Photo Printers: Reviews

Snapshot printers produce decent photos, with some limitations

Dedicated personal photo printers are designed to do just one job: Print 4-by-6-inch snapshots directly from your digital camera or memory card. Some models can also print 5-by-7-inch photos, and a few can handle 4-by-12-inch panoramic shots. They generally don't have the versatility of full-sized inkjet printers, which can print 8-by-10-inch photos as well as documents, but they make up for this with their ease of use and portability. Although not all snapshot photo printers come with batteries, they're light enough to carry around and plug into the nearest outlet, which allows you to take them on vacation or to a family reunion.

The two top manufacturers of mini photo printers are Epson and Canon. Printers in Epson's PictureMate line and Canon's Selphy line are the most widely and most positively reviewed snapshot printers on the market. However, professional reviewers generally give slightly better marks to PictureMate printers, especially the PictureMate Charm (*Est. $150).

Like most compact photo printers, the PictureMate Charm can print only up to 4-by-6-inch snapshots. Its built-in software allows users to make basic adjustments to a photo, such as printing in monochrome or sepia, removing red eye and enhancing color. Photos come off the printer already dry, as well as water- and scratch-resistant. Epson inks are certified to last 200 years in storage or 96 years behind glass. Reviewers calculate that ink and paper expenses put the cost of photos at approximately 25 cents each. Photo printing takes between 37 and 70 seconds in tests; printing from a computer is faster than from a memory card or connected camera.

The two biggest drawbacks of the PictureMate Charm are its cost and relatively hefty weight -- 8 pounds with the optional rechargeable battery (*Est. $50). The Canon Selphy CP800 (*Est. $80) remedies both of these problems. Like the Charm, the CP800 has a 2.5-inch viewscreen and a basic software package, which includes such features as red-eye removal and color-tone adjustment. It weighs only 2 pounds, and while the optional battery pack (*Est. $60) adds a bit more weight, the whole package is truly portable. The CP800 can print from a computer or memory card or via PictBridge, and it can use Bluetooth with the addition of an optional Bluetooth adapter (*Est. $50).

Unlike Epson photo printers that use an inkjet process, Canon Selphy printers use thermal-dye technology, which is a ribbon containing colored dyes. The heated print head vaporizes the dyes and transfers them to the paper. While reviewers say this process produces very good photos, it's also expensive -- anywhere from 32 to 42 cents per 4-by-6-inch print. (The CP800 can also print to business card-size and mini-label media, but the cost per print is higher still.) Also, because the paper must run through the printer four times (once for each dye color), print times are a bit slow -- nearly a minute per photo. Yet some users point out that unlike ink, the dye rolls won't dry out if the printer isn't used for a while, which is a plus for people who use their printers only occasionally. Owners find the Selphy CP800 very easy to set up and use, and they say the thermal prints hold up very well.

If you're looking for a portable photo printer that can handle more than just 4-by-6-inch snapshots, your best bet may be the Canon Pixma iP100 (*Est. $200). This portable inkjet printer can produce photos in a variety of sizes, ranging from 2-by-3-inch to 8-by-10-inch shots, and can print black-and-white documents, as well. At 9,600 by 2,400 dpi, its print quality is even better than the Epson PictureMate Charm's, yet it weighs only 4.4 pounds; the optional battery (*Est. $90) adds another 1.4 pounds. It also holds its own against dedicated snapshot printers in terms of speed, producing a 4-by-6-inch print in about 50 seconds. The Pixma iP100 can print from a computer and digital camera, and from cell phones and smartphones connected by USB, PictBridge, IrDA or Bluetooth (with the optional adapter, *Est. $50).

Users at Amazon.com and BHPhotoVideo.com are enthusiastic about the Canon Pixma iP100. They say it's easy to set up and use, and it produces beautiful photos in record time. Users' most common complaints regard the cost of the printer itself and the ink it uses -- though at 26 cents per print, it stacks up pretty well against most dedicated photo printers. We also saw several complaints at Amazon.com about paper jams, which doesn't seem to be a problem if you feed only one sheet at a time as Canon recommends. The Pixma iP100 is admittedly pricey, but it's the only model we've seen that combines the versatility of a full-sized printer with the portability of a snapshot printer.