MaximumPC 2004 11

Reviews

H

uge 13x19 prints may look

impressive, but most con-

sumers—including us—prefer

more manageable 4x6-size photo-

graphs, so we decided to review a

batch of printers that output nothing

but smaller format images. While

these pocket printers themselves are

small in size, it doesn’t diminish their

quality; in fact, the dye-sublimation

process used by three of these printers

is superior to the average ink jet you

can purchase. The trade-off, of course,

is that you lose the ability to print

bigger photos. But at sub-$200 price

points, these wee printers would make

a perfect complement to your existing

home photo studio. Let’s take a look.

—GORDON MAH UNG

Canon CP-220

Roughly the size of a fat

CD wallet, the CP-220 is

the most portable printer

in this roundup. Although

it lacks the battery capability

of its big brother, the CP-330,

it’s not a big deal—most people will

keep this plugged into a wall socket

for day-to-day use.

Like the Sony and Olympus

printers reviewed here, the CP-220

features a dye-sublimation engine

that produces images by heating

up a colored ribbon that perme-

ates the paper and lays down color

in multiple passes. If you hold an

image from an ink jet up to your

nose, you’ll see tiny patterns of dots

instead of the continuous color of pic-

tures developed at your local mini-lab.

With dye subs, photo output is similar

to that of a mini-lab.

We found the CP-220’s output to

be impressive, although it tended to be

slightly “cold.” For instance, in some

of our test images, we had to bump the

saturation levels up in order to restore

red and pink flesh tones. In other test

prints, however, the CP-220 actually

produced the most accurate colors.

Under the Maximum PC Lab magni-

fying loupe, the CP-220 Canon trailed

behind Sony’s DPP EX-50 in terms of

image detail, but held its own overall.

While the CP-220 wins the

portability category hands down,

it still consumes a fair amount of

space—the CP-220’s paper cartridge

extends out about six inches, and

another five inches of space behind

the printer must be kept clear during

print jobs. All told, the printer

requires about 16 inches of desk

space to operate. Still, it’s amazing

that Canon can deliver such quality

image output into a tiny package.

Sony DPP EX-50

We’ll admit it: Sony’s DPP EX-50

surprised us. We thought printer

powerhouses Canon and Epson

would kick butt and take names.

Instead, Sony’s EX-50 was our favorite

of the bunch. Its output is the best in

terms of detail, which is no shocker as

it’s spec’d at 403dpi, which is about 25

percent higher than the Canon CP-

220 or Olympus P-10. While the naked

eye can’t discern the difference in

detail level, it’s evident when viewing

extremely fine objects under a loupe.

But even more than the higher

resolution, we love the EX-50’s realistic

output of flesh tones. In test prints of

human subjects, we generally found

the EX-50’s output far more pleasing

than that of the Canon or Olympus

models. We say generally because in

a few instances, the EX-50 actually

output a little too much red.

The EX-50 also places first in terms

of feature set. It boasts the Sony-man-

dated Memory Stick Pro port as well

as a Compact Flash slot for printing

directly from media. Like the other

three printers here, a port also supports

direct printing via PictBridge, a stan-

dard that allows the direct printing

of images from a digital camera. The

EX-50 is alone in offering TV support,

which allows you to plug the printer

into a TV using a simple composite

connector, so you can use the screen

to preview and select the images you

want printed from the memory cards.

One ding against the EX-50

is its inability to use the onboard

media reader to copy photos to your

PC. With the Epson PictureMate,

inserting a CF or Memory Stick gives

you access to the media card from

your Windows desktop. The EX-50

doesn’t offer this functionality. But

this is a minor nag, and given the EX-

50’s excellent output, it’s one we can

live with.

Olympus P-10

Thanks to the Olympus P-10’s cube

shape and small paper tray, it actu-

ally has the smallest footprint of

the printers reviewed here. You can

literally wedge the P-10 into a small

corner of your desk or park it in your

living room next to a box of Kleenex,

and no one would even notice it.

86 MA XIMUMPC NOVEMBER 2004

Pocket Printer Punchout

We Lab-test three tiny printers that promise perfect

4x6 photographs

High-quality levels—and it’s tiny.

DYE SUBLIMATION

DOT MATRIX

At default setting, printer tends to render too

much blue in skin tones.

$170, http://www.canon.com

MA XIMUMPC VERDICT 8

Canon CP-220

Most pleasing flesh tones and highest resolution

of the bunch.

35MM FILM

110 FILM

$170, http://www.sony.com

MA XIMUMPC VERDICT 9

Sony DPP EX-50

Output is a little too warm on occasion.

Although

Canon’s CP-

220 outputs

slightly bluish

flesh tones by

default, Lab

tests revealed

the image

detail and

quality to be

above average

Sony’s high-quality output

surprised us—its accurate

color reproduction

establishes it as our favorite

mini-printer.

6“

4.7“

2.2“

11“

2.5“

8“

The detail on the left is from the Epson

ink jet and illustrates how this technology

struggles to output a smooth continuous

image.