What Makes a Photo Printer, WORTH?

True photo printers—unlike standard inkjets fall into two broad categories at the consumer level: dedicated and near-dedicated photo printers.

Dedicated photo printers are meant to print just photos only. These printers are relatively small and portable. They are more like consumer electronics products and fewer computer printers. There are not many of them still on the market these days.

Near-dedicated photo printers are targeted at serious amateur photographers. They offer professional-level output quality and can often give a reasonable level of sophistication to get the best results.

The common point is that both are used for printing photographs.

Do You Need a Photo Printer?

Both dedicated and dedicated printers are not only just for printing. Some of them even offer functions beyond printing. Few printers come with some basic features to let you know crop the image, edit, remove red-eye and the like functions. Some of them add more sophistication giving you a touchscreen to give you ease of access to give input commands and get the best out of them. Some of them even give you an option to save the images. This can give you an option to print the required or desired image without taking unwanted pictures.

Near-dedicated photo printers are not complex as like dedicated printers with regard to functions. However, they are capable of printing standard office documents. But it’s not very comfortable as you will have to swap cartridges time to time depending on the requirements.

Do You Print in Black and White?

Choice of printer is yours. Not all the printers can handle both color and black and white printing quality. The choice depends purely on your requirement. If you want to print black and white photographs, you need to own a print that can give you better results. Make your choice depending on your requirement. Mostly dedicated printer face this problem unlike near dedicated printers, yet you need to consider it in either case.

Printer Size a serious concern?

Photo printers often range from too small sizes to large ones. Again the choice is yours. If you want to carry your printer to a party or the like functions, choose a relatively small size to be more mobile. Some of them even run on batteries. Be sure that the batteries are often available in the market to power your printer. Some customers even consider the number of prints it can print at one full charge.

Near-dedicated photo printers are far larger than most standard inkjets because they’re typically designed for printing on cut-paper sheets. They can print as large as 13 by 19 inches, as well as banner-size variations in some cases.

Connection Options

What do you want to print from, is a concern of choice. The newer models come with features to print from a USB using thumb drives, or even with WiFi. They really do not require a dedicated computer rather function mostly as a stand-alone device. Blue tooth is another option of connection from a smart phone to a printer to transfer pictures to print. The options for near dedicated printers are mostly the same as the dedicated printers. They too offer USB connections, wifi, and even blue tooth connectivity.

Your Need for Speed

Need not to bother much about the speed of the printer. While printing photos, its more of quality that matters. Any printer these days offer a minimum standard of speed. The speed of the printer may vary from what they claim. However, the source of printing the photograph is a notable concern that can vary the speed of the printer.

Best 7 wireless photo printers in the market

Canon Pixma iP8720 Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer – The Best

Introduction

The Canon PIXMA iP8720 Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer gives you high resolution 9600 x 2400 dpi full-color prints. In about 36 seconds, it can even print borderless up to 13 x 19″ and produce a 4 x 6″ full-color photograph. In addition, with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, many more wireless printing options are available.

The iP8720 utilizes a 150-sheet automatic feeder for the easy and smooth paper handling options. Without the worry of refilling the printer, it gives you the best to print 14.5 black ipm and 10.4 color ipm. A 6-color ink configuration, including gray, that enables excellent tonalities and color reproduction for your images is an added advantage.

Printing directly from CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs with the use of the disc tray is a unique feature. Automatic power on and off for power management option saves your power when the printer is not in use. Compatibility with the PIXMA Printing Solutions smartphone application gives you delight.

PROS

• Budget-priced printer for moderately serious photo enthusiasts.
• Prints at up to 13 by 19 inches
• Can print on printable optical disc

CONS

• Single paper tray with only 150-sheet capacity
• PictBridge over a USB cable not supported

SPECIFICATION

Features

• Print your favorite photos up to 13″ x 19″. Do not be limited to general size. Feel the freedom of your choice.
• The results are incredible quality with a 6-color ink system including gray ink and 9600 x 2400 maximum color dpi.
• Wireless printing option using any Wi-Fi enabled computer around the house makes you mobile. Ink droplet size: 1, 2 and 5

• Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) can produce ink droplets as small as 1 pL
• Better tonality in black & white images, as well as a pigment black for crisp text, are assured feature with Six-color ink set up.
• ChromaLife100+ system works with genuine Canon inks and photo papers to create prints with an archival album life of 300 years
• Full HD Movie Print lets you print images from HD videos captured with select Canon cameras
• My Image Garden provides photo organization and editing, including filters, a calendar, layout options, and more
• CREATIVE PARK PREMIUM gives access to photos, templates, and additional material for use in your projects
• The quiet mode allows you to work without disturbing those around you
• Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to print from any Wi-Fi enabled computer in the network
• AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, and Wireless PictBridge allow for wireless printing from a range of mobile devices
• Uses a standard USB connection to plug into a computer

Conclusion

Similar in many ways to the Canon Pixma iX6820 Wireless Inkjet Printer, the Canon Pixma iP8720 Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer includes one key addition that makes it a very different beast. The Canon iX6820’s five-color ink system (with cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and photo black) does a good job with photos, but it’s still aimed primarily at business use. The iP8720 adds gray ink, which lets it print far better looking black-and-white photos.

To be clear, the iP8720 isn’t in direct competition with more expensive near-dedicated photo printers, like the Epson Stylus Photo R2000 or the still more expensive Epson Stylus Photo R3000. Both printers are top picks as well, but they’re aimed at prosumers and professional photographers. The iP8720 is much more of a high-end consumer printer.

Probably the best way to think of the iP8720 is that it’s for people who can’t justify paying for a printer in the Epson R2000’s or R3000’s class, but are serious enough that they want to print photos as large as 13 by 19 inches, need to print photos in black and white, or both. If that’s what you need, it offers a lot for the price.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

Canon Selphy CP1200 Wireless Compact Photo Printer – Best Under $100

Introduction

The Selphy CP1200 is a compact photo printer from Canon which is capable of printing up to postcard-sized prints (6 x 4 inches). It is a wireless printer which means you can print directly from your smartphone or other devices which can connect to your home wi-fi networks, such as your computer or camera. There’s an option to have a rechargeable battery pack so that you can use the printer portable without having to plug it into a power point. The Canon Selphy CP1200 is very easy to set up and start using straight away. Before you start you’ll want to load the ink pack and paper packs, which are available to buy in various sizes – you just need to make sure that the ink pack matches the paper pack you’re using. Now the Canon Selphy CP1200 is set up you can plug it in and switch it on, by holding down the power button on the top of the printer. There’s a small 2.7-inch LCD screen which you can lift to face forward. Sadly, the screen is not touched sensitive, which means that you need to use the buttons on the printer to move around the various options available.

Pros

• Portable. Modestly priced. Low cost per print for a dedicated photo printer.
• Prints from Windows and Mac computers, smartphones, and tablets.
• Includes memory card slot and USB thumb drive port.

Cons

• Slower than some comparable small-format photo printers.
• Does not print larger than 4-by-6.

Specification

Features

• Includes Canon SELPHY CP1200 Wireless Compact Photo Printer, Canon Color Ink and Paper Set, USB Printer Cable, and FiberTique Cleaning Cloth.
• Efficiently print high quality: With Canon’s dye sublimation printing process the CP1200 produces outstanding 4×6” in less than a minute at a crystal clear 300×300 dpi resolution.
• Wireless and Mobile Printing: The CP1200 features wi-fi connectivity for printing from a computer or mobile device, plus prints directly with Apple’s AirPrint, PictBridge, Canon PRINT, and Canon’s Selphy app.
• Be Creative: Customizing your images is fun and simple with the CP1200’s selection of borders, effects, and dimensions. With easy editing tools, such as portrait optimization, red-eye correction, and the smooth skin feature, enhancing and editing your photos is a pleasure.
• Canon Color Ink and Paper Set: This special kit is compatible with the CP1200 and prints up to 108x 4×6” color photos. Printing your photos is simple with the pre-cut paper stock.

Design

The Selphy CP1200 is compact, measuring 7.1 x 5.4 x 2.5 inches when packed for travel, and weighs a little less than 2 pounds, not including paper, ink cartridge and power adapter. The small size makes the printer easy to slip into, say, a tote bag or large purse. After folding down a hinged door on the front, you insert the 18-sheet paper tray, which extends roughly 7 inches in front of the printer. The hinged lid of the paper tray serves as the output tray. The ink cassette slips into the side of the printer. If you plan to print at sizes other than 4 by 6 inches, you will need to buy a specialized tray, such as one for 2.1 x 3.4-inch cards. Unless you’re using the optional snap-on battery pack, you’ll also need to tote the power cable and power brick, which is somewhat large, at roughly 5.1 x 2.5 x 1.25 inches. The battery is estimated to last 54 snapshots on a full charge and takes about 4 hours to fully charge. The CP1200’s 2.7-inch color LCD tilts up roughly 45 degrees from the top of the body, and the control panel makes it easy to change settings. The buttons are reliably responsive. You can set up the printer on your Wi-Fi network, or use direct-connection Wi-Fi if a network is not available (or for printing from a Wi-Fi-enabled camera, for example). In addition to 4-by-6-inch prints, you can print onto three other paper sizes: card (2.1 x 3.4 inches), L (3.5 x 4.7 inches) and 2-inch square label.

Conclusion

The Canon Selphy CP1200 is compatible with Apple AirPrint, among other services. So for example, if you have an image on your iPhone, you can send it directly to the printer to print so long as both of the devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. From sending the image to the printer to having your finished print takes around 90 seconds. It’s quite a spectacle to watch the printing take place, as it will print CMYK all separately. That means in practice, that the paper will be spat out with the yellow first, then sucked back in, then the magenta layer is applied, then the cyan layer, and then finally the black (k). When the printing has finished, the print will be ejected to rest on the paper tray. As well as printing wirelessly, there are also other methods for getting your image to the Canon Selphy CP1200. There is a USB port on the side of the printer, and there’s also an SD card slot on the front of the printer. If you plug an SD card into the slot, an image will pop up on the printer’s screen. You can then use the directional buttons to scroll to the image that you want to print. Once you’ve found one, press the larger Print button on the top of the printer and the same process as when you’re using a wireless device will start. If you have an SD card in the printer, you won’t be able to print wirelessly – we’re not sure why it just refuses to print.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

HP Sprocket Photo Printer – Worthy Opponent to Selphy CP1200

Introduction

The HP Sprocket targets the frequent social media users because of its simple design and web connectivity. With just 9 cubic inches, the HP Sprocket is the smallest of the wallet-size snapshot printers. It works pretty well for a novelty photo printer. Its print quality just doesn’t quite measure up to that of other photo-only printers. When printed with machines that use inkjet or dye-sublimation technology the colors aren’t as bright or vivid as.

Pros

• Fast photo printing.
• Highly portable.
• Just accessible from your phone or tab
• Compatible with social media sites

Cons

• Limited to wallet-size (2-by-3) prints.
• Can only print from smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth.

Features

• The small and mighty Printer can print instant snapshots or stickers that are 30% larger than the original Sprocket’s, using the thinnest photo printer on the market.
• Highly portable size of a smartphone, portable photo printer easily fits into a pocket or backpack. Compatible operating systems Android: 4.4 above / iOS: 8.0 above
• Smart and wireless phone printing is the unique feature that Sprocket Plus offers.
• It is very compatible with your social media accounts as HP Sprocket is designed for it.
• Download the HP Sprocket app to create customized snapshots using filters, borders, emojis, and drawings created within the app. You can even scan in printed photos and view entire photo collections
• Print larger instant smartphone photos with the 10 sheets of 2.3×3.4-inch photo paper to create smudge-proof prints or stickers with peel and stick backing
• Load HP ZINK photo paper into the Sprocket Plus Printer. Connect the printer to your mobile device via Bluetooth. Download the free HP Sprocket app and enjoy fun portable printing
• One-year limited hardware warranty

Specification

Design

The Sprocket consists of a box about the size of a compact camera, but without the lenses on the front. There’s a small slot at the front, from which the photos emerge and a Micro USB socket at the back for connecting the supplied cable to recharge the internal batteries. A single charge should be good for 30 prints. It takes around 90 minutes to recharge the printer.
Drop a pack of 10 paper sheets inside, connect to the printer via Bluetooth, download the Sprocket App from HP and you’re good to go

Conclusion

The HP Sprocket is designed for a novel printer. It is more compatible with your social media account. Just have a connectivity with your device and enjoy the color prints. Its lightweight even gives you the freedom to take wherever you want.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 – Best Professional Photo Printer

Introduction

Social media has taken over the print era where a lot of images and video sharing is happening. And thus printers have taken a back seat for the time being. For the emerging and amateur professional photographers, taking high-quality print of photographs are as important as shooting with a high-quality camera. Today the customers are flooded with multifunctional and all in one printers options. Being multifunctional, all are structurally set with the A4 printing unit. They do not give an option for printing images that are bigger and multi-sized photos suitable for exhibitions and art gallery. Here thus canon have found an opportunity to introduce Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. It is solely dedicated for A2 printer which uses pigment inks for greater light fastness and longevity. And thus it gives impressive results to the user. So give you the best choice.

PROS

• Exceptional print quality
• Particularly good grayscale images.
• Supports sheets up to 17 by 22 inches
• Built-in WiFi

CONS

• No roll-paper option

SpecIFICATIONS

Features

• Anti-Clogging Technology: the anti-clogging system delivers faster and fine printer speeds and makes less chance for clogging.
• Air Feeding System: The Canon Air Feeding System prevents each page from skewing for accurate ink placement, regardless of paper type. A series of openings located on top of the platen vacuum-grip the paper as it feeds through the printer.
• Lucia Pro Ink System: The Lucia Pro 11-color plus Chroma Optimizer ink system is enabled to meet the demands of the most critical photographer or graphic artist. Denser droplet placement provides a broader color gamut for superb glossiness/anti-bronzing.
• Wide Color Gamut: This 11-color and Chroma Optimizer ink system helps to achieve an improvement in color-reproduction, image clarity, and enhanced darker areas. It faithfully reproduces colors and dark areas crucial for printing works of art.
• Black Density and Dark Shadow Areas: Deep blacks, which make the image crisp, and precise gradation can be attained across all media types. 17″ x 22″ Bordered Photo

Conclusion

Canon printers often give you the best printer heads. The head unit is made easy to fit, simply open the top cover and drop the head in, making sure you don’t touch the print head nozzles. Comparing to the Epson and other printers, canon printers give you an advantage that a user can easily replace the print head in case if any issues arise.

The printer performs an automatic head alignment routine, two sheets of MP 101 paper are supplied with the printer for this task. Placing a single sheet in the rear feed slot, the printer will take care of the rest. The printer has to be seated in a level surface to give you the uninterrupted and find printing options. The entire set up process including fitting print head and ink tanks took about 35 minutes. An internet connection is an added advantage to install the latest drivers.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

Epson SureColor P400

Introduction

With more and more reasonably priced DSLR and mirrorless (and even some smartphone) cameras capable of capturing high-resolution images these days, it opens up the opportunity for high-quality outputs. Why buy art when you can print your masterpieces yourself, and hang them on the wall? Of course, you’ll need an inkjet printer that can handle more than a letter or legal-sized paper. What you want is a wide-format photo printer that’s designed for such a task (think, multiple color ink tanks). But many of these units are on the pricier side.

The Epson SureColor P400 ($600) is the company’s latest entry-level wide-format photo printer that brings down the price barrier to entry. With seven ink colors – including two blacks – and a Gloss Optimizer that smoothes out the flat spots in the print, you can produce near-gallery-quality photo prints with excellent color accuracy and saturation, and without completely breaking the bank.

Pros

• Generally excellent photo quality.
• Very good text quality.
• Fast for a near-dedicated photo printer.
• Prints from paper rolls.

Cons

• Rear paper feeder was often balky in testing.
• So-so graphics quality for a photo printer.
• Occasional tinting in photos.

Specification

Features

• Creative printing, refined.
• The versatile 13″ wide-format photo printer for creative individuals.
• fine art, photographic and roll paper printing. Operating systems: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, and 75, Apple OS X 10.11.x, 10.10.x, 10.9.x, 10.8.x, 10.7.x5

Design

The 27-pound all-black P400 is a large printer, and it needs a fair amount of room around it when in use. When closed for storage, it measures 8.6 by 24.5 by 12.8 inches (HWD), and its depth expands to 31.4 inches when the front and rear trays are extended. The printer has no display, as it’s meant to be controlled from a computer. A line of buttons on the front panel include On/Off, Resume, and Wi-Fi, and the roll-paper controls are there, too.

The top-loading feeder fits up to 120 sheets of plain or 30 sheets of photo paper up to 13 by 19, a rear feeder holds one sheet of fine-art paper, a front feeder also fits one sheet, and there’s a holder for paper rolls up to 13 inches wide. Epson sells 8- and 13-inch-wide rolls, with a maximum panorama size of 13 by 129 inches.

For our testing, Epson provided us with a variety of photo and fine-art media up to 13 by 19, as well as both 8- and 13-inch-wide rolls. The roll paper proved easy enough to attach, feed, and remove. Feeding paper from the rear slot proved tricky, and I sometimes had to fiddle with the paper for a relatively long time to get it to feed properly.

Conclusion

The Epson SureColor P400 is fast for a prosumer photo printer. Most of our test images produced excellent-quality prints, with vivid colors and excellent detail. Like its more expensive cousin, the Epson P600, but unlike similar Canon printers, it can print from roll paper. It’s a worthy replacement for the Epson Stylus Photo R2000 as our top pick for moderately priced near-dedicated photo printers.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

Epson SureColor P800

Introduction

The Epson SC-P800 comes with nine inks in 80ml cartridges (the printer ships with a starter set of 64ml inks) of which eight are available at any time with auto switching between matte and photo blacks and has a maximum 17 inch (A2+) width paper size. The advantage of having a larger printer, apart from printing larger papers, is lower cost of printing by using the higher capacity cartridges. While slightly older Epson P600 (which Shutterbug reviewed last year) uses 25.9ml cartridges, the 80ml cartridges for the new P800 are costlier, there is a saving of 40%. The Epson P800 is wireless connectivity in addition to USB and 100/10 Ethernet connections and support for both Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print. A tilting 2.7-inch color LCD touchscreen to control settings is an added feature to the wireless sporty. However, the most attractive feature added is the optional roll paper holder — you’re no longer limited to only cut sheet media.

PROS

• Finest print quality.
• Relatively light and compact.
• Printable on different types of papers.
• Multiple high-quality ink tanks produce deeper blacks and saturated colors.

Cons

• Paper roll add-on comes without a cutter.
• There is a wastage of ink when switching between matte black and glossy papers and back again.

Specification

Features

• Delivers an unmatched print quality with Epson UltraChrome HD in vivid color, superior black density and substantially improved print longevity.
• Versatile media handling up to 17″wide by delivering borderless prints on photo papers, fine art papers, and posterboard up to 17″ wide; roll feeder gives you the freedom to print from roll-based media.
• Superior black-and-white prints – three-level black ink technology and advanced black-and-white photo mode for professional-level neutral or toned black-and-white prints.
• A creative nine 80 ml ink cartridges with auto-switching photo and matte black ink.
• Complete connectivity by supporting Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, USB 2.0, Wireless N (2), Wi-Fi Direct (2) and 100Mbit Ethernet.

Design

The 27-pound all-black P400 being a large printer, it needs a fair amount of room around it for use. When not in use and folded for storage, it measures 8.6 by 24.5 by 12.8 inches (HWD), and its depth expands to 31.4 inches when the front and rear trays are extended. Since it has no display options, it is meant to be controlled from a computer. A line of buttons on the front panel include On/Off, Resume, and Wi-Fi, and the roll-paper controls are there, too.

The top-loading feeder can contain up to 120 plain papers or 30 sheets of photo paper up to 13 by 19. The rear feeder holds one sheet of fine-art paper, a front feeder also fits one sheet, and there’s a holder for paper rolls up to 13 inches wide. Epson sells 8- and 13-inch-wide rolls, with a maximum panorama size of 13 by 129 inches.

Conclusion

The Epson SureColor P400 is the first option for a prosumer photo printer. The test images produced excellent-quality prints, with vivid colors and excellent detail. Just like the Epson P600, it can print from roll paper. It’s a worthy replacement for the Epson Stylus Photo R2000 as our top pick for moderately priced near-dedicated photo printers.

Latest PRice & User Reviews

Mitsubishi CP-D90DW

Introduction

CP-D90DW appears to you in matte black attire measuring 9.3 by 10.8 by 14.4 inches (HWD), 2.6 inches. The CP-D90DW weighs 30 pounds for a surprise with its compact frame but is the same weight as the DP-DS620A. It does not give you an LCD screen just like any other similar product. It is controlled by a dedicated monitor or a smartphone.

The featured CP-D90DW uses thermal dye sublimation printing technology. The difference between professional models like the CP-D90DW and consumer-level dedicated photo printers isn’t just the higher price and faster speed. It is handy to handle the heavy workload at a faster speed. According to Mitsubishi, it can continuously print up to 450 4-by-6 color photos in an hour.

Features

• Mitsubishi CP-D90DW Hi-Tech Dye-Sub Photo Printer – Paper Flange – Paper Flange Spacer – Ink Cassette – Paper Strip Bin – Paper Tray – AC Power Cord (120v) – AC Power Cord (220-240v) – CD-ROM – 2x Cable Ties – 1 Set of Securing Band/Screws – Quick Set Up Guide – (SelFone Wireless Print Station Sold Separately D90-WIFI-1) – Mitsubishi 1 Year Warranty – Bundle includes: – Mitsubishi Electric Two 6in Wide Paper Roll/Inksheet
• Print Technology: Dye-sublimation thermal transfer full color. Three-color face progressive printing (yellow, magenta, cyan) plus surface lamination
• Gradations: 256 Gradations (8 bit per color, approx. 16.7 million colors)
• Print Resolution: 300×300 DPI
• Print Finish: Glossy/Matte

Design

The attractive matte-black CP-D90DW measures 9.3 by 10.8 by 14.4 inches (HWD), 2.6 inches taller than the DNP DP-DS620A. Weighing around 30 pounds CP-D90DW feels surprisingly heavy considering its compact frame. Just like any other similar variant it has to be operator with a separate computer or any other accessory.

Like many dedicated small-format photo printers we’ve tested, including the Canon Selphy CP1200 Wireless Compact Photo Printer, the CP-D90DW uses thermal dye sublimation printing technology. More important is that the CP-D90DW can handle much heavier workloads than a consumer photo printer. According to Mitsubishi, up to 450 4-by-6 color photos can be printed by the lad in an hour.

Conclusion

Durability, fast print speed, low cost per print, and top-notch print quality are the key features CP-D90DW offers. It is a professional-grade photo printer for event photography and photo-kiosk use. Consumers looking for a dedicated photo printer will want to go with a lower-priced, more portable printer like the Canon Selphy CP1200, but for event photographers, the CP-D90DW is a strong contender.

Latest PRice & User Reviews