Software
The Photosmart 245 comes with a very nice, workable driver which, while it doesn't provide some of the really exotic color managing features that you'll find on more expensive printers, does offer a few basic functions. The driver includes four tabbed windows, including Paper/Quality (which lets you determine the paper and image size, along with the print quality), Effects (which lets you resize the image, or put a watermark on the pages), Basics (including paper orientation, page order, and number of copies), and Color (which lets you adjust color saturation, brightness, and tone).There are some advanced features also available which allow you to regulate the amount of ink on the page, or adjust for low memory on your PC (which could be useful if you are trying to print a high-definition image on a low-memory system). Another useful feature were the Digital Photograph options (accessible off the Paper/Quality window), which let you quickly adjust for redeye, sharpness, and contrast, among others.
The Photosmart 245 also comes with several HP applications, including HP Photo & Imaging Gallery, which lets you make basic edits to an image on your PC, and HP Photo & Imaging Director, which is a quick way to manage the use of one or more HP imaging devices (for example, if you have an HP photo printer and digital camera).
Support
HP's support site is nicely complete, including drivers, FAQs, and a search option for finding the answers to problems. I was able to find at least one very complete answer to a question concerning how to adjust an image for my paper by using the site's solutions database.However, when I tried logging on to an online chat option to find out whether I needed the missing .DLL file, I couldn't quite make it work on my Windows 98 system. Instead, I opted for phone support, which is available 24/7 and is free for devices under warranty. Although I had a momentary problem with their voice-activated system (apparently, the system thinks that everything with the word "photosmart" must be a camera), I was quickly in touch with a live person who was able to answer a question about a missing .DLL file with authority and courtesy.
Specs
Price: $199.99 (sug. mfr.)Print Speed: Max. 90 secs.
Resolution: 4800dpi (optimized)
Max. Input: 26 sheets
Max. Output: 26 sheets
Paper Size: 4 x 6 inches
Memory: 16MB
Port: USB
OS: Windows 98 and later; Mac OS9 and later
Dimensions: 9.1 x 4.4 x 5.1 inch
Weight: 2.9 lbs.
Warranty: One-year limited hardware warranty
