If the endearingly named Sprocket pocket-size printer, were alive, you can almost imagine a sprightly impish creature leaping out of your bag and performing a bunch of silly stunts all over the room. And that’s sort of what HP’s palm-size, portable instant printer does. It takes you back to the late ‘80s, with its almost vintage-Polaroid printing quality. So it’s not for serious photographers, but simply for a bunch of kids (or adults who leave the office behind and let go).

How it works

The printer, light at 172 grams, is a little larger than your box of Altoids, so will slip into any handbag or manbag. It comes in three colours: white, black, red. Charge it with a micro USB cable, download the app on your phone (Android OS v4.4 and higher and iOS v8.0 and higher), connect both devices via Bluetooth, and you’re ready. Then, load the 2”x3” Zink sticky-back papers into the slot, placing the blue smartsheet at the bottom of the pile; print. It took 10 minutes to go through the process, if you count pulling the 10 print sheets out of the packaging and hunting down the charger adapter plug. You can ‘pull out’ photos from the phone gallery, Facebook, Instagram and Google.

Zink, zero-ink technology, gives you prints you can use as stickers too. Each paper is embedded with dye crystals that take on colour when exposed to heat. Because they are heat-sensitive, you don’t want to expose the picture to heat after it’s printed, lest you see a change in colour. They are water-resistant and tear-proof though.

What it does

The HP sprocket is targeted at the millennial who apparently wants to take selfies to the next level, print them out, and stick them all over the place. But #ReinventMemories and #HoldMyHeart are the hashtags that the device is marketed with, and that’s really where the beauty lies. It’s for all those goofy moments you capture and want to share – not across social media, but with a bunch of real people, when you meet and take a few pictures, inhibitions down, spirits up.

Spring out the device and give friends a print of the good times in about 20 seconds. It’s great to fiddle around with the borders, filters, text boxes and stickers, but even without these, it still does its job. The filters, when used, printed a little flat, and mid-shots worked better than close-ups. But then, you’re not using these for art-level photography.

When you’ll need it

It’s not inexpensive, at ₹8,999, but if you’re at a ‘responsible age’ and have young kids, it’s perfect for those times when your child announces at 10 p.m. that some pictures needed to have been bought and stuck in a notebook. Hunt them down on Google, print and stick. It’ll probably take you less than 10 minutes and will spare you another why-didn’t-tell-me-earlier lecture. It’s also useful to create a moodboard for when you’re redoing your home, or when you want little motifs to go on a Diwali or Christmas gift.

Should you really buy it?

Like the selfie stick, you probably won’t buy it for yourself, but it’s a great gift, especially if it’s a landmark birthday, where you can pull it out of the wrapping and print instantly. Also like a selfie stick, it’ll probably get used more than you know. Get it at amazon.in if you’re so inclined.

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