PictureMate 4x6 Photo Printer

Pros: Better print quality than my local photo lab's digital prints, same price per print, color correction and image enhancement works great, prints are water proof, smudge proof, 200 year life in album!

Cons: Haven't noticed any. Some people complain about the slow printing, but the speed doesn't bother me. I only print what my wife wants to scrap book. Durability is to be seen, so far so good.

Summary: I heard a lot of good things about this printer. I was convinced I would never purchase another home photo printer. That was until a customer told me about this little gem. Where do I work? A professional camera store with an inhouse lab. I wasn't very happy with the digital prints I was getting from my digital files at the lab. When I saw a print come out of this little printer that blew away the photo lab's print I was very happy. Also the fact that these prints will last at least as long as a photo lab print, supposedly longer, is a big plus in my book. I'll still have to go to the lab for 5x7 and larger prints, but that's okay as we usually only get 4x6 prints so my wife can scrap book them.

I heard some people had problems with the printer's durability. To be safe I got the printer at Staples and picked up a 2 yr. extended warranty for $30. If it breaks I'll get a new one, or a $200 credit to buy whatever the next latest and greatest printer is.

There are some bad reviews here, but I question their credibility. Most people I run into have no clue what they are doing when it comes to digital photography and printing their images. If they start with a bad image, they are going to print a bad image. I've been selling equipment to pros for a decade and showing them how to use the equipment, and I am thrilled with the images I'm getting from this printer. Some people complain about the cropping. Well, many digital cameras take images that aren't in a standard 2:3 ratio. A 35mm negative is 2cmx3cm, so a 4x6 or an 8x12 is a full frame print. If their camera shoots outside of this ratio the printer will have no choice but to crop the image to make a borderless print. You can print with borders if you want the full image, or you can pre-crop the image on your computer in an imaging program so that it's in the proper 2:3 format and then print it. Most complaints I have seen are due to user error and ignorance.