This shouldn't make you excited but it sort of does, now that the majority of the population has moved to intangible memory storage devices -- namely Instagram and Facebook.
Photo taking may be pervasive in this day and age, but having a hard copy to have and to hold is not the norm with millennials. With this HP Sprocket printer, however, getting colourful prints -- complete with the sticky back -- is fuss-free and instantaneous.
This pocket-sized photo printer can instantly print 5cm-by-7.5cm photos straight from your smartphone, although you'll have to download the HP Sprocket App from the iOS or Android store first. The phone and printer conveniently connect through Bluetooth and there's the ease of charging the printer through a USB cable -- say goodbye to those battery-toting days with these photo-taking gadgets.
Within the app, you can filter and customise your photos with frames, texts and stickers. There's no element of surprise here because users will clearly know exactly how their picture will turn out, unlike with Polaroids, but it is still no less the most fun part to watch the printer slowly splutter out your picture. If anything, it brings back the rush teens would feel while waiting for their photos at the photo sticker booth. Since the photos are smudge-proof and also have a sticky back that can be peeled off so they can be stuck anywhere, this is quite the direct helper that gives you content for art projects, collages or immediate decorating.
Using ZINK Photo Paper, which is sold in packs of 20 at 385 baht each, all you do is reload the printer with a pack of paper. It's not the crispest of photos and be prepared to see blurred colours that don't mirror the sharp quality of the photographs you see on your phone's screen. But this imperfect charm does bring the year 2000 back to life, evoking a nostalgic vibe that comes with sticker photo booths that were the rage merely a decade ago.
If you're deciding between the HP Sprocket and Instax's Smartphone Printer, which prints photos on Polaroid film, the Sprocket allows you to edit your photos and graphics exactly the way you want them to look. It looks dubious too with picture-perfect shots on Polaroid film when they were clearly not taken from an Instax camera, while non-photographs also look a tad out of place with the white frame. With the ZINK paper, you have an entire rectangle to do whatever you want and your photos can be stuck anywhere.
There's also the convenience of not having to buy ink to feed your printer and this scores full points. The paper is filled with tiny crystals that react to turn into different colours after coming into contact with the printer's heat, so no messy cartridges are needed. The price may not be light, but since sticker photo booths are becoming extinct, this can be your new photo-related diversion to create decent-enough pics. They also come in glossy colour combos that don't look geeky (white/rose gold, black/silver or red/silver) so grab the Sprocket if you're not a serious photographer and are looking for some fun.
The HP Sprocket Printer comes with a pack of HP ZINK Photo Paper (10 pieces) at 5,380 baht. Available now at Lazada, 11street, Bananastore and 24 shopping.
