The whole point of a digital photo printer is to transform the photo you've just snapped with a digital camera into a glossy paper print. There's a wide variety of photo printers on the market.

You'll find wide format printers, multifunction printers that offer good photo quality, standalone printers and even compact photo printers that you get to carry around along with your digital camera anywhere you go. But how do you choose one and determine what's best for you? Choosing photo printers isn't necessarily hard if you stop to analyze a few simple details.


First of all it's good to determine the technology you want to buy. Dye-sublimation printers use heat to transform solid ink into vapor and transfer it onto glossy photo paper. The result is lab quality and the print even has a special transparent coating on top to protect the photo from liquids and fading over time. Inkjet printers create a series of small ink droplets and because they make use of liquid ink they require a bit of time before the print dries. They do offer good quality but some say that it doesn't compare to dye-sublimation. The main advantage of inkjets is that they aren't only made for photography and can serve many other purposes.

An inkjet all-in-one can for example handle small office tasks and offer copy, scan and faxing on top of providing high quality photographs. Inkjet printers are also more affordable and easy to find on the market. If you're not an intensive photo printer, inkjet would generally be a better choice.


Next deciding factor should be what device you plan to use your printer with. If you're only using it with a computer, than any printer is ok. For use with digital cameras the printer has to have a PictBridge port while if you're sure you need to use memory cards you should check if the printer has compatible slots.

Another specific type of printer on the market, that uses zink technology (zero ink) doesn't work very well with computers right now and mostly serves as a portable buddy for a digital camera. If you're considering a zink printer be aware of this.


If you want to take your printer on a trip ocassionally then a small portable printer is the best choice. Something you need to check in this case is whether an optional battery is available for it. For most photo printers a color LCD is also really nice to have for editing and previewing photographs and navigating through the menu if you're using the device without the help of a PC. Most portable photo printers limit you to 4 by 6 in size. If you want to print in larger sizes as well a wiser choice would be to stick to a desktop printer that can offer that. Finally, the price of the printer should always be considered along with the price of maintenance.

It doesn't matter if you pay $50 for a printer. If that same printer will cost you $500 for a year worth of use than it doesn't really prove to be that affordable. Make sure you check consumable prices and potential problems of the device before deciding to purchase a printer. By following this simple guidelines choosing photo printers should be a pleasant and fun thing to do.