Photo prints made easy!

Looks like an ATM machine? Well not quite; it doesn’t churn out money, but it does give you top class digital prints once you punch in your camera's memory chip.

This is the HP photo kiosk - and the tech giant is in the process of installing these at your neighbourhood departmental store. So you can step in, print photos using simple touch screen buttons, swipe your credit card and walkout with prints in no time, a service that makes the retailer pretty much redundant.

“I think there's space for everyone. The retailer is as much needed as the kiosk. People will now get the choice to select the combination they need,” says Chris Morgan, Senior VP, HP Imaging and Printing, Asia Pacific.

The kiosks will take some time in coming, but compact home printers have already stepped in the Indian markets and also allow you to skip the trip to the photo studio. At a cost of Rs 5,000 to 7,000, depending on the print size, these are a great buy for those who are in the habit of stacking their desk with gadgets and want the convenience of printing at home.