| 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�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!!! |
