored prints at 300 x 300 dpi resolution, and up to 6 ppm of rich black prints at 600 x 600 dpi.
The color and black ink cartridges snap into place easily, with no risk of mess or mistake, and you can replace the black cartridge with an optional photo cartridge for terrific photos. The Apollo comes with a 100-sheet capacity input tray that accepts a wide range of standard papers, envelopes, and specialty media including photo paper, premium papers, greeting cards, transparency films, labels, envelopes, and post cards. We tried printing big bold fonts and were rewarded by rich, black, deep coverage (given a chance to dry).
We also used the PostMaster Gold software to create our own series of brilliantly colored greeting cards, and then printed coordinating envelopes. With the quality it demonstrated, the Apollo also seemed a natural for printing projects like school reports, family newsletters, broadsides, or even professional displays. We also loved the speedy setup, and were impressed by the Apollo's plug-and-play efficiency. A clear and thoroughly detailed foldout guide walked us through all the necessary steps to get it running. It is also easy to consult the online user's guide if you have any questions.
On the downside, the Apollo's operating noise was a little louder than we liked and was exacerbated by the echo of the cartridge under the cavernous cover. Further, the hollow sound we heard when we tapped on the body made us question the Apollo's build quality, though in our tests there was no sign of breakage.
The APO P2250-101 comes packaged with an online manual, user's guide, and quick tips to take you step by step through the setup process. It also comes with the FireWire-compliant parallel cable to connect to your PC, and black and color ink cartridges. The optional photo cartridge must be purchased separately.
The Apollo APO P2250 comes with a one-year warranty and 90 days of phone support. --David Greenberger
Pros:
- Appealing design
- Easy setup and use
- Fine quality printing in color and black
Cons:
- Construction feels unsubstantial
- User manual predominantly online
- Noisy operation
Amazon.com Product Description
Jazz up your desktop with the Apollo APO P2250-101 Inkjet Printer. This sleek gray-and-teal unit delivers vibrant colors and dark blacks at up to 600 x 600 dpi. It's simple, efficient, and prints up to six pages per minute in black, three pages per minute in color. It includes a 100-sheet input tray that accepts a wide range of standard papers and specialty media. It connects to your PC via the included parallel cable.