When I reviewed the ink jet–based HP Photosmart 475 GoGo Photo Printer last year, I basically said it was a nearly ideal small-format printer with all the features you could want. Except one. The output wasn't even slightly water resistant. Pass a photo around on a hot, humid day and it would likely come back smudged. Now the 475 has a sibling—the HP Photosmart A716 Compact Photo Printer ($249 direct)—and HP has not only improved the features that won me over the first time, but added nearly waterproof output too. In short, HP's taken a printer that was close to ideal and made it better.

Despite a change in HP's numbering system, the A716 is a direct descendant of the 475 GoGo, with all the same core features. It can print from a computer, PictBridge-enabled camera, or memory card, or by way of an optional Bluetooth adapter ($59.99 direct). It can print photos as large as 5 by 7 inches, as well as panoramas at 4 by 12 inches. Its internal hard drive can hold hundreds, if not thousands, of photos that you can organize into slide shows. It even lets you preview and edit photos both on its own 2.5-inch color LCD and—thanks to a video-output port and a supplied cable—on a TV.

One big difference between the 475 and the A716 is that the A716 boosts the hard drive capacity from 1.5GB to 4GB, almost tripling the number of photos you can store. As with the 475, when you use the A716's video connection to view stored photos on a TV, you can use the printer's remote control to move through the photos, edit them, and create and view slide shows, almost as if there's a photo album on your TV. But unlike an album, if a friend or relative likes a particular photo you're looking at, you can press a button on the remote and print a copy.

Of course, the key question to ask of any photo printer is, "Does it print good photos?" In my tests the A716 hit true photo quality on every photo, from snowscapes to landscapes to close-ups of faces. I saw a slight loss of detail in light areas on one photo, but the quality was at least as good as you'll get from a local drugstore. Just as important, the photos are essentially waterproof. You may get water stains if you leave drops of water to dry on the surface, but I took one just-printed photo, held it under running water while rubbing it, and wiped it dry without leaving any visible marks.