PhotoSmart 230 : nice printer but limited features
Written: Jan 15 '03 (Updated Jan 18 '03)
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Pros: Small size, excellent photo prints, Color LCD monitor, easy to use
Cons: only 4x6 prints, expensive ink costs, not truly portable
The Bottom Line: Excellent print quality and ease of use make the PhotoSmart 230 a real winner. It has several flaws however, especially being limited to 4x6 prints and expensive ink.
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| yusakugo's Full Review: Hewlett Packard HP PhotoSmart 230 Ink-jet Printer |
Several nice item came over Christmas... the PhotoSmart 230 was one of those nice items. This particular printer is one of HP newest class printers... an extremely compact 4x6 sheet only photo printer. There are several other models in this particular lineup like the PhotoSmart 130 and its predecessors. However, the PhotoSmart 230 ups the ante quite a bit over these previous models although it loses just a bit of quality from the previous model PhotoSmart 130.
The Short Take
The PhotoSmart 230 is an excellent photo printer although limited in overall usefulness. The whole unit is compact and easy to take along although it is not "portable" as in printing on the road. The ease of use and the ability to preview shots in color really add quite a bit to the value of this printer. The addition of a color LCD also allows the 230 limited editing features on photos. All of this allows the 230 to be a stronger stand alone photo solution than any of its similarly shaped predecessors!
On the downside is the limiting of the printer to 4x6 prints and smaller shots. The ink costs are quite high especially with a $35 tri-color ink cartridge (#57). The lack of an external battery weaken the "portable" monkier than HP has attached to the PhotoSmart 230 printer.
Overall, if most of your photo printing is in 4x6 shots and smaller, the PhotoSmart 230 may just be the ticket for you. Otherwise, you should look at other options if you need more flexibility in photo sizes.
Pros:
1) Small size
2) Excellent photo detail and quality
3) color LCD screen
4) Multiple controls and editing features
5) Accepts all the major flash memory cards (Compact Flash, SD/MMC, SmartMedia, and Memory Stick)
6) Capable of 4800x1200 dpi photos on photo paper
7) HP sells a cute carry case for this line of PhotoSmarts
Cons
1) Pricey at $249 retail
2) Consumes ink at a rapid pace
3) On occassion, the vibrancy of colors on photos can be suspect at times since you don't have a dedicated black cartridge or the photo tri-color cartridge available.
4) No external battery to make this truly portable.
5) Largest print is limited to 4x6!
A few details
The PhotoSmart 230 has the cute dimensions of 8.8 x 4.3 x 5.3 inches with a paltry weight of 2.97 lbs. Not bad at all. Although the printer has small dimensions which suggest portability, the PhotoSmart 230 lacks the ability to print on the road without a nearby outlet.
The 230 has an overall medium gray colored casing with a color LCD on the top of the printer with a slew of control buttons that are clearly labeled. Two panels can be flipped open on the front of the 230. One acts as the input paper and output tray as well as the cover for the flash memory slots. The other panel covers the access to the ink cartridge. The back of the unit holds the USB port, the power port and long slit to allow the paper to maintain a straigh paper path while printing (i.e. no bent photos from the printer).
Print Quality, Speed, and Expense
Although the 230 is limited to a three color ink cartridge, the quality of the prints is superb. There is a slight reddish hue to flesh tones (that seems to be common in many HP printers anyway) and the lack of luster on some shiny metallic colors. Otherwise, the 230 delivers better photo prints than many full sized dedicated photo inkjets on the market currently! The only problem is that you're limited to printing up to 4x6 shots at best.
HP rates the 230 at just under 3 minutes a 4x6 photo. This isn't half bad especially with the high quality of the photo prints. Note that this is under "normal" mode of 1200x1200 dpi. Prints in the maximum resolution take much longer... sometimes up to 10 minutes for complex photos. The number was about right from my use of the 230 as well. It is an admirable performance by this tiny workhorse.
The speed and quality of the photos may have been helped by the generous amount of memory on the 230. A full 16MB of RAM in onboard the 230! That's the same as the DeskJet 450!
Don't forget, the PhotoSmart 230 was not designed for text or graphics (nono-photo) printing.
One of the weak points of the 230 is the high ink consumption of the printer. A new tri-color #57 cartridge may last you a couple of hours or anywhere from 50-100 shots depending on the shot complexity. If you stay in presentation mode, the numbers decrease even further. Don't forget, the #57 cartridge costs $35 at most stores! Don't forget the cost of 4x6 photo paper as well!
LCD and control panel
The LCD is clear and easy to read. It displays the full spectrum of colors capable on most recent digital camera LCDs. There are several buttons on the panel as well. These include the standard power and print buttons. The save button allows you to save photo files straight to your computer... provided that you have the USB cable plugged in between the two. There is a 4 way D-pad, an OK button, Zoom rocket, Cancel button, Menu button, copies button, and size button.
There are a number of limited photo editing features on the 230... these include zoom, brightness, and color effects.
Installation
Please follow the poster instruction that come with the PhotoSmart 230, it will save you a bit of trouble. The software is installed into the computer first then you attach the printer.
Wondering...
If some of the external High Capacity Lithium Ion battery packs will power the PhotoSmart 230. I'm experimenting with one from DigiPower that is meant for digital cameras. Let's see what I get from it.
Final Words
Despite the PhotoSmart 230's limited abilities, it performs all of those duties very well. A solid photo printer and toy... it will be great for those who know that they will print mostly 4x6 and smaller shots. However, one should be acutely aware of the cost of ink for this machine at all times. If I get these external lithium ion battery packs to work well with these units, then this will be a great buy as a portable photo printer.
Check out my profile page for more printer reviews... as well as other computer hardware and digital cameras.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
Operating System: Windows
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yusakugo
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Member: Rich Go
Location: Somewhere in the NorthEast
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