CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 06/07/2004
Compatible Kodak EasyShare cameras (such as the EasyShare 7430 we used to test this printer) come with a docking plate that fits on top and an LCD that faces forward so that you can navigate through menus and select images to print. There are five buttons on the dock for controlling key functions; one initiates the transfer of the camera's pictures to the computer, and a second lets you switch among several printing options. You can choose to print tagged photos only, all the photos in the camera, or the currently selected photo, as well as create an index print. Using the Share button on your Kodak camera, you can specify which photos to print or transfer before docking the camera. You'll find a pair of buttons for navigating photos on the camera's LCD, and they double as plus/minus keys to increase or decrease the number of prints to be made. Press the fifth button to start or cancel printing.
As the Printer Dock prints each photo, it feeds the paper from the removable front-mounted supply tray all the way through the machine and back in again as it lays down the yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes as well as Kodak's Xtralife clear, waterproof protective coating. Finished prints drop neatly onto the lid of the input tray. After printing, you'll need to remove the 0.6-inch perforated end tabs to create borderless prints; you'll have to do this carefully to avoid creasing the photos.In standalone mode, the printing options are rather sparse. You'll need to transfer your shots to your computer and load Kodak's EasyShare software, which allows you to rotate, zoom, crop, change brightness or contrast, and add special effects. Direct printing is possible from only the Kodak camera's internal memory or memory card; unlike some competing snapshot printers, the 6000 doesn't come with additional memory card slots. However, using the Kodak EasyShare software on your computer, you can print any image you've added to its album library. The dock also comes with an A/V cable so that you can view and select your photos via your TV screen or gather the family around for a presentation using the slide-show button on the dock.
Unlike printers that take ink cartridges, the Kodak Printer Dock 6000 doesn't need to feature any kind of ink-supply "gas gauge," though we'd still like to know how many prints are left. Each paper/dye ribbon pack includes exactly the consumables required to print 20, 40, or 80 4x6-inch photos. Your per-print cost, which ranges between 49 and 79 cents depending upon the pack size, is on the high side. Other photo printers, such as the thrifty Epson PictureMate, bring your costs down as low as 29 cents per picture.
Compatible with all Kodak CX/DX 6000/7000- and LS 600/700-series cameras, the Kodak Printer Dock 6000 comes with a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack for supported cameras, as well as an 24V AC adapter that can charge the battery in about three hours.The Kodak Easy Printer Dock 6000 performed well in CNET Labs' tests. It took approximately one and a half minutes to print out a 4x6-inch photo, which comes to about 0.7 photo per minute. That's 35 percent faster than the Epson PictureMate but 30 percent slower than the current speed champ among snapshot printers, the Olympus P-10.
This dye-sub model produces very good prints, with rich colors and a reasonably broad tonal scale that showed detail in both highlights and shadows. The composite blacks (formed by combining the cyan, magenta, and yellow colors, as there is no black panel in the dye-transfer ribbon) were dense and neutral. Flesh tones were pleasing, and there was only the faintest of blue casts detectable in the whites of some prints. We did see some bleeding from the red to gray, as well as some blown-out highlights in lighter areas (such as light reflecting off the dimples of a golf ball).
CNET Labs project leader Dong Van Ngo contributed to this section of the review.
CNET Labs photo printer performance (Shorter bars indicate better performance)
 |
Minutes per photo |
Most helpful user reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 9 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 3 of 9 user reviews
-
5 out of 5 people found this helpful
-
5 out of 10 people found this helpful
- See all 9 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
