The very mention of the product name 'DesignJet' conjures visions of floor-standing inkjet monsters the size of a family car, churning through exhibition posters at a snail's pace. However, HP assigns the DesignJet monicker to all of its A3-or-wider inkjet printers considered to offer high enough quality for the demands of the professional graphic arts market. The DesignJet 130 represents this new breed of versatile and convenient wide-format printers perfectly.

Versatility is important for corporate graphics departments and print rooms, so the DesignJet 130 has been built to accommodate media as small as envelopes and 6x4-inch photocards or as big as tabloid colour proofs and A2+ poster sheets. Yet this is still a convenient wide-format device. Not only is it not floor-standing (unless you want it to be), it only weighs around 22kg; you can pick it up alone and place it on any free table in your office.

Even the paper trays shrink and expand according to the size of media you want to load into it, so the device never takes up more space than is really necessary. Thick media (up to 300gsm) and long sheets (up to 64 inches) can be loaded individually through front and rear bypass feeders.

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In standard wide-format fashion, the print-head and ink cartridges are kept separate. The inks are loaded under a flap to the right of the carriage, a separate cartridge for each of the six photo colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan and light magenta. A light sensor on the print-head supports self-calibration and HP offers a number of additional solutions for ensuring consistent colour management if required.

The quality of the output is exceptional, with a resolution rated at 1200 x 2400dpi but easily as good as anything you might achieve with a 4800dpi-class photo inkjet. Speed is not bad for a photo inkjet: a full-size 13x19-inch glossy colour proof takes around five to nine minutes in high-resolution mode. This sounds painful compared to office printers but this is less time than it takes for a typical home photo printer to complete a modest A4 sheet, let alone A2+.

The basic printer can be upgraded with a roll-feed unit which screws into the rear along with a guillotine knife which attaches to the print-head. With these fitted, the DesignJet 130 is able to print across the full 625mm of the carriage, roughly equivalent to 24-inch width or A1+ paper. The roll-feed also allows the printing of extra-long continuous banners up to 50ft.

Inevitably, the DesignJet 130 is attracting interest from in-house graphics departments because it's so much cheaper than sending jobs out for conventional wide-format reproduction on a regular basis. But its compact size and versatility could just as readily suit any office with a high turnover of colour graphics material, from PowerPoint slide printouts and flipchart presentation sheets to exhibition stand banners and pre-press proofing.

If you have ever produced block-mounted A1 portfolios or presentations using scissors and glue, you will warm to the DesignJet 130's ability to print off the entire job on a single sheet. Just note that the price quoted here is for the plain USB model. The network version is available for around £1,360, and the roll-feed version costs £1,520 (both excluding VAT).

A wide-format inkjet as compact and versatile as this should find itself a home in any corporate print room without taking it over. The DesignJet 130 is also affordable enough to put an end to wasted expenditure in high street print shops.