With the cost of home printing still a tad more expensive than using a professional photo lab, it is the convenience of use that strikes me as a selling point for the Epson PictureMate home photo-printing unit.
The portability of the `pint-sized Polaroid` is improved by the fact that the device can hold a good range of memory cards, while the USB slot also allows for external storage devices.
Various memory cards can be used, including Compact Flash, MagicGate Memory Stick, Memory Stick (up to 128MB), Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Microdrive, MultiMediaCard, SD Card, SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card and a miniSD Card.
However, its offering of computer-free snaps is hindered by the fact that it cannot run on batteries, so an electric point needs to be close at hand.
The lack of a colour LCD screen that would allow users to see the pictures they want to print is a little disconcerting. All functionality is controlled through the hardware menu, which can be used through the monochrome LCD screen. The printer does offer an easy way of printing a digital index of the photos and creates small versions of the pictures. A maximum of 20 images can be printed onto the jumbo-sized 4 x 6-inch paper to make an index sheet.
The fact that only jumbo-sized prints can be printed is not ideal, but if anything bigger could be printed, it would take away the portability of the device, so the sacrifice is understandable.
The lack of an available preview is also a little problematic when cropping a picture. Users can`t see the exact crop, so it can become a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. The cropping is also limited to a selection of pre-defined crops.
The printer can print images in colour, black and white, or sepia, while print quality can be enhanced or fixed with additional settings. The quality of the produced prints is fairly high, while reproduction rates are adequate. The paper stack can hold plenty of paper so there is no need to stand around and watch while the photos are printed.
Maintenance is extremely simple and the printer will let you know if the ink has run out, or the print nozzle needs cleaning, all of which can be easily fixed.
An extra option is the Bluetooth photo print adaptor, which provides Bluetooth wireless connection of up to 10m, allowing pictures from mobile phones to be printed. The adaptor has to be bought separately.
An Epson picture pack, consisting of 100 pieces of paper and a printer cartridge designed to last for 100 photos, costs R300. This breaks down to R3 an image, while professional labs can print jumbo prints for around R2.
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