Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: photo, printers, pictures | Themes: Digital Cameras
2. The Selected Models
Generally speaking, photo printers all have a lot of features in common. They’re simple to use (the menus are intuitive and the cartridges and the paper are easy to set up), and they can develop 20 snapshots in one sitting.
When choosing models for this comparative study, we went for the old standbys (the HP PhotoSmart A826 and the Epson PictureMate 290) as well as a more recent model (the Sony DPP-FP95) and even a brand new one (the Canon Selphy CP770).
There are a lot of similarities between them.
Pick up the majority of the devices presented here, and you’ll see they all have the ability to print your image with or without a border. Depending on the photo, you can also retouch the colors, use special effects and eliminate red eye (with varying degrees of success). You can even print in black and white or sepia.
As for the photo paper these printers use, it’s a little different for each model, though Sony and Canon use the same type, just with different brand names. Lastly, there are the batteries, which are too often sold separately. That allows you to get them for a more competitive price, but considering that these printers are by definition portable, they really should come already equipped. It’s too bad, especially since batteries are relatively expensive.
It’s high time we determined which of these printers is the best. For that we’re going to review their strong points and weaknesses, one by one.
- Previous page Presenting The Options
- Next page For The Beach: Canon Selphy CP770
1. You forgot to mention one important advantage offered by printers that use solid ink with thermal sublimation: photos are said to last for 100 years (that means no color deterioration due to sunlight!), they are protected by the 4th and final laminating layer against water spills and fingerprints (yes, that's right)!
Don't know if it's really 100 years, but the fingerprint "protection" alone makes it a sweet deal.
2. The Epson and HP models aren't exactly portable. They are actually big if you compare them with Sony and Canon, and especially the Polaroid (WOW). A better term would be dedicated photo printers, in my opinion.
3. The Sony FP95 tops at no.2 regarding print time and you call it "mediocre printing time"? If that's true, then what about the others? You haven't even mentioned their performance, except for giving us the values.
I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but if you use only "mediocre" and not "worst" or "best/second-best" use it for the lowest performer.
Sorry Tom, I really am...
I have to say I was expecting an answer from the author, but now I don't thik it really matters. Shortly after my first comment I decided to look into the printers in detail. The HP A626 you talk about in the articke is actualy a A826.
How did you manage to get the name right in the image slideshow? http://www.tomsguide.com/us/slides [...] -jpg-.html
Big thumbs down!