Customer Reviews
Terrific Little Printer 
2003-03-30
This has got to be the easiest printer to set up and use. Came in the door by UPS at 7:30 pm and I had my first picture printed at 8:15 pm the same night. I used the enclosed sample photo paper and was very impressed with the quality of the photograph, excellent color, very true to life. It's wonderful to be able to preview your pictures before printing with the 230 and you even have the option of zooming in or out, cropping, or even adjusting the brightness if you like. The directions are concise and very, very easy to understand (no fancy technical terms, just plain English).
I don't have a lot of spare room on my desk and this printer just fits the bill, takes up very little space.
When I purchased the printer, I also purchased the optional carrying case to transport it in. I'm now thinking of buying the dc power adapter so that I can print out pictures when not close to a power supply. This is a great photo printer and I'm going to have such fun using it.
Sad to return it 
2003-03-16
I bought this little printer so I can print my 4X6 photos from my Compact flash card. The LCD was a little grainy, but worked ok. I had so many problems with the printer itself. 1/8 of an inch on side is totally white, not boarderless printing. The lady at HP tech support told me that was normal and that I can just "cut" that off. I can understand tearing the tap off of the top of the page, but get real. She said I should go out and buy a paper cutter! :-? And some of the photos were not even printing straight. Very UNIMPRESSED with their technical support. I feel using Ofoto.com or Snapfish is more economical than this. Plus you dont have to cut the pictures when you get them. :-( Really wanted this to work.
Sad to return it 2003-03-16
I bought this little printer so I can print my 4X6 photos from my Compact flash card. The LCD was a little grainy, but worked ok. I had so many problems with the printer itself. 1/8 of an inch on side is totally white, not boarderless printing. The lady at HP tech support told me that was normal and that I can just "cut" that off. I can understand tearing the tap off of the top of the page, but get real. She said I should go out and buy a paper cutter! :-? And some of the photos were not even printing straight. Very UNIMPRESSED with their technical support. I feel using Ofoto.com or Snapfish is more economical than this. Plus you dont have to cut the pictures when you get them. :-( Really wanted this to work.
Whisper-quiet, great photos! 2003-02-17
I sheepishly admit I didn't read a single instruction before plugging in this printer and getting started. And I was able to print! The pictures I got from this printer looked amazing, especially if you use HP's Photosmart 4 x 6 printer paper. I was shocked at how quiet it was while printing...you could barely hear it at all. Easy to use, great prints, and quiet printing...what more could you want???
Great portable printer 2003-02-08
I have been very happy with this printer and have used it often since purchasing it. The photos produced are sharp and clear, there is minimal set-up to begin using it right away, and no computer interface is needed, though there is software included if you like to do digital editing before printing. The photo preview screen makes printing without the computer practical and easy. The 230 stores in a bag roughly the size of the average camera bag which makes it easy to take to parties and family gatherings. For print quality, ease of use, and portablity, I haven't found a better 4 x 6 printer out there.
Bad, bad, bad 2003-09-11
I used this printer twice and kept getting "paper jam" although there was no paper in the printer. Had to send the product back. Wouldn't buy another.
Good bargain, good pictures 
2003-09-06
Since I got my digital camera I'd just been saving everything to CD and not printing anything out because printing through a website gets so expensive! I'd rather just have my own little printer, as long as the prints are good. The prints from this are great, and although they smudge if you don't allow them enough time to dry, they are good quality. I can't speak to fading yet, because I've only had it a month, but so far so good!
Does the job as described. 2003-08-12
I bought both the HP Photosmart 230 and the Sony DPP-EX5 and both produced a high quality picture. About 98% as good as developed from a service on kodak paper. The 2% represents the finish (which is a bit sticky till it dries) and some pictures come out a hair light (which is actually a good thing if your pics come out dark). Either printer would do the job, I settled on the HP for the name and choices of paper and easy access to many accessories. You won't be disappointed with the results of the printer. It is worth the money.
Great little printer that's BIG on performance and value!! 2003-08-11
I just got this printer ... wow, am I pleased it it. Since recently entering the "digital age" with my new Sony DSC-P72 digital camera, I've been searching for a decent photo printer - wanting to get not only a LOW PRICE but also GREAT COLOR PRINTS from my "new toy". I then asked myself, "why do I REALLY want [need?] a color photo printer?"....and then, after I thought about it for a while, my answer surprised me: I want [need!] a decent photo printer for quick and convenient printing of 4x6 or 3x5 shots to either tack up somewhere, put in an album, or to give to friends and family. I DO NOT need one for the 8x10's or 5x&s (I can get them at the drug store if I really need them, as I hardly ever do this anyway). Besides, I have a text printer that works just fine....why blow extra bucks on something I don�t need? The HP PhotoSmart 230 is THE color printer for people like me looking for value and complete portability!!
The HP PhotoSmart 230 is compact, portable, easy-to-use, and DOES NOT need to be hooked up to a computer in order to use it. I was actually printing my first photo 15 minutes after opening the box! The HP 230 has a convenient LCD screen that allows me to see what I am printing when reading from my Sony Memory Stick. Even though I have a Sony Digital Camera, and a Sony Clie PDA (both use Memory Sticks), I opted NOT to go with the Sony color printer (accepts only memory Stick media and does not have the LCD screen) because hey, who knows...someday, I or one one my friends MAY have the need to print from a Compact Flash card (or someother type of card, like an SD card) in the future -- the HP 230 easily accepts the four major memory cards out there (including Memory Stick media)!
The prints are clear and the color is decent. Remember - these are 4x6 prints. Some people have complained that this does not print "photo quality" -- my response to them is: "quit your whining, go buy some film and get it developed" (really!). For MY money, this HP 230 is pretty darn near-perfect to 'photo quality' for 'digital camera' shots - if anything, the convenience factor is well worth every penny spent!!!
Here's something that may interest some people "on the fence" about buying a color photo printer: YOU DON'T NEED A COMPUTER to use this photo printer (although, it is a nice feature to be able to do this).
I am SO happy I bought this color photo printer - you will be very happy after getting it!
With mostly everything about this printer being so GREAT, I have only a few "cons":
1) loading up the computer software (not necessary, really) and printing from a computer is a little bit cumbersome at first, but gets easy soon thereafter --
2) printing from a media card produces some great looking photos, but they are not as sharp as when printing from the computer (note: this only applies to lower pixel VGA (640KB) shots; BUT, the printer produces AWESOME higher-pixel shots when printing directly from the
media card! this is great!!
GET THIS PRINTER - IT'S GREAT!!!
Junk 2003-06-20
I was excited about the possibilities of such a portable printer, but after trying it out, I'm returning it. No matter what quality the paper, the prints are grainier than whole wheat bread. And when I ran a comparative print on my 2-year-old HP Officejet K60, they came out crystal clear. Even the HP test pages come out looking like sandpaper.
HP support is equally hopeless. When asked about the issue, their best advise: Unplug it and try again.
I give up.
