Canon has been a leader in home and office printing for quite some time, and is probably the biggest competitor to printer giant Hewlett Packard. The
Canon brand name itself stands for quality as they deliver excellence in virtually every product that they release. Most of the desktop printers that
Canon releases use the conventional ink system for it's printing method, though they've decided to go with the thermal, dye sublimation technology with their latest 4x6" photo printer. The change of print technology lets them create the smallest, portable photo printer around while still maintaining good quality.
Hardware
This is the smallest 4x6" printer that you can find. It's also the simplest with the least amount of anything else too. The front of the unit has a door that folds down to insert the paper tray. The right side of the unit has another, similar door that folds down and lets you insert the print cartridge. The cartridge installs only one way, so there isn't too much confusion on getting it loaded in. There is a green lever that you press to unlock the cartridge when you need to replace it. When pressed, it'll pop out half an inch for easy removal. The rear of the unit has the power connection. The left side of the unit has the USB to PC and USB PictBridge ports, which are covered by a hard rubber flap. There is no power button or any additional controls that are available on this unit.
The paper tray has an insert that will allow printing of a smaller paper size (3x5" postcard size). Otherwise, that insert will be left out for those wanting to do the standard 4x6" photo prints. The paper tray can load up to 20 sheets of paper, and fully encloses the sheets when it's separate from the printer. Part of the tray folds back like a lid to expose the portion that gets hooked into the
CP400 and also serves as a catch for the finished prints. The remaining body of the paper tray can open up to facilitate the insertion and removal of the paper. Once everything is all hooked up and a photo is to be printed, the machine will whirr and pick up one of the pages and feed it backwards until 2/3 of the paper is sticking out the rear. The printer will then pull the paper forward as it layers on the first of the four print colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black). You have to be sure that there isn't any obstruction to the paper pathway behind the printer or else it might mess up the finished product. It takes under a minute for the prints to be done, after the four passes it does through the printer. Prints done through the computer perform just the same. Unfortunately, the
Canon CP400 doesn't offer any types of controls on the unit itself, nor does it offer any image-previewing. I guess it makes it really easy to use, since there isn't much extra that you can do with it at all. Printing standalone can only be done through PictBridge enabled cameras. Printing done through the computer is the same as any other PC printing.
Included in the box:
• CP400 Printer
• AC Adapter & Cord
• Photo print kit (10 prints)
• Manual
• CD-Rom for software & drivers
Software
The included
Canon is simple and straightforward, but has some pretty nice templates and backgrounds for album printing. The PhotoRecord part of the software lets you create and print your own photo album. You only can get one picture per page (which is a shame, since HP offers over a hundred different, multi-photo template designs), but you can have unlimited pages and can reorder your picture pages with ease. There are a bunch of themed templates that you can use, different page backgrounds to choose from, and you can add frames and clipart on top of those as well. You don't get any sort of image editing features, but the choices of templates and backgrounds are exquisite, bordering on professional-looking. Out of all the templates from softwares bundled with printers, I think that
Canon has the best looking ones that can rival designs that one might see on Hallmark wedding cards. The
Canon Photostitch program lets you load in multiple images that it will merge together into a single, larger panorama. This works decently with pictures that are meant to be stitched together as a large panorama (like if you took pictures while turning a small circle), though I like the effect better to have photos fade into each other for an artsy effect. The merging works best with pictures that are the same size (obviously), though you can opt to break that rule and make your own mismatching for creative purposes. This same feature can be done through better image-editing programs, though
Canon makes it simple to do with only a few clicks. Once you're satisfied, you can choose to save or print out the panorama photo. The Zoom Browser part of the program is a pretty standard photo-well software. You can browse, sort, view slideshows, add sounds & keywords, search, upload, and burn all the pictures you have. There are no image editing features whatsoever, though you can link your existing image editing program to the button in the Zoom Browser that says "edit". Each of the programs are installed as separate entities; it would have been nice to have a main program that let you pick which software features to use.
Quality
You get some real sharp prints out of this little printer. The
CP400 delivers photo-lab quality pictures that feel like they were done through the traditional film developing process; it's that good. The blacks are very well defined, which also makes for excellent text reproduction and contrast. Edges in the photos are well-defined and the color reproduction is accurate. The only issue with the prints that come from this printer is that the overall image is slightly darker. Kodak pictures (using the same technology as
Canon) are very accurate and true to real life. HP is true to color, though shows a bit of boldness in it's reds and yellows, which can seem like it's darker when it's not (since only those colors are affected).
Canon's prints aren't darker like bold, they're darker like darker. By itself, the print is not bad at all and looks spectacular, though once you compare the print to other competitors' prints, you can see the overall darkness of the image. It may not be as bad for well-lit images (it may actually make it look better if the image is too light), but any darker picture or picture with subtle variations of contrast will suffer some. Many of the whites aren't so much a bright white as a stale white (kinda greyed). This may or may not bother some, but those wanting the most accurate image reproduction will have to use some photo software for lighting adjustments before printing
Supplies & Cost of Ownership
Like other dye sublimation printers (thermal), the photo kits for the
Canon CP400 are self-consuming. Each kit contains 36 sheets of photo paper and a print cartridge that is good for only those 36 prints. The back of the paper has markings of post cards, so you can write a message & address, affix a stamp, and then send off your photo-postcard to friends or family (or anyone for that matter). The retail cost of the kit is $19.99, so the cost out to
$0.55 per print. For the same print type,
Canon is $0.08 cheaper than Kodak or Sony and only $0.02 more expensive than HP's ink system. The cost per print isn't too bad, though when you compare it to conventional 35mm printing or printing services done through local drug-store chains it's still a little bit high. Many local places can offer photo pictures as low as $0.20 per print. The benefit with at-home printing is the convenience of doing it without having to go to some local retailer, and you're guaranteed a consistent quality of prints when you know you're using branded supplies. You can't guarantee the quality of the materials used in local places. The
Canon prints can last up to 100 years under certain storage conditions, which is pretty good for longevity. Unfortunately, I've yet to really see any place that carries the replacement cartridges for the
CP400 as much as I see supplies for Kodak and HP. I don't think I've seen a larger capacity print kit either, which would lower the cost per photo print.
Issues
Canon puts out good quality products, and so far the
CP400 is no exception. This is still a relatively new product, so I haven't experienced any problems with it whatsoever, nor have I heard anything from any customers/owners of the printer. No power button, though? Hmmph.
COMPETITION COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
So out of all the current, portable, 4x6" photo printers, which is the best to get? Well I was curious (moreso slacking off at work, yet still being productive in the sense of valueable information) and figgured that a showdown between the top contenders was at hand. I took 3 pictures using a
Kodak Z740 digital camera at the 5 megapixel level. The pictures, combined, had a mixture of complex and simple elements, text, varying levels of contrast, bold colors, and some mixed colors as well. The pictures were taken indoors in well-lit conditions, and with perfect focus. I took the memory card out of the camera and printed the 3 pictures on five of the current, portable printers (each with their own brand supplies) that are sold on retail shelves:
Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock Plus,
Sony DPP-FP30,
Canon CP400,
Epson PictureMate, and
HP Photosmart 325. Each group of three pictures were compared to the subject of the photo and compared to each of the other prints. Basically, I was looking for anything that I could point out as a difference whatsoever. After reviewing all fifteen photos, I've been able to make conclusive observations about the photo quality of each of the printer units, which are listed below in the overall comparisons. Here's the lowdown.
Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock Plus
• Weight: 2.43lbs (38.88oz)
• Size: 13.1" x 7.4" x 3.3" (with tray)
• Image LCD Screen: No (viewed through camera)
• Flash Card Reader: Yes (SD/MMC)
• PictBridge Enabled: Yes
• Onboard Controls/Effects: No
• Print Technology: Dye sublimation (thermal)
• Colors Used: Yellow, magenta, cyan, black
• Smudge-Proof: Yes
• Picture Longevity: 8-15 years
• Photo Strengths: Photo lab quality, accurate, continuous color & detail
• Photo Weaknesses: Expensive cost of prints, subtle softness of edges (text too)
• Hardware Strength Summary: Very portable, easy operation, recharges batteries, IR port
• Hardware Weakness Summary: No picture previewing & direct printing for non-PictBridge or non-
Kodak users (or ones with models incompatible)
• Standard Cost of Print: $0.62
Sony DPP-FP30
• Weight: 2.18lbs (38oz w/o tray)
• Size: 6.88" x 2.38" x 5.38" (w/o tray)
• Image LCD Screen: No
• Flash Card Reader: No
• PictBridge Enabled: Yes
• Onboard Controls/Effects: No
• Print Technology: Dye sublimation (thermal)
• Colors Used: Yellow, magenta, cyan, black
• Smudge-Proof: Yes
• Picture Longevity: Approximately 8-16 years (based on print technology)
• Photo Strengths: Photo lab quality, accurate, continuous color & detail
• Photo Weaknesses: Light magenta hue cast over every picture (makes images look unnaturally warm)
• Hardware Strength Summary: Highly portable, accepts 2 sizes of paper
• Hardware Weakness Summary: No picture previewing & direct printing for non-PictBridge cameras
• Standard Cost of Print: $0.62
Canon CP400
• Weight: (28.9oz)
• Size: 6.73" x 4.72" x 2.1"
• Image LCD Screen: No
• Flash Card Reader: No
• PictBridge Enabled: Yes
• Onboard Controls/Effects: No
• Print Technology: Dye sublimation (thermal)
• Colors Used: Yellow, magenta, cyan, black
• Smudge-Proof: Yes
• Picture Longevity: Up to 100 years (only under certain storage conditions)
• Photo Strengths: Photo lab quality, continuous color & detail, bold blacks, sharp text & edges
• Photo Weaknesses: Photos darker overall & loses some subtle colors
• Hardware Strength Summary: Purse-sized portability (or big pocket)
• Hardware Weakness Summary: No previewing or direct printing for non-PictBridge cameras, no power button
• Standard Cost of Print: $0.55
Epson PictureMate
• Weight: 5.5lbs (88oz)
• Size: 10" x 12" x 6.4"
• Image LCD Screen: No (screen is for menu & options only)
• Flash Card Reader: Yes
• PictBridge Enabled: Yes
• Onboard Controls/Effects: Yes
• Print Technology: Ink
• Colors Used: Yellow, magenta, cyan, photo black, red, blue
• Smudge-Proof: Yes
• Picture Longevity: Up to 100-200 years (only under certain storage conditions)
• Photo Strengths: Good overall quality, low print cost
• Photo Weaknesses: Colors can muddy (yellows), blues too rich, fuzzy text, mediocre greyscale & contrast (moreso for detailed areas)
• Hardware Strength Summary: Easy loading of 6-ink cartridge, standalone printing, save pictures to external storage w/o PC, optional wireless adapter
• Hardware Weakness Summary: Huge, heavy, picture preview through proof-sheet only
• Standard Cost of Print: $0.29
HP Photosmart 325
• Weight: 2.6lbs (41.6oz)
• Size: 8.7" x 4.6" x 4.6"
• Image LCD Screen: Yes
• Flash Card Reader: Yes
• PictBridge Enabled: Yes
• Onboard Controls/Effects: Yes
• Print Technology: Ink
• Colors Used: Magenta, yellow, cyan
• Smudge-Proof: No
• Picture Longevity: Up to 75 years (only under certain storage conditions)
• Photo Strengths: Great quality, bold reds & yellows, sharp, low print-cost potential
• Photo Weaknesses: Weak printing of reflective & translucent, prints darkened very slightly
• Hardware Strength Summary: Very portable, standalone previewing & printing of all pictures, wireless, optional internal battery
• Hardware Weakness Summary: Potential (low) for paper jams
• Standard Cost of Print: $0.53
Summary
It's hard to pick any decisive winner from the list of printers that are available.
Canon offers the most compact 4x6" printer with great quality at a reasonable cost per photo print. Even though the overall print quality is a bit darker than a true-to-life photo, the colors & blacks are solid and the images are sharp. Those who want the absolute best quality, and can deal with the slight dark tone of photos, will consider the
CP400 as a great pick. The compact form makes it the best to carry around with for traveling. Unfortunately, there are no on-board controls, LCD, or memory card slots, so non PictBridge camera owners will find this model a little less convenient in terms of PC-free printing. Overall, I think that this printer is a better option than Sony's DPP-FP30 in terms of quality and cost, but loses to HP and Epson in terms of universal printing compatibility. If I could give it a 3.5 rating, I would, since I think the photo quality and per print cost (which still isn't the best) are the only things really going for this mostly vanilla printer. The size is nice, but I can give up having the smallest printer to trade for something else with more features.
Recommended Accessories
• Photo Kit
• USB Cable (for PC printing)
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