Having said that, we start off somewhat knowing that the PictureMate 500 is most likely a high quality printer. Due to its design and the fact that it features a handle as well as a relatively small size and form factor, this PictureMate offers good portability as well. Sadly a rechargeable battery pack is optional and you’ll have to purchase one if you’re planning to take this printer along on trips. The optional lithium-ion battery inserts on the back of the printer.

One bad point of the previous PictureMate model was the lack of LCD screen which made previewing photos imposible. Since the 500 is meant to also be a traveling companion for a digital camera Epson finally included a 2.4 inch color LCD screen right on top of the device. Just in front of the LCD you’ll find a few buttons for navigating the on-screen menu, selecting or canceling print jobs. Users will be able to print straight from a memory card. They’ll find the memory card slots hidden under a fold-down panel on the front of the printer.

Due to PrintBridge technology, printing straight from a compatible digital camera or camera mobile phone is also possible. The feed tray is located on the back of the printer and folds out. It can hold a maximum of 20 photo sheets at a time. Also on the back you’ll find the USB port that you’ll use to hook up this printer to your PC.

One great thing about the PictureMate 500 is that it offers six-color printing. Most of the competing devices released on the market in the same period of time generally offer three, or four as a maximum.  There’s only one cartridge though (running the full width of the device) that features all the six colors of ink (magenta, cyan, yellow, light cyan, light magenta, black). Because it features only one cartridge and allows only one print size (4 by 6 inch) the driver  for the 500 is very simple and to the point. Printing speeds are a bit on the slow side for this 4 x 6 photo printer. Directly from a memory card it will take about 75 seconds for a photo to come out while from PC printing will take about 100 seconds or so.

As a conclusion, the PictureMate 500 is a great device for its price and brings to the market a great design that will thrill photography enthusiasts. If you’re willing to settle for a 4 x 6 photo printer as your only size of media to print on and fond of the idea that you can print from camera, memory card, mobile phone or PC, then keep this among your possible choices.