With all the recent pictures we have been taking of Ethan, a picture printer was something that we just couldnt do without. We used to have this big photo printer and when we were downsizing the office, we decided to downsize the printer. So we purchased the HP Photosmart 475 Photo Printer (Click for more info and specs).
So I used it for a while and started to realize a couple of things… its a bit slow and it burns ink quikcly. Once Ethan was born we really started printing a lot of pictures and the more I printed the more I wished we had a faster, printer. Its not a bad unit for the right person, i just think we demand a bit more out of our photo printer, so im looking for something new thats a bit more high end.
Cool things
Its totally portable: With the optional $70 battery that plugs into the bottom, you can charge this thing up and take it with you to parties… Now im a real geek but doubt i would ever bring my photo printer to a party.
Bluetooth Connectivity: You dont need to hook this up to your computer if you have bluetooth functionality. It will print wirelessly from your computer or if your Camera has bluetooth printing, it will print from there.
Hard Drive: This thing has a hard drive so you can copy your pictures to it and print directly from its own hard drive. You can also use it as a photo storage device from your computer.
No Computer Needed: A lot is made about this feature. You can plug your memory card right into one of the 4 slots that supports 7 types of cards. You could also copy pictures to it and store them on the hard drive and print to it. My opinion is that this is a good feature for a certain set of people that have digital cameras but not computers. Im just not sure how big that market slice is.
Size Matters: This thing is small and unobtrusive which is why we bought it. the profile is 9 x 5 x 5 so it sits right next to my monitor. I think the design is cool in that it is very Mac-like and fits in with the mac color scheme but not with my PC.
Photo sizes: Most small printers this size only print 4×6, this thing prints 5×7.
One Cartridge: This may be a plus and a negative. it only has one ink cartridge in it. This is good in that you dont have to buy 4 types which can be more expensive. The downside is that it runs out of ink rather quickly.
Negatives
- It prints too slow for me. Im a liite impatient.
- It took me too long to tune the settings to get it to print color correctly
- No 8×10 support. I found that there were one or two pictures I really wanted to have blown up and hung on the wall at larger sizes.
- It burns ink pretty quickly. Ive gone through 3 cartridges. Granted we print alot.
Who Should Buy It: Anyone that had a digital camera that does not have a computer but wants to try printing their photos. The other class of users would be those that want portable printing functionality.
Rating
2 of 5
Cool Factor
4 of 5
Improvements
I would like to see the following on this printer:
- Faster Print Engine
- Improved Paper feed (jams alot)
- Wireless connectivity
- Synchronize feature to the My Pictures Folder on my computer
- A PC software control interface of the menus on the device a la setup, printing etc. I realize this is a bit counter-intuitive for a “portable” or “no pc needed” printer but more attention should be paid to those of us that do hook these things up to our computers.
All for now, ill let you know when I get a new printer…
