Club Printer

You carry the Selphy ES1 like a suitcase, the cable retracts like the power cable on your vacuum cleaner, the cartridge slots into the side like a tape going into a VCR (remember them?) and the output pops out the top like toast from your toaster.

And yet it isn’t a suitcase, vacuum cleaner, VCR or toaster, it’s a compact photo printer. The ES1 is designed to offer maximum convenience in a minimum amount of space, but the household appliances metaphor doesn’t quite go far enough: it won’t make you a nice cup of tea while you wait for your print to emerge. (more…)

After the three printers announced by Epson this week(view our article), today, the Japanese company announced another two new printers, both priced under $150. It’s the Epson Stylus CX5000 ($99.99) and CX6000 ($149.99).

The Epson Stylus CX5000 is designed to be the most value-packed more-in-one on the market for less than $100, delivering brilliant photos, professional presentations and high-quality everyday documents. Users can easily print high-quality photos from memory cards, PictBridge-enabled cameras or phones without a computer by using an index sheet to select the images, as well as the number of copies. (more…)

With simple multi-function machines available for well under £100, it’s legitimate to ask what extra value you get my paying over £200 for the high-end PIXMA MP830 from Canon.

The specifications give some of it away, with things like duplex printing and duplex scanning from the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), a paper cassette as well as a paper tray and direct printing from memory cards and PictBridge cameras.

There’s more to it than just specification, though, as the machine itself has a quality finish in black and silver with inset green indicators. There are neat touches, like the fold-in tray for the ADF, which acts as a dust guard when it’s not in use and the fold-down paper-out tray at the front, which automatically pops down when you start printing, if you forget to open it first. (more…)

The HP C4180 is a compact All-in-one (AIO) device designed to produce fast general document printing but with the addition of an extra photo ink cartridge so you can print photos as well.

It’s small size is achieved by using a u-bend paper feed design and this involves paper being loaded print side down, fed into the printer and turned back out and over, delivering the paper on top of the waiting stack of plain sheets.

On paper, claimed print times look great: photos in 25-seconds and up to 30ppm for text/general documents from the printers tricolour and black cartridge or tricolour and photo-cartridge. (more…)

Today Epson announced the release of two new photo printers, the Epson Stylus Photo R260 and R380 and one new all-in-one printer, the Epson Stylus Photo RX580. Epson notes that these new models are “ultra hi-definition” and that the new Claria ink and print heads will deliver professional-level results.

Epson says that all three models are rated at 30 pages per minute for black and color and they can produce a 4 x 6 picture in 13 seconds. If those stats are true, both are pretty impressive. Most photo printers today take about 60 seconds to print a 4 x 6, and other than the recently-announced Canon MP810, virtually no models were faster than 45 seconds per print. It is also strange that these printers are equally fast for both black and color prints. Typically, inkjet printers print in black about 20-25% faster than they do in color. (more…)

Manufacturers come at multifunction machines from one of two directions: with expertise in printers and in fax machines. Panasonic could have done either, but the name and style of the Panasonic KX-FLP851 suggests faxing was foremost in its mind.

This is a substantial device, looking more like an office photocopier than the laser printer on which it’s based. From its auto-document feeder on top, to the three paper out bins at its right-hand end, it says business. (more…)

The Lexmark X342n ($399 direct) makes a great first impression. With a metallic front panel that’s set off by the dark-gray case surrounding it, it looks good enough to fit into the kind of office where décor matters. It also has the right price for an AIO for a small office, a busy home office, or a small workgroup in a larger office. And it can work as a standalone fax machine and copier, as it comes complete with both a flatbed scanner mounted on a monochrome laser printer and a 50-page automatic document feeder in the scanner lid. Unfortunately, what’s inside the case isn’t as well designed as the outside. Even though the X342n does a reasonably good job as a printer, fax machine, and copier, it delivers less than I’d expect for the price. (more…)

Canon Imaging has launched another portable printer for its loyal consumers. The Canon SELPHY CP720 Portable Photo Printer sports a 1.5 inch color LCD and a 300 x 300 dpi (256 gradations/color) resolution. Since my knowledge of the Japanese language is limited, forgive me for the sketchy details. It can print images in different modes and sizes like ostcard Size, Large Size, Card Size and Wide Size. (more…)

We talked about the CP720 Portable Printer and now let’s look at the Canon SELPHY CP730 Portable Printer which is a more advanced printer. The CP730 has a 2 inch LCD and is a perfect solution for those who are on the go. The printer is equipped with a high resolution 2 inch LCD and a 300 x 300 dpi (256 gradations/color) resolution. The printer measures 178.0 x 131.0 x 63.0 mm and weighs just below 1 kg! (more…)

Two new printers have been intorduced by HP – the Photosmart D7360 Photo Printer and the Photosmart A618 Compact Photo Printer.

The D7360 doesn’t need a PC – it features a large 3.4-inch screen so you can insert your memory card or connect a camera to the PictBridge port to start your printing. It runs on six Vivera ink cartridges, and produces 10×15cm prints in just 12 seconds. Feature-wise, it has a PhotoFix button for one-touch red-eye removal and sharpening and the option of Bluetooth connectivity, with a Wireless Printer Adaptor for printing from camera phones or PDAs. Bundled with Photosmart Premier software, you should be able to pick it up for just under £200. (more…)