HP Sprocket: A millennials’ polaroid for instant digital sharing (Tech Review)

By Krishna SinhaChaudhury

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) If you have used polaroid cameras for instant gratification in the past, you must have struggled with the picture quality as you could not see how the picture will finally come out.

Now, with HP Sprocket photo printer, you have total control over how your photo will finally appear -- with your smartphone -- and you can instantly share 2x3" snapshots with your friends.

Customise your images by adding fun borders, emojis, stickers, filters and fonts before printing them via HP Sprocket that is now in India for Rs 8,999.

Let us see how this fun device works.

The sleek, lightweight and portable power bank-sized device can easily be slipped into your pocket or handbag.

HP Sprocket can be charged via USB and once up, you just get going.

The hand-held printer would allow you to click instant pictures and share among friends anytime, anywhere.

First download the "Sprocket" app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store on your smartphone.

Then pair it with the printer, place specially-designed 'HP ZINK' papers in the device, switch on Bluetooth and print images from your phone -- be it Facebook, Instagram or your phone gallery -- in a jiffy.

The best part? There is no ink involved.

HP Sprocket photo printer connects seamlessly to mobile devices via Bluetooth and prints photographs using ZINK technology.

The ZINK photo paper delivers colourful, smudge-proof, water-resistant and tear-resistant photos without ink or toner cartridges.

All the colour required for printing is embedded in the HP ZINK photo paper itself.

Additionally, the peel-and-stick backing property of ZINK paper can turn favourite photos into fun stickers that can personalise everyday items, such as bags, phones and notebook PCs.

The device supports a range of file types including .jpeg, .gif and .png and the app enables users to work on almost any image format.

Compared to other polarised devices, HP ZINK paper is not costly and comes for Rs 539 for a pack of 20 and Rs 1249 for a pack of 50. Pack of 10 papers comes with the box at the time of purchase.

What doesn't work.

Well, nothing specially but as the device gets popular among the millennials, we feel a bigger print size like a postcard will only be ideal.

Conclusion: While there are other app-backed pocket printers available in the market, HP Sprocket is different and will make instant digital sharing a totally new experience for you.

(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in)