The old saying goes:
You don't miss it
until it's gone
Off for vacation? You might love getting instant prints. . . get the shots, and keep the shots...
When I first heard about this printer I was a bit suspicious -- how could a printer so cheap produce good prints. At Christmas time when this unit was tested, they were going for around $279. Today, it's found in most Staples and Office Max stores for around $179.
While there are others, this is the HP PhotoSmart 100 series printer prints with a color resolution of up to 2400 x 1200 dpi (on premium photo paper). Both the memory stick from a SONY Mavica, and the Smart Media from two Olympus cameras we tested.
Both worked beautifully and produced prints that come very close to continuous tone prints.
When I look very close, I can see a bit of pixilation. But most people hold photos at 16" to 20" away, and in normal viewing situations, the photos are for all practical purposes, continuous tone. Most people who saw the prints, in fact, never thought to ask if they were digital -- instead commenting "nice picture!" They automatically assumed it was traditional photography. (Which is what you want, right?)
This unit supports CompactFlash, SmartMedia, and Sony Memory Stick memory cards. You get realistic prints with up to 2400 x 1200 dpi on premium photo paper. If you're heading out for vacation, it's easy to take along, weighing in at less than three pounds -- and you don't need a computer!
You control the printer from it's operations panel on top, and loading paper is very simple and straight forward. It offers some basic modifications like image positioning, zoom etc., but for more ambitious printing you'll need Canvas8, Painter, PaintShop Pro or Photoshop. For the adventurous and owners of laptops, try making your own picture post cards to mail home to the folks... "Wish You Were Here" with your smiling face! Just modify the image, and download it to the printer. Mac users can send the image back to the memory card, and print as you would a normal print!
The best part is you can print directly from a digital camera -- without the use of a computer! Bad news for Mac users if you should want to use the USB interface, because it supports only Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP. ( Click here for a close up.)
HP Thermal Inkjet, and prints media sizes, std. 4 x 6 in. You can load it with plain paper or index cards, if you really want to, but I recommend the high-gloss photo paper (4 x 6) you can pick up at most any office supply store. It's rather expensive running from 35 cents to a buck-fifty per shot, depending on where you buy it. Check your local CostCo or Price Club, they had EPSON photo paper in ours recently for half of the usual cost. The unit comes with a 1-year limited warranty, and seems to be very sturdy. (8.8 x 4.3 x 4.7 inches, 2.9 lb. Click here for a larger photo of the printer.)
Until next time, happy mousing.
Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher UG Net News
Fred Showker is co-editor of "MUG Info Manager," the User Group Network News service, and a founding Apple User Group Advisory Board (UGAB) member. He was an original founder of the User Group Forum on AppleLink Personal Edition which became America Online in 1988 ... read more
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