HP Sprocket Panorama – Portable Color Label & Photo Printer w/ Bluetooth

Nowadays, most people take photos of their favorite and most cherished moments with their smartphones. Since those photos are stored digitally, to print them into paper format you’d usually have to connect your phone to a desktop PC or a laptop in order to upload and print those photos via a standard USB printer. The better alternative is to use a portable smartphone printer, which as the name suggests, allows you to print photos from anywhere by simply connecting it wirelessly with your smartphone. Moreover, this type of printers also have low running costs in comparison to full-sized printers, as they typically use small and affordable cartridges that are easy to replace. For those looking for a portable smartphone printer that lets you print photos taken with your smartphone (or tablet), then the HP Sprocket Panorama is your go-to option.

The HP Sprocket Panorama is a portable color label and photo printer that lets you instantly print beautiful color labels and photos from a smartphone or tablet on 2” wide sticky-backed paper measuring anywhere from 0.5” to 9” long with a resolution of 313.58 dpi. It features a proprietary ZINK Zero Ink technology that makes it capable of printing labels and photos without the need for expensive ink and toners, for which it uses a HP Sprocket Panorama ZINK paper roll that makes your sticky-backed prints come out smudge-proof, tear-resistant, and water-resistant, making them last for many years, while also coming equipped with a built-in paper cutter that easily separates your prints. It also integrates a user-friendly interface, boasts Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for pairing with your mobile devices, a long battery life and support to USB-C charging. Via the HP Sprocket Panorama App, users can easily customize their photos and labels before printing, for which they can choose from preset templates, add dynamic frames, filters, stickers, and custom text that automatically adjust to canvas size, and also create photobooth strips.

With this portable color label and photo printer you can easily print photos taken from your mobile devices and create paper photos and photobooth strips that you can stick to scrapbooks, bullet-journals or to your photo wall, and you can also design and print vibrant, colorful labels that you can use as food and mailing labels or as wall decorations.

Now, let’s have a more detailed look at the HP Sprocket Panorama and go over everything that this portable color label and photo printer has to offer you.

DESIGN & SPECS

Starting with the device’s size, this portable printer has a very compact form factor, measuring just 5.75 inches long by 2.5 inches wide by 3 inches tall. Plus, it is also rather lightweight, as it only weighs 1.54 lbs.

The HP Sprocket Panorama also has a minimalist design, and it also packs a high-quality construction, as it is built with portability in mind after all.

Moving on to the printer’s hardware specifications. The HP Sprocket Panorama can print color labels and color photos on sticky-backed paper with a supported media size that can measure anywhere from 0.5 inches to 9 inches long by 2 inches wide with a picture resolution of 313.58 dpi (equates to 1080p) and an average printing speed of 0.13 ips (inches per second).

For printing your creations, this portable printer utilizes a proprietary ZINK Zero Ink printing technology that makes it capable of printing color labels and color photos without the need to use for expensive ink and toners.

As for the type of printing paper it uses, the HP Sprocket Panorama is specifically designed to only use the HP Sprocket Panorama ZINK paper roll, which is a special type of adhesive photographic paper with a sticky back side that makes your prints come out smudge-proof, tear-resistant, and water-resistant, making them last for many years on end.

Its photographic paper’s sticky back side allows you to stick your printed photos and labels to a scrapbook, journal, photo wall, or anything else in between.

INTERFACE / CONTROL PANEL

For controlling its operation, this portable label and photo printer features a simple control panel that has a very user-friendly interface.

Integrated at the front side of the printer, there’s a built-in paper cutter that easily separates your prints via barcode reading.  Once the barcode on its sticky-backed paper is scanned, you simply have to press the cutting button to cut off the paper evenly.

Then, located at the back side of the printer, we have its dedicated Power button and its USB-C charging port.

Lastly, the printer also features two status LED indicator lights (integrated on its cutting button and on its power button) that tell you when the printer is starting up, has printing issues, or if it’s low on battery.

If its cutting button’s LED is blinking red, then the printer is out of paper, overheated, or has a paper jam.

If its Power button’s LED is blinking red, then the printer has low battery and needs to be charged.

SET UP / INSTALLATION

When it comes to setting up the printer, know that the HP Sprocket Panorama also offers you an out-of-the-box installation.

To set up the printer, first remove the cover and place its ZINK paper roll on the printer’s paper holder.

After that, remove the red sticker from the roll, roll up the paper, and feed the end of the roll into the slot. Finally, re-insert the holder and place the cover back on the printer.

MAINTENANCE TIPS

In the event of a paper jam, if the printer can’t clear it automatically, you just have to gently pull the paper roll out of the printer and reset its positioning.

If streaking happens to appear in your printed photos or labels, you can use the cleaning sheet included in the package to clean the printer’s paper path rollers and get the printer’s quality back to what’s expected.

To do so, carefully insert the cleaning sheet into the printer’s paper slot and place the cover on the printer for the sheet to automatically feed through its printing output slot.

CONNECTIVITY

For establishing a wireless connection with your mobile devices, the printer utilizes Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE

For its power, the printer comes equipped with a built-in 1000mAh Lithium-Ion battery (7.4 V / 22W rated power consumption) that offers users a long battery life.

Whenever the printer’s battery is running low on power, you can charge the printer through USB-C charging by connecting its USB-C charging cable to its USB-C charging port. It takes approximately 150 minutes for the printer’s battery to recharge from 0% back to 100% power.

THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The HP Sprocket Panorama App

For managing the printer’s different printing functionalities, users are meant to install the HP Sprocket Panorama App on their smartphones or tablets, which can be downloaded for free for both iOS and Android devices.

Via the HP Sprocket Panorama App, users can customize their photos and labels before printing them, for which they can choose from preset templates, add dynamic frames, filters, stickers, and custom text that automatically adjust to canvas size as a way to turn their prints into personalized artwork, and users can also create photobooth strips.

It’s worth mentioning that the App also allows you to upload unlimited photos to its canvas.

The App also sends users an alert when it’s safe to cut and use the paper cutter button to easily separate their printed photos and labels.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Inside their package, users will find: their HP Sprocket Panorama Printer, along with the printer’s cover and paper roll holder, one (x1) ZINK paper roll, a cleaning sheet and a Quick Start Guide.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All in all, this portable printer makes for the perfect tool for photo lovers as well as for anyone who wants to unlock their creativity on DIY projects. The printer is ultra-portable, and its mobile app makes it very easy to use.

The HP Sprocket Panorama is currently available in two (x2) different color options: Gray and Pink.

If you’re interested in purchasing it, know that each unit is currently discounted from its normal price of $149.99, and is now going for just $129.99 (saves you $20). You can order it online either directly from HP Sprocket’s official shopping page, or alternatively you can get it from Amazon.

Users can also buy extra HP Sprocket Panorama ZINK paper roll charges for their printer (sold separately), which is currently discounted from $59.99 down to just $39.99 per roll. You can purchase it through HP Sprocket’s corresponding shopping page.