The HP PhotoSmart 230 series color inkjet printer lets you preview your photos before you print using the color LCD display. Just select color, size and format and print borderless 4 x 6-inch photos in brilliant color - up to 4800 x 1200-optimized dpi color printing on premium photo papers. Print directly from your digital camera memory card - no PC required. And it's fun to take with you to parties and events, thanks to its small, compact size. It's so simple - easy photo almost anywhere!
1 Bad, bad, bad
I used this printer twice and kept getting "paper jam" although there was no paper in the printer. Had to send the product back. Wouldn't buy another.
2 Good bargain, good pictures
Since I got my digital camera I'd just been saving everything to CD and not printing anything out because printing through a website gets so expensive! I'd rather just have my own little printer, as long as the prints are good. The prints from this are great, and although they smudge if you don't allow them enough time to dry, they are good quality. I can't speak to fading yet, because I've only had it a month, but so far so good!
3 Does the job as described.
I bought both the HP Photosmart 230 and the Sony DPP-EX5 and both produced a high quality picture. About 98% as good as developed from a service on kodak paper. The 2% represents the finish (which is a bit sticky till it dries) and some pictures come out a hair light (which is actually a good thing if your pics come out dark). Either printer would do the job, I settled on the HP for the name and choices of paper and easy access to many accessories. You won't be disappointed with the results of the printer. It is worth the money.
4 Great little printer that's BIG on performance and value!!
I just got this printer ... wow, am I pleased it it. Since recently entering the "digital age" with my new Sony DSC-P72 digital camera, I've been searching for a decent photo printer - wanting to get not only a LOW PRICE but also GREAT COLOR PRINTS from my "new toy". I then asked myself, "why do I REALLY want [need?] a color photo printer?"....and then, after I thought about it for a while, my answer surprised me: I want [need!] a decent photo printer for quick and convenient printing of 4x6 or 3x5 shots to either tack up somewhere, put in an album, or to give to friends and family. I DO NOT need one for the 8x10's or 5x&s (I can get them at the drug store if I really need them, as I hardly ever do this anyway). Besides, I have a text printer that works just fine....why blow extra bucks on something I don•À?t need? The HP PhotoSmart 230 is THE color printer for people like me looking for value and complete portability!!
The HP PhotoSmart 230 is compact, portable, easy-to-use, and DOES NOT need to be hooked up to a computer in order to use it. I was actually printing my first photo 15 minutes after opening the box! The HP 230 has a convenient LCD screen that allows me to see what I am printing when reading from my Sony Memory Stick. Even though I have a Sony Digital Camera, and a Sony Clie PDA (both use Memory Sticks), I opted NOT to go with the Sony color printer (accepts only memory Stick media and does not have the LCD screen) because hey, who knows...someday, I or one one my friends MAY have the need to print from a Compact Flash card (or someother type of card, like an SD card) in the future -- the HP 230 easily accepts the four major memory cards out there (including Memory Stick media)!
The prints are clear and the color is decent. Remember - these are 4x6 prints. Some people have complained that this does not print "photo quality" -- my response to them is: "quit your whining, go buy some film and get it developed" (really!). For MY money, this HP 230 is pretty darn near-perfect to 'photo quality' for 'digital camera' shots - if anything, the convenience factor is well worth every penny spent!!!
Here's something that may interest some people "on the fence" about buying a color photo printer: YOU DON'T NEED A COMPUTER to use this photo printer (although, it is a nice feature to be able to do this).
I am SO happy I bought this color photo printer - you will be very happy after getting it!
With mostly everything about this printer being so GREAT, I have only a few "cons":
1) loading up the computer software (not necessary, really) and printing from a computer is a little bit cumbersome at first, but gets easy soon thereafter --
2) printing from a media card produces some great looking photos, but they are not as sharp as when printing from the computer (note: this only applies to lower pixel VGA (640KB) shots; BUT, the printer produces AWESOME higher-pixel shots when printing directly from the
media card! this is great!!
GET THIS PRINTER - IT'S GREAT!!!
5 Junk
I was excited about the possibilities of such a portable printer, but after trying it out, I'm returning it. No matter what quality the paper, the prints are grainier than whole wheat bread. And when I ran a comparative print on my 2-year-old HP Officejet K60, they came out crystal clear. Even the HP test pages come out looking like sandpaper.
HP support is equally hopeless. When asked about the issue, their best advise: Unplug it and try again.
I give up.
6 Terrific Little Printer
This has got to be the easiest printer to set up and use. Came in the door by UPS at 7:30 pm and I had my first picture printed at 8:15 pm the same night. I used the enclosed sample photo paper and was very impressed with the quality of the photograph, excellent color, very true to life. It's wonderful to be able to preview your pictures before printing with the 230 and you even have the option of zooming in or out, cropping, or even adjusting the brightness if you like. The directions are concise and very, very easy to understand (no fancy technical terms, just plain English).
I don't have a lot of spare room on my desk and this printer just fits the bill, takes up very little space.
When I purchased the printer, I also purchased the optional carrying case to transport it in. I'm now thinking of buying the dc power adapter so that I can print out pictures when not close to a power supply. This is a great photo printer and I'm going to have such fun using it.
7 Sad to return it
I bought this little printer so I can print my 4X6 photos from my Compact flash card. The LCD was a little grainy, but worked ok. I had so many problems with the printer itself. 1/8 of an inch on side is totally white, not boarderless printing. The lady at HP tech support told me that was normal and that I can just "cut" that off. I can understand tearing the tap off of the top of the page, but get real. She said I should go out and buy a paper cutter! :-? And some of the photos were not even printing straight. Very UNIMPRESSED with their technical support. I feel using Ofoto.com or Snapfish is more economical than this. Plus you dont have to cut the pictures when you get them. :-( Really wanted this to work.
8 Sad to return it
I bought this little printer so I can print my 4X6 photos from my Compact flash card. The LCD was a little grainy, but worked ok. I had so many problems with the printer itself. 1/8 of an inch on side is totally white, not boarderless printing. The lady at HP tech support told me that was normal and that I can just "cut" that off. I can understand tearing the tap off of the top of the page, but get real. She said I should go out and buy a paper cutter! :-? And some of the photos were not even printing straight. Very UNIMPRESSED with their technical support. I feel using Ofoto.com or Snapfish is more economical than this. Plus you dont have to cut the pictures when you get them. :-( Really wanted this to work.
9 Whisper-quiet, great photos!
I sheepishly admit I didn't read a single instruction before plugging in this printer and getting started. And I was able to print! The pictures I got from this printer looked amazing, especially if you use HP's Photosmart 4 x 6 printer paper. I was shocked at how quiet it was while printing...you could barely hear it at all. Easy to use, great prints, and quiet printing...what more could you want???
10 Great portable printer
I have been very happy with this printer and have used it often since purchasing it. The photos produced are sharp and clear, there is minimal set-up to begin using it right away, and no computer interface is needed, though there is software included if you like to do digital editing before printing. The photo preview screen makes printing without the computer practical and easy. The 230 stores in a bag roughly the size of the average camera bag which makes it easy to take to parties and family gatherings. For print quality, ease of use, and portablity, I haven't found a better 4 x 6 printer out there.
11 Best Photo Printer EVER!
This is the best photo printer I have ever used. The quality of the photos is amazing and so is the speed!! The display makes it easy to crop and edit pictures and you can even add borders. It is small enough to take with you anywhere. I would gladly recommend this printer to anyone.
12 Excellent and Easy to Use
This little gadget is so compact and easy to use.My boyfriend picked it up for me yesterday.I have an Olympus 550,3mpxls that I received as a Christmas present.Last night I got a chance to print several pictures and the quality (rich,vibrant colors)was excellent!!I brought my pictures to work this morning, and my fellow co-workers loved them!The first thing they said was how excellent the colors were.I don't like grainy pictures and there were none.
Be prepared to spend some good money, the ink cartridge and photo paper, as well as buying batteries for your digital will cost you.But that's the price you have to pay if you want excellence.
I also recommend buying HP photo paper w/tabs.
13 Happy Picture Taker
This printer does everything beautifully: the setup is so simple; pictures print out as though you went to a professional developer. It is such a nice convenience not to have to hook it up to your computer in order to print pictures; although hooking it up to your computer is fast and easy and gives you a larger screen in which to manipulate the settings for the best possible print. I am very satisfied and wholeheartedly recommend this photo printer!
14 Great for parties
We purchased this printer for our digital camera after having the camera for a year and felt like we were not talking full advantage of the pictures! they were hard to print on our home printer and wanted to be able to have tangible prints not always just saved on cds!
We immediatly used it upon arrival and were amazed with the speed, color and ease of use! We brought it to a few friends houses over the holidays and surprised the hosts with pictures of there party within minutes of taking the pictures! Everyone loved it and made the parties even more fun!
15 A little GEM
I purchased this printer along with a 3MP Sony camera. I needed to make the transition from digital camera to printed picture as simple as possible and without the use of a computer. The preview screen is a must!! It allows you to preview the picture before you print which will save money in the long run. It is a snap to use right out of the box. It also has many useful features such as borders and the ability to lighten and darken those not-so-perfect photographs. It is even small enough to pack in the camera bag for instant photos while visiting friends or family. This is a MUST for the recreational digital photographer.
16 perfect little printer
I purchased an earlier version of this printer last year along with my first digital camera. It is identical to this with one less port for memory cards. My camera was a 2 megapixel Olympus D510 so I did not intend to enlarge my photos beyond 4x6. This printer offered small size and ease of use, which appealed to me at the time. The printer does not need to be connected to a computer to produce high quality 4x6 images - as close to photos from film as you can get with 2 megapixels. I now have a three megapixel camera and the prints are even better.
This printer is so easy to use. Just plug it in, add paper, insert the smartmedia, compact flash, or memory stick into the appropriate slot, select the number of the photo you want to print, press the print button and watch a beautiful photo emerge from the printer. It weighs only 3 pounds and can be easily transported anywhere. I take it on vacation with me (in a soft sided, padded lunch box) and surprise my friends with instant copies of photos.
The are only a few drawbacks for this printer. First, photo paper and ink cartridges cost a lot so your photos will not be cheaper than outside processing. I try to purchase in larger quantities to reduce the cost and I use cheaper paper for less important prints. The second drawback is the inability to view the photo on the printer prior to printing. You'll have to jot down the photo's number from your camera screen. And, of course you can't crop or modify your prints on this printer, but that's not really different from developing photos at the store.
As for durability, as I said, I've had this printer for almost a year, have taken it everywhere, printed hundreds of photos and never had the slightest problem. It's a great little printer!
17 Easy to tote and great quailty photos.
If you want to print a few high quality 4x6 photos on the spot without a PC, this is the printer for you. I recently attended a family reunion and before the punch bowl was empty everyone had a photo in their hand and a smile on their face. It is very easy to use. Just load any type memory chip and press print, or you can select the photo, adjust the contrast and crop the photo using the color screen. Get near photo lab results in a little over 2 minutes per photos.
18 Compact . . Quick. . . And Easy
This is a cute little printer. It has what all of the other mini-photo printers lacked. The LCD monitor. I picked one of these up for a client who traveled all over the world and didn't want to buy 20 memory sticks for her digital camera. This little machine does the job. With 4800x1200 line resolution and the fact that you do not need a computer to run it, it is a great pick for anyone who wants quality while he or she is on the move. The one disadvantage (I can't call its inability to print text a disadvantage, it was designed as a photo printer), is the fact that it uses the number 57 color ink cartridge instead of the 58 photo tank. . . The 57 is like 10 bucks more, and the photo tank has longer lasting ink. But overall, for the purpose of mobility, this printer does what it is supposed to do. It is a good piece of equipment and I think that it is pretty sturdy. The face folds into the printer for easy transport and so the print tray doesn't sustain damage in transit. It takes all of the major digital media: Compact Flash, Smart Media, Sony Memory Stick, and Secure Digital. Thus far they do not use the new format used in Fuji Film cameras.
If you have the money, and space is not a concern, consider the HP 7550. It is a fully functional printer and uses the number 58 photo tank in conjunction with the 56 black and the 57 color. If cost, space and transportability are a concern, then this is your printer. My complaints are actually pretty minor in comparison to the quality of the product, they just happen to stand out a bit, I still give it four out of five stars. . . It does exactly what it is supposed to and the quality of the pictures is top shelf!
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