Let’s be honest: most people don’t use a printer at home nowadays. And, we’re guessing, that’s a large part of why the category hasn’t really kept up with the times all that much. HP is looking to change that with the Tango, a truly modern printer in both form and function.
Unlike traditional printers that you can only use locally, it doesn’t require you to send print jobs strictly from a network-connected machine. Instead, it allows you to send print jobs from anywhere using a companion app that’s available on both mobile devices and PCs, saving you from having to start the print job when you get to the office. That way, you can have that 100-page report start printing well before you come home, allowing you to simply pick it up and read it as soon as you walk into your front door.
The HP Tango is also designed to work with the modern slate of intelligent assistants, so you can send it a print job by barking voice commands at Alexa, Google Assistant, or Cortana (sorry, it doesn’t work with Siri). That means, if you perform most of your digital tasks through voice controls, then you can enjoy the same convenience when printing out your schedules, Instagram photos, or review notes for the next day’s meeting.
It’s designed for easy setup, so you just download the app to your device and use the wizard to connect it to your local Wi-Fi network, complete with step-by-step guides for adding paper and replacing ink, so you don’t have to fumble your way through either of those tasks. Yes, they still haven’t come up with a more efficient alternative to ink refills, so it’s still as inconvenient (and expensive) to use as the printers we’ve all been using through the years.
The HP Tango also isn’t as big and bulky as traditional printers, making it very space-efficient, so you can keep it on a small side table as opposed to a larger desk like the printers of old. You know the trend of covering speakers in fabric to make them look more of an appliance than a gadget? Well, they did that here, too, with linen and cork covers that you can deck it in to give it a softer, more subdued appearance. And yes, the raised section that holds the paper upright can be folded down, giving the whole thing the appearance of a book if you position it so that the covered side is facing out.
According to HP, it can produce professional-quality photo prints up to 8.5 x 14 inches, as well as borderless photos up to 5 x 7 inches, making it an excellent tool if you want physical copies of your digital photographs. The companion app, by the way, comes with a scan function, so you can capture any item you want to print, then simply send it straight to the printer waiting at home or in the office, as well as a tracking feature that keeps tabs of both ink and paper levels at all times.
The HP Tango is available now.
- Get connected and start printing fast with seamless Wi-Fi setup from your smartphone.