The HP Sprocket Studio is a new addition to the company’s line of portable photo printers, but instead of producing glossy 4 x 6-inch images, it produces wallet-sized 2 x 3-inch prints. Therefore, minutes after capturing the picture on your phone, you might have a picture that deserves to be printed.
Dye sublimation is a technique used by The Sprocket Studio to transfer many layers of color onto a material. Although the procedure is slower than the inkjet printing technology used in conventional printers, the end results are of higher quality.
You must first download the HP Sprocket companion app on your smartphone (available for iOS and Android), which has a variety of editing tools to make your prints stand out. Although some people might consider these editing options to be a touch kitschy, we found them to be rather beneficial throughout our testing.
Design
Compared to the other printers in the Sprocket line, the Sprocket Studio is significantly larger. It has a bigger footprint than the Sprocket Select, which measures only 142 x 89 x 18mm. It is 169 x 273 x 68mm.
The printer is available in a light grey color that HP refers to as “snow,” and it has a few dark green specks that give it the appearance of an egg. The rest of it appears to be highly polished and clean.
On the left side of the Sprocket Studio, there is only one power button. A unique power cord connection, roughly the size of a typical laptop charger, is located on the back of the printer, adding further weight to an already larger-than-usual Sprocket.
When the printer is turned on, a luminous strip of light on the front illuminates in the color of your choice; if there are any issues, such as running out of paper or ink, the light will turn red.
The paper tray is the sole other distinguishing feature. It protrudes from the printer body, giving the Sprocket Studio a peculiar, asymmetrical form, but we must confess that we started to like it after a few usage.
The Sprocket Studio is really simple to use because to its physical appearance, and this ease is carried over into the app and for printing images.
App management
HP’s Sprocket Studio connects to your phone through Bluetooth, and the Sprocket app manages all printing operations. The software walks you through the setup procedure step by step, including how to enter the ink cartridge, and is really simple to use.
Every photo on your phone is displayed while you’re connected, including photos from Instagram, Facebook, and Google Photos if you connect to those services via the HP Sprocket app. The source folder of your photographs may also be used to organize these. The app will also display RAW photographs if your phone is capable of doing so.
As was already indicated, you may adjust your image using a variety of tools before pressing the figurative “print” button. You have a lot of creative freedom since you can change exposure to brighten an image, alter the color, or add text or a preset effect.
You may further personalize it by adding borders, stickers, and even your own designs. Although adding stickers that you have created is a novel notion, it isn’t always successful in practice.
We discovered that the software frequently has trouble recognizing a drawing, especially if the lines are thin. In actuality, the software failed to recognize a drawing made using a thicker marker. We discovered that solid block colors performed the best. If it had worked properly, it would have been a great addition, but there is a library of pre-made stickers you may use instead of having to make your own.
Performance
Short version: The Sprocket Studio creates high caliber picture prints. Although they aren’t flawless, the colors and detail are true. Because we noticed a thin, vertical line extending from the right edge of our test prints, we say it isn’t flawless.
It appeared that the dye had run a little bit horizontally on some of the prints, probably as a result of the printing process catching on a fleck of dust. It is therefore important to make sure that your photo paper is free of any small dust particles before you start printing. However, these are merely niggling issues that a critical eye will probably only pick up on.
The Studio prints with dye sublimation, whereas the smaller Sprocket uses zero-ink (Zink), a printing technique that replaces ink and toners with color embedded in the Zink paper.
In order to add each color layer by layer—first yellow, then magenta, cyan, and a clear top coat—the paper must run back and forth through the machine. HP claims that the print time is as quick as 61 seconds per print, but our tests revealed that it is slower, taking between 80 and 90 seconds to complete.
If you’re only printing a few pictures at a time, that doesn’t seem too bad, but if you’re making an album or collage, that period of time might drag on a bit.
Each short edge of the provided photo paper has a perforated side. Between the two, the image is printed, allowing you to pick up the finished product right away without worrying about smudged ink. You can then tear off these blank edges to reveal a complete 4 x 6 print with clean sides.
We discovered that this wasn’t a perfect solution, though. The Sprocket began printing about 5mm over the perforations in each of our eight test prints (although ending right on cue). This may become a problem if crucial components of your photograph are located at the composition’s outer edges.
Verdict
HP’s Sprocket family could only print smaller wallet-sized photos before the Studio came along. You can print better-quality, larger photos with the Studio that will fit in picture frames.
It’s simple to use, and the app’s photo editing tools may give your smartphone camera roll a unique touch. Since this Sprocket isn’t exactly a “go-anywhere gadget” like HP’s other rapid printers, making customized stickers doesn’t work as well as we had hoped, and the necessity for a little large power source makes it less portable. Nonetheless, it’s a great method to print high-quality pictures at home.
What matters is if you find it to be inexpensive. Like with any printer, there are continuous expenses you must account for, including the price of extra ink and paper. It would have been simpler to endorse the Sprocket Studio if the cost of the printer itself—which only prints 4×6 photos—was a little cheaper.
