Product Requirements:
Device:
Digital Camera with any one of three following memory module formats: Compact Flash, Smart Media, or Memory Stick.
No computer is necessary unless you want to store or manipulate images.
Desktop:
Windows 2000, 98, 95 or NT 4.0 with USB port support.
No Apple Macintosh support at this time.
Part of the magic of photography is seeing/sharing images as close to the �moment� as possible. This is arguably one of the key reasons for the success of the instant photo cameras like the ones made famous by Polaroid. Ever notice how everyone wants to see the viewfinder after you take a digital picture? Hold this thought for a minute.
My Mom and Dad still buy film, shoot it, drive it to the local drug store and pay about $0.50 per print to get twenty-four 4 by 6 inch photos, and then they only keep about six out of the twenty four. They are afraid of digital photography because of the �computer.�
As digital photography has come of age, the weakest link has been the problem of computer literacy, not to mention having to go back to the (digital) darkroom and print or email photos and remember who wants them. The cost of generating one�s own photos is also something holding-back general acceptance.
The HP Photosmart 100 printer does a nice job toward building a bridge of accessibility for digital photography by delivering photos �on-the spot,� not requiring the mastery of the point-and-click paradigm, and delivering them in a fairly cost effective manner.
The fact that it is this close at all really sold me on switching over to Digital. I am willing to pay a little extra to get my pictures on-the-spot, and not printing all of those BAD pictures has got to be better for the environment.
OK, enough about the numbers, let�s talk about the HP Photosmart 100 printer.
The unit itself is much smaller than a toaster, and prints a very nice borderless 4 x 6 photo in about 2.5 minutes, and I particularly like that it prints all the way to the border of the paper. It also makes a small proof sheet or wallet-sized (2.5 x 3.5 inch) photos. The printer also supports the DPOF protocol, which means that you can decide what to print while your digital film is still inside the camera, and when the card is plugged into the printer it already will know what to do.
(Left to right: 4 x 6 print, 2.5 x 3.5 print, proof sheet)
The printer comes with a CD ROM (containing the drivers to interface with a Windows OS machine via USB), user manual, power adapter, some sample photo paper, warranty card and that�s about it. If you are planning to give this as a gift to parents who speak English as a second language, never fear. The HP web site has several different language versions of the little manual ready for free downloading.
The top of the printer has a very simple backlit LCD-based user interface that uses icons. It is very easy to use.
I�ve compared the images from this printer to that of our HP PSC 950 and my brother�s Epson Photo printer (at the 4 x 6 size). When we use the good paper, it holds its own and in some cases did a better job with the exposure control than the larger PSC 950.
The units uses a 32VDC power supply, so in order to print photos while in the car, I use a 120VAC inverter and plug the wall adapter into the inverter. Think of it: you will be able to print photos at the family reunion picnic (or soccer game) to hand out to everyone while you�re still there!
The HP Photosmart 100 has been ideal for our family. My siblings, cousins, uncles/aunts have digital cameras, and (of course) they all use different memory storage formats. Imagine how much more fun those get-togethers are now? Never mind �just an hour photo� how about �hold on for a couple of minutes photo!� Everyone with all of their incompatible memory cards can now swap photos (albeit on paper) as well as with those aunts and uncles that don�t have an email address.
A close-up view of the front of the printer shows the Compact Flash card slot (left), the Sony Memory Stick card slot (right), and the Smart Media card slot (thin slot above the memory stick).
If you are really interested in buying this printer, your best bet is to go see some sample printouts at the retail outlet. You will see that this printer along with a 2+ mega pixel camera will do a fine job. Below is a picture of the printer �in action� making two wallet-sized photos.
A quick note on pricing: the price on HP�s website was much higher than the prices I found around town. Staples, CompUSA and Office Depot all had it for about $179. Office Depot has a �$10 in-store coupon� that you can print and Staples has a web coupon for �$30 off on a purchase of $150 or more� that brought the price down to $149 and was the clincher for me.
Pros:
Print Quality
Easy to use
Portability, small size
Compatibility
Quiet
�cost per print�
Cons:
32VDC power supply doesn�t allow direct powering from car/boat
USB port only
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