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Printer Reviews
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| Canon | ||
| Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Photo Printer | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (December 2006)It's tough to follow a gem like the i9900 but the Pro9000 delivers the same fast print speeds but with ChromaLife100 inks and a new thick-media front feed design for Canon's Fine Arts papers and other specialty media. |
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| Canon PIXMA iP6600D Printer | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (March 2006)Inkjet printers have been producing gorgeous color prints for some time now. But have they matured? The latest models refine the class with faster printing and higher resolution but reformulate their inks as well. Beyond the basics, they're starting to add more features to distinguish themselves, including card readers, LCD monitors for in-printer editing, wireless connectivity and duplex printing. Canon's $199.99 PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer is a case in point. |
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| Canon Selphy CP510 & CP710 Printers | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (July 2006)The compact 4x6 dye sub printer is famous for trouble-free prints and Canon has two. The $100 CP510 (with PictBridge and Direct Print or USB) and the $150 CP710 (adding a 2.5-inch LCD and card reader) can both print 4x8s and run off battery power, too. Read our review for the details. |
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| Epson | ||
| Epson R800 | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource
Newsletter (June 2004)When some desperate soul grabs our lapels as we're trying to cross the street and demands to know which photo printer to buy, we shrug our shoulders and confide, "You really can't go wrong these days." But there are a lot of ways you can go right with the Epson R800. |
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| Hewlett-Packard | ||
| HP Photosmart A626 Compact Printer |  |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (September 2007)It wasn't really that long ago that we fell in love with a Fargo 4x6 dye sub printer. Some of those 4x6 prints are still around but most of them have faded quite a bit. Somehow in the intervening years, inkjet technology has outrun dye sublimation printing, providing less expensive but longer-lasting prints. And HP has been at the forefront of inkjet development. The A626, HP's new $179.99 compact printer, invigorates the best of its compact technology with a touch-screen transfusion. Read our review for the whole story. |
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| HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One Printer | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (June 2008)The HP C8180 is the company's top of the line all-in-one device, mating a 9600-dpi scanner capable of both reflective and transparency scanning with a printer that also includes CD/DVD burning and label printing with LightScribe. But it also wins the Ms. Congeniality Award for its touchscreen interface, card reader and its connectivity options: Hi-Speed USB, PictBridge, Wireless G and Bluetooth. We liked it so much, we kept "testing" it for months. Read our review for the full story. |
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| HP Photosmart C8550 Printer | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (September 2008)HP had a bright idea one day. There's really nothing different about a big printer except the carriage length. Everything in a big printer has to be in a small 4x6 printer, too: the printhead, the inks, the firmware, the control panel, maybe a card reader, the inputs, the whole ball of wax. Enter the B8550 (and for just under $300). Read our review for the full story. |
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HP Photosmart D7160 | |
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource
Newsletter (August 2006)It's fast and it's quiet and the LCD menu system is well designed. Print from the built-in card reader, PictBridge port or USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection. Individual ink cartridges, coded HP Advanced photo paper and more make this $149 printer a bargain. But read the review for the whole story. |
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| HiTi | ||
| HiTi 730 PS | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource
Newsletter (February 2004)We've reviewed two dye sub printers from Hi-Touch Imaging Technologies already because we were impressed with their revolutionary approach. Not only are they high-quality dye subs rather than finicky inkjets -- but they don't need no stinkin' computer neither. But with the 730PS, Hi-Touch has revolutionized paper size, too. Read on for the revolution! |
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| Kodak | ||
| Kodak Breaks into All-In-One Inkjet Business | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (March 2007)After three years of top secret development, Kodak has unveiled a new photo printing system, designed to make high-volume and quality home printing affordable and simple. The big news about their printing line is that they plan to cut ink costs in half, compared to currently prevailing prices. Given that the too-high cost of ink is the single biggest complaint US consumers have about inkjet printing, Kodak's entry into the market could send shock waves through the industry. We haven't had a chance for an extensive hands-on with the new printers yet, but read newsletter editor Mike Pasini's take on this important announcement for intriguing details! |
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| Kodak EasyShare 5300 AiO Diary | |
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| by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (June 2007) Instead of a single review, Mike has written a multi-part diary (worth several reviews) detailing his experience with Kodak's EasyShare 5300 all-in-one printer. The diary includes a gallery of setup and installation images and covers scanning, printing and Bluetooth connections and a mysterious firmware problem. Read Mike's diary as he explores Kodak's new line of pigment-based printers that can produce a 4x6 for just 10 cents. |
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| Kodak EasyShare 5500 Review | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (December 2007)The firmware on the 5500 was no easier to deal with than that of the 5300, unfortunately, but the highlight of our 5500 review is the background information we picked up on the ink technology and printhead design during our recent visit to Rochester. Now that's a fascinating story. |
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| Kodak EasyShare printer dock plus series | ||
 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (December 2005)What's in a name, anyway? You'd expect reviewers who get paid by the word to love the Kodak EasyShare printer dock plus series 3 Review. But it really is sweet. Pop a WiFi SD card in it and everybody on your network can print to it. Plus, it's small enough to tag along with your digicam. Read our review for the whole story! Kodak EasyShare printer dock plus series for the whole story. |
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Paper and Ink Reviews
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| MediaStreet.com: Paper | ||
 Looking for a wide range of surfaces and
better prices than most manufacturer's proprietary formulations...look no
further!This article is a brief digest of several weeks of off-and-on testing of a variety of MediaStreet's papers. The bottom line? I was so impressed with MediaStreet's papers that I invited them to become a site sponsor of the Imaging Resource: I'm very comfortable recommending them to all and sundry as an excellent line of third-party papers, offering both a wider range of surfaces and better prices than most manufacturer's proprietary formulations. Read our review for the full story. |
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| Pictorico.com: Paper | ||
 Are you looking for that Universal Printer
Paper? Take a look at Pictorico!We ran the paper samples through a wide variety of printers, from Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark. The result? The manufacturers' own papers seemed to work well in their own printers. (No surprise there.) They also worked with varying degrees of success in the other manufacturers' printers. The third-party papers were very much a mixed bag. Some did poorly in most of the printers we tried them on, while most were hit-or-miss, working fairly well in one printer but not another. The clear "winner" was Pictorico, which performed brilliantly in every printer we tried! Read our review for the details. |
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Printer Reviews
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| Canon | ||
| Canon CP-100 "Card Printer" |  |
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 Canon creates a nifty little photo printer
that spools out sharp 4x6 prints right from your Canon camera (no computer
needed, but only Canon cameras are supported)! |
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| Canon i9900 Photo Printer | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (October 2004)In our previous printer reviews, HP stunned us with gorgeous dye-based inkjet prints and Epson impressed us with extraordinary pigment-based prints on a variety of media. How could Canon compete? Start with a nicely designed box, add eight-ink printing with optical reservoir monitoring, plus some slick software -- with prints as large as 13x19. Read all about it. |
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| Canon PIXMA MP950 Multifunction Peripheral | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (July 2006)Canon's MP950 is not just a printer. It's a copier and scanner, too. But it doesn't just scan reflective copy -- it can scan color negs and slides. Read our review for the full story. |
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| Canon S800 Color Bubble Jet™ Photo Printer | |
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 Up to 2,400 x 1,200 dpi, six-color process
for fine detail, smooth gradations; 4 picoliter droplet size for "invisible"
dots in highlights; 25-year print life (on Canon Photo Paper Pro); Dual
Parallel/USB computer interface, compatible with Mac or PC. |
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| Epson | ||
| Epson Stylus Photo 780 | |
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 Improved lightfastness, up to 25 years
for framed prints on Epson Heavyweight Matte Paper, BorderFree photo printing
up to 8.5 x 11 inches, true 6-color photo printer with near-invisible 4
picoliter droplets. |
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| Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX | |
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 Improved lightfastness, up to 25 years
for framed prints on Epson Heavyweight Matte Paper, incorporates Epson's
new PRINT Image Matching to automatically color correct prints, BorderFree
photo printing up to 8.5 x 11 inches, true 6-color photo printer with near-invisible
4 picoliter droplets. |
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| Epson Stylus Photo 1280 | |
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 Improved lightfastness, up to 25 years
for framed prints on Epson Heavyweight Matte Paper; Border Free photo printing
up to 11x14 inches; true 6-color photo printer with near-invisible 4 picoliter
droplets; 2880 dpi for ultra-smooth, ultra-sharp photos. |
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| Epson Stylus Photo 2000 | |
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 Amazing lightfastness, rated at 200+ years
for framed prints on Epson Archival Matte Paper. Border Free photo printing
on some paper sizes. True, six-color photo printer using pigmented inks
for long print life. 1440 dpi for smooth, sharp photos. |
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| Epson Stylus Photo 2200 | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (January 2004)Long lost review recovered! Well, not actually, but we did finally get around to writing up our review of the venerable Epson Stylus Photo 2200. You can bet, if we hadn't liked it, we wouldn't have kept it around so long |
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| Hewlett-Packard | ||
| HP Photosmart 7960 | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource
Newsletter (October 2003)Hewlett-Packard invented the thermal inkjet printer (Canon the bubble and Epson the piezo, according to the rock painting on the wall behind us). But with the Photosmart 7960, HP has focused its expertise on creating the Ideal Home Photo Printing Experience. Make it easy, Carly said, to print digital images without resorting to Windows. |
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| HiTi | ||
| HiTi 630 PS | |
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 Dedicated 4x6 photo printers are a category
we haven't devoted much coverage to, but these printers are perfect solutions
for people wanting "just push the button" ease of use for printing
their digicam images. (Actually *print* your photos, and avoid the "digital
black hole effect", as my wife calls it.) Newsletter Editor Mike Pasini
took a look at the HiTi 630PS printer recently, and found a lot to like
about it. You may too. |
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| HiTi 640 PS | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource
Newsletter (June 2003)The just-released 640PS updates the 630PS's card reader to handle CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, MultiMedia Card and IBM's MicroDrives. The space-age design has been updated from the "air-conditioner" look of the 630PS to a gun-metal blue with a huggably curvey design that's just 6mm wider. The new card reader is one reason the price has increased to $299.99, but you also get a bump in speed and resolution. |
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| Kodak | ||
| Kodak EasyShare Print Dock 500 | |
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 by Mike Pasini, Editor, The Imaging Resource Newsletter (December 2005)How about an EasyShare 4x6 printer for everyone who doesn't own a Kodak digicam? The 500 is the most accommodating 4x6 dye sub we've seen, with an 8-in-1 card reader, PictBridge compatibility, USB-to-computer cabling and WiFi connections. The large 3.5-inch LCD is a big help, too. You don't need a Kodak digicam to enjoy EasyShare printing with the 500. Read our review on the Kodak EasyShare 500 for the whole story. |
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Kodak EasyShare Print Dock 6000 |
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 A nifty dye-sublimation printer that makes
beautiful 4x6 prints virtually indistinguishable from conventional photographs.
A built-in dock fits Kodak CX/DX6000 and LS600-series EasyShare cameras,
providing super-simple computer connection, battery recharging (rechargeable
batteries for the cameras are included with the printer dock), not to mention
totally brainless/painless photo printing. If you have a compatible EasyShare
printer (or are planning to buy one), this printer deserves a close look. |
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| Kodak Personal Picture Maker 200 | |
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 Up to 1200x1200 dpi, 6 color process for
smooth gradations; Kodak Color Rich technology for brilliant color; built
in CompactFlash and SmartMedia card slots for standalone operation; USB
interface supports Zip drive connection for printing and image storage. |
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| Olympus | ||
| Olympus Camedia P-400 Printer | |
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 314 dpi resolution, continuous-tone pixels
(no "dithering"); 16.7 million colors (8 bits per color), 7.68
megapixel print engine resolution; 90-second printing speed; Cropping, Frame,
Background, and Stamp functions; Prints up to 50 copies at a time. |
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Resources
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