Having just recently purchased my first dSLR (Digital SLR) camera I started looking in to the 4x6 photo printers. Besides looking at what features they offered, the print quality, the life span of the prints and things like that I also looked at how they looked. For me looks both physically for hardware and the looks of the interface for software are important. I want things to look nice, but I also want them easy to use. I have seen many electronic and software products that looked very cool but turned out to be a nightmare to use. So I look for a good balance of style and ease of use in any products I review and/or buy.
So after doing my research and purchasing one of the original Epson PictureMate photo printers from Epson (they had refurbished ones on sale cheap) I decided that the printer I wanted wasn't the Canon, it wasn’t the HP it was the new Epson PictureMate Snap. This is the mid-level 4x6 printer that Epson just released, it can also be called the second generation PictureMate or the 200 series, whatever you wish to call it. There are three printers in the new 200 series of PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers. The PictureMate Pal is the entry level printer in the line, the PictureMate Snap this is the mid-range printer and then the PictureMate Flash is the top of the line printer. The only difference between the Snap and the more expensive Flash is that the Flash has a built-in CD burner / DVD reader so that you can not only print your images right from your camera or its memory card but burn them to CD. You can also print from CD and DVDs as well, all without the need for the printer being connected to the computer.
After all due consideration I decided that for my own personal use the Flash’s CD burner / DVD reader was not worth the extra money to me, however, I can see where it could be a big plus for others and I am glad that Epson offers it. Part of the reason the CD burner / DVD reader wasn’t something I wanted or needed is because I already have a portable hard drive to off load my camera’s memory cards to while on the road, it as I said just wasn’t an important option to me.
Besides the lack of the CD burner the Snap and the Flash are otherwise identical. The Pal is the one that has fewer printing features. It has a smaller (1/2-inch smaller) LCD screen and it is lacking a few other little niceties as well. For example the Pal takes 60 seconds to print a 4x6 where the Snap and Flash do it in 45 seconds. The Pal can print all images or some images from your image source (memory card, zip drive, etc.) The Snap and Flash can also print by range or by date. The Pal doesn’t have a battery option like the Snap and Flash which makes it hard to take on the road unless you have a power converter for your car or plan to use it someplace that has power like a hotel room. The Pal doesn’t offer cropping, red-eye removal, or printing portrait packages; U.S. passport, 2x2-inch, 3x3-inch, proof sheet, CD proof sheet or digital size. It can’t save photo CDs like the Snap can with an external CD drive, or using the included CD burner that comes with the Flash, also unlike the Snap and Flash the Pal can’t print from thumb drives and lastly the Pal has no personal settings wizard. The suggested retail price for the Pal is $129.99, the Snap is $179.99 and the Flash is $199.99 (The Flash just had its price reduced).
Now if you have one of the previous PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers the main differences between them and the new 200 series printers is that the new printers are faster. It should also be noted that while Epson says the original PictureMate prints were just as smudge, water and scratch proof as the new ones, reports from users of the original PictureMate and the new ones report that the new printer’s prints are even more so. I personally have had no problems with any of these things with either the new PictureMate or the old ones. Other complaints users of the original PictureMate have had is that the gloss on glossy prints is uneven. The areas where the ink is has a different level of gloss than the areas without ink (which shows the gloss of the paper itself.) Again, I have had no problems with this on any of the PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers new or old. The new ones use 4 colors of ink; the old ones use 6 colors of ink.
Now I want to talk about the pigment vs. dye and the 6 colors vs. 4 colors. To be honest the step back in printing technology from the original PictureMate Personal Photo Labs really bothered me. That was until I saw prints from the new ones. I was very impressed with the print quality and color of the original PictureMates and I am even more impressed with the print quality of the new ones. Not because the prints are better, but because they kept the same high quality, smooth gradations and detail but using 2 less colors and dye ink.
When I asked Epson about the move to dye inks and 2 fewer colors I was told that this was possible because of some technological advancement in their dye inks. Now does this mean we will see the larger printers move away from pigment inks and see a drop in the number of colors? I don't know. I think we may see a mix, lower end printers using dye and higher end using pigment. But, only time will tell how this will shake out, in either case I wouldn’t expect to see a large price reduction for the printers, inks or papers no matter what type and number of colors the printers use. Which just for the record I feel are too high. People keep saying they give the printers away but make their money for the ink and paper. I believe this and I believe that all printer manufactures do this. But, even with this I still feel that for the most control and for the best prints printing your photos at home is well worth the cost in materials and time.
Now I am sure you are all wondering about print life, after all companies like Epson have been cramming pigment inks and more colors down our throats for years. Not only because pigment is supposed to be more permanent but because more colors were needed to make the smooth gradations in things like skin, skies, etc. Well, the print life of the new PictureMates is (according to Wilhelm Research) 96 years (Glossy) displayed in frames under glass and 147 years displayed in frames under UV Filter glass and >200 years in an album/dark storage at 73 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% RH (room humidity). There are also foot notes to some of this. If you want to know more you can download the report from Wilhelm at http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/WIR_EpPM280_2006_10_30.pdf.
So even with dye based inks and fewer colors the new Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers easily match the quality of the original PictureMate printers and in some cases surpasses them. I have to say I am impressed and I didn’t think I would be. I especially like the speed increase. The original PictureMate printers were slow as snails compared to these new ones.
The next thing is the cost per print. While the cost for the PictureMate Print Packs for the 200 series PictureMate printers is more than the Print Packs for the old PictureMates the new Glossy packs do 150 prints and the new Matte packs do 100 prints. This is guaranteed, if you get fewer prints Epson will refund the difference. So this makes the cost per print less (about $0.27 per glossy print) for the new PictureMate printer’s verses the old models (about $0.29 per glossy print). The cost for the 150 glossy print packs is $37.99 (SRP) and $32.29 (SRP) for the 100 sheet matte print packs. So while the glossy print packs cost more than for the original PictureMate printers you get more prints so the cost per print is less (about $0.27 each), which I don’t think is too bad.
One of the selling points of the PictureMates both new and old is that you can print from your cameras memory card, from your camera directly or from an external device like a zip drive, thumb memory drive (Snap and Flash only), etc. The new PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers continue this of course and it is handy from time to time. I still prefer to have it connected to a computer so that I can do my image corrections, etc. in Adobe Photoshop and then print, but it is nice to know that should I ever need to I can print without the computer and I can even do image correction, cropping (Snap and Flash only), apply color effects like black and white, sepia, etc. I can even remove red-eye and apply ornaments (little graphics like Santa Claus, Sailboats, etc.) as well as borders that come built-in to the printer and include borders from Disney as well as more generic borders, all without having to use a computer to do it.
The on printer controls for adding the ornaments and frames just like for choosing other options is surprisingly intuitive. Add in the 2-1/2-inch color LCD screen (2-inch for Pal) that shows your images as well as the in printer editing and effects and it really is possible and easy to print without a computer. Even printing and editing multiple images while ignoring others is easy and intuitive. I never bothered with this with the original PictureMate so I can’t really comment if it is improved or not. I do know that my original PictureMate didn’t have the color LCD screen and I suspect for things like cropping and the like that without that screen it would have been a pain with the original PictureMate (one did come out with an LCD screen for such things however I have never used one and so I can’t comment on how it worked.)
To take either the Snap or the Flash on the road you will need to purchase the battery pack. It doesn’t come with either the Snap or the Flash printers and sells for around $50. On a full charge Epson estimates with all things being equal that you should get around 120 prints on it. Not too bad. I would imagine with the Flash you would get less the more you used the CD burner / DVD reader as the laser I would imagine consumes quite a bit of power.
The only other thing of note is that the entry level PictureMate, the Pal has higher resolution than the Snap and Flash. I asked Epson about this and was told it was to make up for the fact that the Pal has different and less powerful algorithms for processing the images than the Snap and Flash have so in order to compensate for this and to ensure that the Pal has the exact same (I do mean exact same) fantastic output that the higher end Snap and Flash have they had to increase the resolution. The Pal also has less processing power and that is why some of the features found on the Snap and Flash (like red-eye correction) isn't available. According to Epson they wanted to offer an entry level printer but still keep the same high quality output so this is why there is a difference in resolution.
The new Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printer took me by surprise. I figured with fewer inks and the step back to dye based inks that these printers were going to be a major step backwards. The new PictureMate printers create quick, stunning, water proof, scratch resistant prints that not only rival a photo labs prints but surpasses them because you are in control of the color, contrast, sharpness, cropping and more. You may pay more per print, but you have more prints that are wow prints than you will ever get from a photo lab. I also like the idea that you buy the ink and paper together and that you are guaranteed to get the number of prints you pay for otherwise Epson makes good. I would also like to see companies like Epson stop the Russian roulette of paper naming. It seems like every time they release a new printer they change the names of their papers it’s the same paper but a different name, this just makes it hard for people to find the paper that they have been using and like.
The PictureMate Snap that I bought is a hefty well made little printer. The controls are well placed and easy to use. The color LCD screen is useful and handy. The print speed is amazing and even the use of the printer without a computer is easy to understand and use.
Besides the battery pack, there is also a Bluetooth adapter available so if you have a Bluetooth capable camera you can print wirelessly and there is a carrying case available as well for those that plan to take their PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers with them. The printer does come with a carry handle and drop down lid, but there is no padding or scratch protection, so if you plan to take it with you the carry case is a good idea.
Overall the new Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Lab printers are a step forwards. Which would I recommend? Well since there is about a $50 difference between the Pal and the Snap I would recommend you spend the extra $50 and get at least the Snap, if you need CD burning of your images on the road then the extra money for the Flash maybe worth it. The Flash however is only available from Best Buy, I don’t know if this is a permanent arrangement or a temporary one. However, it doesn’t really matter because if you want the Flash you can order the printer from the Best Buy web site and have it shipped to you. If you plan to mostly use the PictureMate with a computer then the extra cost for the Flash and its CD burning capabilities is less of a draw, since you can use the CD/DVD burner you already have in your computer. In the end I don’t think you can go wrong with any one of the new PictureMate printers. |
