Summary: A go everywhere printer!
Comment: This is hands down the best compact 4x6 printer on the market. I have been using a Canon S750 for most of my digital printing, and it works great, but the ease of the HP 245 and quality of prints is awesome. Just pop in your memory card and start printing, with a small screen to view your pictures and loads of features, your pictures always look great! Plus the zoom feature is just fantastic. I also bought a travel case for it so I can take it with me on trips, and the hp 11.5 mil. premium plus glossy photo paper with the tab so you don't have to touch the photo is the best paper out there period. An all around great printer!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A portable gem
Comment: It is as big as a 2 slice toaster and weighs less than 3 pounds. It prints great pictures with very little setup. I never connected it to my computer as it has enough optional adjustments in it. My first one had a defect, the LCD read "print cartridge door is open" every time I used it, even though the door was not open. Second one is trouble free so far.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great detail and convenience. I love it!
Comment: I bought this printer to use with a Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital camera in a medical work envioronment. We print pictures of before and after surgical procedures and we keep a copy in the record and send one home with the client. The details are fantastic and always leave quite an impression! The printer takes up very little space and is very easy to use. We don't even have it connected to a computer. We leave it chairside in the procedure room, though it's easy to pick up and move if we need to. I have not had any problems with paper jamming, and I love being able to put 1,2 or 4 pictures on one sheet of paper. I've tried to keep track of how often we will be replacing the ink cartridge and have found that I can get about 100 prints out of a cartridge (which are about $35 apiece) and we use the matte HP paper. Very well worth the money and prints beautiful pictures in a short amount of time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Much cheaper (and better) at your local drug store
Comment: Follow-up to my earlier review (not on Amazon yet): at my local Rite Aid drug store chain, I can give them my flash memory card and it's only 21 cents per print for the whole card. If I select pictures at the photo counter, it's only 29 cents per print. At other drug stores (Walgreens, Duane Reade) it's only slightly cheaper, and they often offer rebates. All these stores offer quality guarantee, plus they use real professional paper.
So basically if you get the PhotoSmart 245 (or the cheaper 145 model withou the color LCD preview) you are paying a huge premium for convenience -- and if my experience is any guide, you won't actually get any conveninece because the printer jams too easily. Plus there's the question how long the print will last before fading.
For my hard-earned money (I'm probably far less paid than most of you guys who shop on Amazon.com) I'll stick with my local drug stores.
Of course, I'm talking from an urban-centric point of view. If you live in rural areas where getting to a digital-ready photo shop is not easy, this may make sense. Just beware of the printer jam and possible fading problems. Amen.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Jams easily, way too expensive per print
Comment: Pros: 4x6 near-pro-quality prints, LCD preview, compact form factor
Cons: slow!!!, prints can fade quickly, paper feed jams frequently, high cost per print (~65 cents not including cost of printer!), questionable manufacture quality
Recommendation: wait for the new 25-cents-per-print Epson PictureMate printer, with better quality (according to PC Magazine) and much lower operating costs.