New York, NY -- Several months back, we brought you some tips from the great editors at PC World on how to find the right photo printer. Last month, M. David Stone of PC Magazine, a very experienced analyst in his own right proffered the following as his tips with regards to the process.
The first thing to understand when looking at photo printers is the categories into which they fall. The two most common types are near-dedicated photo printers and dedicated photo printers. Stone makes it clear that he is referring to photo printers which are really intended to print photos mainly, and not the printers which many manufacturers lump under the category of photo printers.
Dedicated photo printers, as the name implies, do nothing but print photos. Devices that fall into this category are things like the Selphy printers by Canon or the PictureMate printers from Epson. These products are aimed at consumers and probably their greatest feature is their ease of use. This is one reason they make sure good companions to point-and-shoot digital cameras. Most often, they will produce 4x6” photos almost exclusively, but as with any rule, there exist exceptions and you may be able to print some panoramic views and a smattering of other standard photo sizes.
Near-dedicated photo printers on the other hand are another story. These devices are aimed primarily at serious amateur photographers. They also are capable of producing much larger photos, as much as 13x19” in size.
As you analyze and explore printers for purchase, many of the same principles that go into a decision about a standard computer printer will apply. The first step then is to determine what it actually is that you need. As we alluded to above, the types of printers we refer to in this article are not going to come in AIO models, so if that’s what you need, you may not need to read on further. Some common features that are consistent across the board for dedicated photo printers are an LCD preview screen, the ability to print without the use of a PC, and some basic photo editing features. Mr. Stone aptly describes them as “home photo kiosks”. You may also find some, like the ZINK powered Dell Wasabi and Polaroid PoGo which are über-compact and can literally fit into your pocket.
Near-dedicated photo printers generally won’t come with quite as many bells and whistles as their dedicated counterparts, but they serve a different audience. These printers instead offer the capability of printing text documents, brochures, etc. However, if you know that you will be printing a lot of documents you are likely better off with an inkjet AIO. As Stone points out, for some printer models in order to print documents you even need to swap cartridges because a standard cartridge and photo cartridge cannot be in the machine at the same time.
The next consideration is the cost—not only of the printer, but the consumables as well. For dedicated photo printers, because the supplies you need are sold in combination packs of enough ink to adequately print a photo on the accompanying sheets of photo paper. To get the cost for each photo, all you have to do is divide the cost of the cartridge by the number of photos. The costs of near-dedicated photo printers are somewhat more tough to pinpoint than dedicated printers. This is due to, Stone says, to the fact that there is “no widely accepted standard for calculating cost per photo.”
As with any printer decision, one must decide how much color they will need for their printing. While with inkjet printers or laser printers where the issue tends to be more black and white than gray (no puns intended), photo printers on the other hand are not as good at monochrome printing. Stone says this can be attributed to the difference in color tints for varying shades of gray.
Another important factor you will want to consider is what size of printer you are comfortable with. This will be largely influenced by your needs. If you want to take it with you when you go someplace, also check and make sure if it comes with batteries or an power cord. It would not be fun to arrive and find a dead printer. As we said before both Dell and Polaroid make printers that fit into a pocket, and Canon makes one in which everything you need fits into a bucket. Near-dedicated photo printers are not likely those that you would take out of your house. They are easily moved around a house, but not so much designed for running around with. Be warned, however, the wide-format printers may require a good amount of space to telescope their trays out in either direction.
Your next major consideration is somewhat related to the previous one, your preferred method of connection. We already touched on this some up above, but dedicated photo printers were created to allow users to not even have to turn on their PC and instead connect directly to the printer via USB cable or have memory card slots. Bluetooth is another connection option if you want to print without wires. The near-dedicated photo printers are likely to be connected via Ethernet or USB cable. Stone notes that the assumption with these users is that they will tweak their photos via a PC or Mac to get the best results before printing.
The output quality is another factor which you will have to wrestle with. We would likely be remiss, since we are talking about output quality is that no matter what type of printer you are using, output will likely look its best on a printer manufacturer’s own paper. That is the printer it was tested on and the use of generic or other 3rd-party brands leave more room for error. Dedicated photo printers should be able to produce output that is equal to that of printing kiosks you can find at a drug store or Walmart. Near-dedicated printers give you more options for printing including different paper weights and finishes.
Unless you are in a real hurry, speed likely need not factor into your decision and with a little patience, a decent photo will eventually come out.
The last factor to consider is how much printing you actually need to or are planning to do. Duty cycles for these two types of printers are generally not advertised so if it’s a concern, then the best advice is not to buy that particular printer, Stone says.
For more on this story, read the piece created by Mr. Stone, here.
