HP Sprocket 2nd Edition Review

 Get Dieter and Helmut out of your head: You're thinking of the wrong Sprockets. The HP Sprocket 2nd Edition ($129.99), a pocket-size portable snapshot printer, is the company's third by that name, replacing the popular original Sprocket reviewed in December 2016. Since then, we've tested similar 

models from Canon, Kodak, and Lifeprint, but we didn't find one worthy of our Editors' Choice nod until the HP Sprocket Plus came along in mid-2018. The Sprocket 2nd Edition's beefed-up feature list, funky augmented-reality angle, and impressive output-quality overhaul represent big steps forward for 

this fun device. Our new Editors' ChoicThe Sprocket 2nd Edition is about the footprint of a smartphone, but chunkier. Because the HP Sprocket Plus ($149.99 at HP) prints slightly larger photos than the original Sprocket and the Sprocket 2nd Edition (the pics are 2.3 by 3.4 inches, versus the more common 

2 by 3 inches), the Sprocket Plus is slightly wider than the other two. The Sprocket 2nd Edition measures 1 by 4.6 by 3.2 inches (HWD) and weighs about 4 ounces. That's in line with the original Sprocket, as well as the competing Canon IVY Mini, the Kodak Mini 2 HD, and Lifeprint's Hyperphoto Printers.

While the original Sprocket comes in a practical black with silver trim, or in all-white, the Sprocket 2nd Edition comes in…well, not really colors, but moods, or states of mind. You have your choice of three hues: Noir, Luna Peral, and Blush.

These sound more like lipsticks or perfumes. In addition to the head-scratcher names, each color has a description. Example: Luna Peral. Shadows on white as time passes. Delicate balance of energy and quiet.

 

We are talking about a machine here, right? Right. According to HP, its market research says that the primary users of portable photo printers like these are young women aged 16 to 24, and it says it geared these new colors to that demographic. Beyond these, HP says that versions of the Sprocket 2nd Edition in more colors, including Lilac, will be available from specific retailers. (Info on exactly what colors and where wasn't available yet, at this writing.)

As you can see in the image above, each of the different-colored tops has a pattern of dots or flecks. The patterns break up the monotony of these otherwise solid-color printers, but they have another, more interesting function: When you scan them with your smartphone camera from inside HP's Sprocket App (which I'll discuss more in a moment), status information shows up on the screen, a limited implementation of augmented reality. HP calls this Reveal.

HP says that you'll get 35 to 40 prints from each battery charge. Everything else—configuring the printer, pairing it via Bluetooth, photo editing and enhancing, and much more—is handled from the Sprocket App on your Apple or Android mobile device.

Most recent pocket photo printers, including all three Sprockets, the Canon IVY Mini ($79.00 at Amazon) , and the Lifeprint models I mentioned, make use of a technology known as Zero Ink, or ZINK. ZINK printers all use color thermal paper made by a company of the same name. Instead of 

spraying on or fusing external ink or toner applied by the printer, ZINK paper releases colors via chemicals embedded in the paper; the colors come to the surface based on heat patterns applied to the paper by the printer. ZINK does, however, produce branded paper that HP says has been tweaked 

specifically for the Sprocket printers. It also offers paper packs specific to competing models.