How to Choose Digital Photo Printers February 28, 2006 18:26 by John Sollars

How to Choose Digital Photo Printers

Digital photo printers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all do one thing – transform vividly coloured digital pictures into high-quality photo prints while you wait! Thanks to the popularity of digital cameras, most photo printers are now reasonably affordable and easy-to-use — and many of them don't even need to be connected to a PC!

Below, is a list of some things to consider when shopping for a digital photo printer.

Is the printer compatible with your camera? You can choose a photo printer with a media slot for the same type of memory card your camera uses, or a printer that connects directly, via a proprietary cable, to your camera. A USB-capable printer that connects to your computer is a good option too — simply drop photos onto your hard drive, edit them as needed, and then print them from there!

What printing technology do you prefer? The two main types of technology you'll see in photo printers are dye sublimation and inkjet. Both can produce remarkable images. Some people feel that dye sublimation (which uses heat to reveal colour on special, fairly expensive paper) excels at continuous tone printing. Others count on the crisp colours, relatively inexpensive supplies, and print flexibility of inkjet and bubble jet printers. Regardless of which printer you choose, remember that a printer optimized for photo printing will do a considerably better job than a general-use printer.

How much resolution do you need? The higher the resolution, the crisper your print will be. Needless to say, 400dpi (dots per inch) resolution is finer than a 300 dpi resolution. Keep in mind that resolution cannot be accurately compared between dye sublimation and inkjet or bubble jet printers — a dye sublimation print made at 400-plus dpi often looks as good as a 1200 x 1200 dpi print made on an inkjet printer.

Other features to consider:

Portability: Some printers work with special batteries that are available separately.

PictBridge Direct Printing:

An increasingly common format, called PictBridge™, has now made it even easier for cameras and printers to work directly with one another, by way of a simple USB connection.

PictBridge is a standardized technology that allows you to print images from the memory card in a digital camera directly to a printer regardless of brand. This method completely bypasses the need for a computer.

By using PictBridge, you can print a single image displayed on the camera, print two or more images, or print all images on the memory card. You can also print a part of an image by first cropping it within the camera and even create index prints (also known as contact sheets). If your camera has this feature, you might like to consider a printer which offers it as well. To find out if a camera or printer is PictBridge compatible, look for the PictBridge logo on the packaging or check the manual for specifications.

Exif Print:

EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format, and Exif Reader is an image file analysis software for Windows. It analyzes and displays the shutter speed, focal length, flash condition, and other image information included in the Exif image format which is supported by almost all the latest digital cameras. Exif image files with an extension of JPG can be treated in the same manner as conventional JPEG files. This software analyzes JPEG files created by digital cameras.

When used with an Exif-capable camera, an Exif-compatible printer uses information regarding the exposure values at the time a photograph was taken to provide a more accurate, lifelike print. Although the original Exif is quite competent at this job, newer Exif Print 2.2 is even more accurate.

Print Sizes: Unless you're purchasing a printer for a very specific purpose, and are happy with limited print options, it is recommended that you choose a printer that can handle at least two different print sizes, such as wallet and 4x6 inches. Of course, with a printer capable of 8.5x11 inches prints, you have a wide range of smaller prints to choose from as well.

Cost of Paper and Ink: It is no secret that most photo printers require special paper and ink cartridges (read as OEMs). This paper means better accuracy and photo print longevity. However, the price of these kits can mean a cost of between £0.50 and £2.00 per print. If you intend to print a lot of photos, you may want to look for a printer with less expensive paper options.

Editing Capabilities: Nowadays, some printers on the market actually let you edit digital photos. This editing capability can range from a few limited text messages and crop sizes to a touch-screen LCD that permits multiple picture edits before printing. Your choice of printer should depend on:

• Whether you want to do any editing at all, and if so, • Whether you would rather do sophisticated edits on a computer, or quick, simple adjustments from a printer.

To put it simply, if you have a digital camera, a great photo printer will eliminate the middle man when it comes to getting brilliant photo prints for albums, to share with families or to frame and display. Below is a list of the most popular printers you might want to consider for your use.

1) Epson Stylus Photo R800 Inkjet Printer With this printer, you can get amazing borderless prints, with up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi printouts. This printer separates the colours and blacks into eight separate cartridges, which makes it a good choice for photo printing. (One-colour cartridge systems can be a nuisance when you're printing lots of colour.) An advantage of this printer is that it can print directly onto inkjet printable DVDs and CDs.

2) Canon PIXMA iP4000 Inkjet Photo Printer You can produce a remarkable print with up to 4,800 x 1,200 dpi colour on this model. The printer is also PictBridge™ compatible, so you can directly print from many digital cameras. A bonus is that this printer has built-in two-sided printing, which is handy when you're also printing documents. The below-£100 price tag also makes this a fine choice if you want a budget printer.

3) HP (Hewlett-Packard) Photosmart 8450 Inkjet Printer The outstanding quality of printouts is the real reason to choose this printer. It also has some cool bells and whistles, though, too. You can print directly from memory cards or PictBridge enabled cameras, eliminating the need to involve your computer. There is a 2.5-inch LCD screen for previews and it also features in ethernet port for east networking.

4) Kodak Professional 4000 Photo Color Dye Sublimation PrinterFor true-to-life, studio-quality photo prints, you could invest in this remarkable professional-level printer. Although it can cost around £500, you can deliver outstanding 8x10 prints in 1.5 minutes. The printed photos are sealed with an archiving laminate to protect the prints.

5) Olympus P-440 Digital Photo Printer This is a higher-end digital photo printer that is capable of producing high-resolution printouts. An additional benefit of this printer is that you can set it to print a page of passport photos. It also has a nice 1.8-inch colour LCD screen.