HP - Sprocket Select Portable Instant Photo Printer compatible with 2.3"x3.4" Zink Photo Paper - Gray

Full disclosure: I received this product for free in return for my honest opinion about it. With that out of the way, overall this printer is great for those who like to print out photos they take on their smartphone and want to share it with friends, family, scrapbook, or decorate your walls with them. Let's break it down: Quality: The quality of the actual printer is pretty good. The outer case is made of plastic which is one down side, I do wish it was made of aluminum or some other metal so you don't run the risk of cracking it when you take off the lid to change the paper. The print quality is fantastic for a printer this size. The pictures are about 2.5x3.5 in size, but the clarity and color in which it prints is amazing. I did not expect such high quality prints from a pocket device. Functionality: Set up was a breeze, scan the QR code included, download the app, pair it to the printer and voila, you're done. The app (Sprocket) connects to your camera roll, camera, Facebook, or Instagram allowing you to print pictures from basically any source you want. Printing from camera/camera roll was very easy and you can add filters, edit and tune the image, or add stickers too.. I did run into an issue where when I synced it to my Instagram, the app would complain that every picture was "low quality" and would not print well. Not sure why as all the IG pictures I have were taken in high quality fashion (portrait mode etc.) Another cool feature is you can take pictures of art work and turn them into stickers (the paper has an adhesive side if you want to turn them into stickers). This app also has an AR feature where you can look at your printer through AR and it will show you the battery life and print queue. Cool, yes, useful.... not in my opinion, it's a little gimmicky. One last feature I love is that you can create grids of pictures, so you can do a collage of 4-6 pictures on one picture which makes for fun exciting pictures to print, and it also has a photo-booth setting where you can do photo-booth style pictures with your friends and print them instantly. Maintenance: Charging the printer is easy, all you need is the provided micro USB cord and a USB outlet to charge from. Battery life seems to be a few hours after a full charge. Changing the paper is easy, the printer comes with 10 sheets and instructions telling you to put it face down, making it blatantly obvious with an orange sheet of paper how to do so. The only issue I see is the plastic cover is a little flimsy that covers the paper and I worry about it breaking. The price per print is a little expensive, 50-60 cents per print. But the fact you do not have to buy ink cancels that out as the ink is infused into the paper. I do wish HP gave you 20 sheets instead of 10 when you get the product as 10 is not enough to get started. Final Thoughts: All in all, this printer provides great print quality in a form factor that can fit in your pocket. The app is easy to use and you can seamlessly create fun pictures to share or keep for yourself, or make stickers out of them. The customization of pictures is endless, the fun you can have is endless and since it is app driven, it only adds the possibility of new features in the near future.

This pocket printer is a great item for gatherings and events. If you are looking for studio-quality prints, you need to contact a professional photographer! The sprocket select enables you to print small photos wherever you are. Very lightweight, not much bigger than my cell phone. I was excited to open the printer and get started. My first surprise was how easy it was to set up. Basically charge the battery and load the special zink paper. The paper comes in sealed packets of ten and you just want to make sure you load it the correct way (orange card down). You will need to install the hp Sprocket software on your mobile devices. I was a bit skeptical about such a small printer doing anything, but was surprised at the quality of the print! I have used this at career fairs, my high school reunion (!), and the office. So easy to snap a pic and print multiple copies! You can add frames and words to your photo using the special sprocket software. The blue tooth connection allows more than one device to use the printer at one time. The printer is not super fast, but it is super fun. I had some friends who thought it was not very useful until they actually saw it in action. How many times have you snapped a ton of pics at an event and promised to send them to everyone? (And never did, or forgot?) With the sprocket select, you can print them on the spot! I highly recommend this photo printer for use at parties, events, and gatherings. I can also see myself using it in my livestock business when I want to get a printed pic quick for a potential buyer to take with them. It's a physical reminder!

I got this device mainly for making fun pictures for my kids that they can use as stickers for their enjoyment. However, because of the many features built into the Sprocket app, I’ll be using it for an upcoming birthday party as a photo booth option for our guests. Until then, we’ve been printing pictures with fun borders and designs so my kids can use them in school projects, as well as to decorate their stuff. They love that each picture can be turned into a sticker too. The picture quality of the printer is good if you’re not expecting high quality prints (such as those from high resolution photo printers). This is the only area that may be an issue for some people, hence my overall score of 4. If you get one of these knowing its limitations in print quality, like I did, then you’ll be satisfied with its capabilities. For example, see the attached pic that shows a printed version of a color grid. The original image is shown on the phone, and the printed version is right next to it. The printer for the most part was able to print most of the colors well. When viewed by itself, and not next to the vibrant phone’s screen, the printed version of the color grid had good color separation. And if you’re thinking of getting this little portable printer for fun projects, crafting, or for parties, the print quality is perfect for these situations. One tip I noticed was that if you want to adjust a picture’s features, such as lighting and color, it may be best to do this in the Sprocket app itself. I was adjusting my pictures on my phone’s native photo app, then printed them on the Sprocket printer, and many of my pictures were over saturated. When I made similar adjustments within the Sprocket app instead, the printed images came out much nicer. My guess is that the Sprocket app is designed and fine-tuned for the printer. It seemed to handle my adjustments to match the capabilities of the printer. Makes sense, since the printer and app are designed for each other. Overall, this is a great little portable printer that can be used in many creative ways. I really like the fact that these prints are stickers. In my opinion, it’s what makes this printer unique.