PhotoSmart 230, Is it really Smart or Just another Gadget
Written: Apr 24 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Paper Handling: |
|
|
|
Pros: Its Small, Prints are Quite Nice, Color LCD
Cons: Not totally portable, Expensive to use relative to other printers Limited Use Ability
The Bottom Line: I Like HP prdcts this item just is to expensive to buy & operate to be worth its cost for $100 ok, but not $250
|
|
|
| justinsdaddy's Full Review: Hewlett Packard HP PhotoSmart 230 Ink-jet Printer |
The 230 is a nice addition to have if you have VERY limited room, and you are NEVER going to print anything bigger than a 4x6 picture. This unit is just slightly worse than its predecessor(s) especially the 130 and 100 series but offers some nice options such as the LCD screen to preview the pics.
The ink is quite expensive when you think about how quickly this little printer drinks it up. The Tri-Color Cart costs about $35 and does not last as long as you would like, or expect.
Don;t let this mislead you, understand if you have only a limited small area this is the right printer to have, but if you are able to have a full size photo quality printer there are many other options that will better suit your needs, and better perform. This is a Gadget that is fun if you can not have any other.
The real pros to the unit are:
a. Photo Quality
b. Borderless Photo (4x6)
c. Easy to use multiple menus and controls to edit
d. Accepts Smart Media, Sony Memory Sticks, Compact Flash
e. 4800 x 1200 DPI allows for awesome detail
f. Small size!
The pure cons in my opinion are:
a. Speed at 3 minutes (OR MUCH MORE) for a 4x6 it is slow!
b. Drinks ink like it was lemonade on a summer day
c. Pricey when you think about a full size Photo Printer
d. Not having a Black Cart sometimes the colors may seem just a hint off
e. No battery to make it truly portable, you have to always be close to an outlet.
f. YOU CAN NOT do anything but photo printing!!!
Although it is compact I still feel it is more of a gadget than a performer.
When you figure out the cost of the paper, and the ink you will find that per picture this is much more costly than a full size printer. I know I keep getting to the same point, but for the same money there are som many options that why limit yourself.
When I say much more than 3 minutes for a picture, depending on the complexity of the print, as well as the DPI the picture was shot in, it could take upt to 4 times that to print. Yes 12 minutes is NOT unheard of!
Due to this item having as many cons as it does, I am rating it BELOW AVERAGE but mroe so becuase it is a gadget item that you will most likely only use a dozen times before you wish you had not bought it. Sorry HP but this is not one of the winners at least for me.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 249.00
Operating System: Windows
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.