No matter how invested you are in the myth of the paperless digital culture, you have to admit that it's still cool to have a copy of a prized shot in your hands only minutes after you've snapped it. Nowadays, it's possible to crank out a great 4x6 photo from just about anywhere, thanks to the portable snapshot printer.
Designed strictly for on-the-spot photo printing, portable snapshot printers come in two flavors. One type uses thermal dye-transfer technology (also known as dye sublimation) in which heat changes the physical state of solid inks until they infuse specially coated paper, solidifying as they cool. The second type uses six-color inkjet technology, adding light cyan and magenta to the usual cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Both types typically come with convenient photo-related extras, such as an LCD for previewing and selecting images, digital media card slots, Bluetooth or IR for printing from camera phones, and ports that allow for direct printing from supported cameras or external storage devices. Some snapshot printers come with a rechargeable battery or car chargers, though truly mobile printing is typically accompanied by a premium price.
We rate these six printers on design, features, speed, print quality, and the quality of their tech support. Though the Sony DPP-EX50 appears to have the best print quality, its prints don't last very long--a mere four years, according to Wilhelm Imaging's tests--and they suffer the worst metamerism, color shifts under different light sources. So, all things considered, the Epson PictureMate's vibrant, accurate, long-lived prints take top honors. But print quality aside, there's no clear Editors' Choice winner in the group. Each one of these printers has pros and cons; the one you choose has everything to do with your needs. The economical Epson PictureMate and PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition crank out quality prints, but they're slow. The Canon DS-700 wowed us with its stylish design, but it's expensive and lacks battery-powered operation, which could be a deal breaker for some. The HP Photosmart 475 has tons of useful features such as an internal hard disk, but its print quality is only so-so.
To help you figure out which snapshot picture might be right for you, we've put together this chart detailing each printer's features. And as always, we encourage you to read the full reviews for the whole story.
Photo printer performance (Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Read the CNET editor's take
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6.0 out of 10
7.4 out of 10
5.8 out of 10
