One of the first things you'll notice about the Apollo APO P2250-101ink-jet printer is its clean, curvaceous lines. In soft gray and transparentaqua, it could be a great-looking addition to either your teenager's room oryour own "iMac-style" décor. In addition to looking great, this sleekprinter capably delivers the goods.

In our tests, we found that Apollo APO P2250-101 provided extremely high-qualityprinting. Using a two-carriage system, it produced 3 ppm of strong, vibrantlycolored prints at 300 x 300 dpi resolution, and up to 6 ppm of rich black printsat 600 x 600 dpi.

The color and black ink cartridges snap into place easily, with no risk of messor mistake, and you can replace the black cartridge with an optional photocartridge for terrific photos. The Apollo comes with a 100-sheet capacity inputtray that accepts a wide range of standard papers, envelopes, and specialtymedia including photo paper, premium papers, greeting cards, transparency films,labels, envelopes, and post cards. We tried printing big bold fonts and wererewarded by rich, black, deep coverage (given a chance to dry).

We also used the PostMaster Gold software to create our own series ofbrilliantly colored greeting cards, and then printed coordinating envelopes.With the quality it demonstrated, the Apollo also seemed a natural for printingprojects like school reports, family newsletters, broadsides, or evenprofessional displays. We also loved the speedy setup, and were impressed by theApollo's plug-and-play efficiency. A clear and thoroughly detailed foldout guidewalked us through all the necessary steps to get it running. It is also easy toconsult the online user's guide if you have any questions.

On the downside, the Apollo's operating noise was a little louder than we likedand 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 questionthe Apollo's build quality, though in our tests there was no sign ofbreakage.

The APO P2250-101 comes packaged with an online manual, user's guide, and quicktips to take you step by step through the setup process. It also comes with theFireWire-compliant parallel cable to connect to your PC, and black and color inkcartridges. The optional photo cartridge must be purchased separately.

TheApollo 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