A LITTLE GREAT, AND A LOT OF NOT SO GOOD

The idea of a Dye Sublimation printer aimed at the consumer market is certainly intriguing. After all, this technology does give the most stunning photo output available outside of a traditional photo lab. However, there are some caveats with owning this particular printer, which should not be ignored if you’re considering it.

First the good:

The Olympus P-330 is really a nice printer. The printer can be used as a stand-alone device, or you can connect it to your PC or MAC. The stand-alone operation is accomplished by simply inserting a SmartMedia Card loaded with photos into the slot, turning on the power, setting it to “Print All” and just walking away. The printer will print photo after photo until the tray runs out of paper (at which time you’ll add more paper – duh!) up until the last photo on the card is printed. Further, you can connect it to your T.V. set via the Video Out jack and do some basic cropping and adjusting before you print using the controls on the printer itself. Also, using the control buttons on the printer, you can select only the photos you want to print, thus bypassing the duds.

Another neat feature is the fact that you can capture images from any Video or S-Video source via the respective jacks on the side of printer. I can’t tell you how well this works, because I never used this feature. I guess a neat feature is only neat if you actually use it, otherwise its just fluff.

I used this printer the way most of you will, connected to my computer. Installation is as easy and straightforward as I’ve seen. The printer requires that you set the photo size and DPI to very specific settings using your photo editor. If you don't you’ll end up with a lot of less than optimal output (in other words crappy snappies...ha! ha! - ahem!) This can be a P.I.A. when you have a lot of photos to print and believe me, becomes tedious very fast.

The P-330 uses proprietary Olympus P-60NE photo paper. You get two packs of 30 sheets (60 total, for you mathematically challenged) and one ribbon. The ribbon lasts for exactly 60 sheets of paper thus adding to the overall ease of use. When you start a new pack in a new box of paper, you automatically change the ribbon.

The output is magnificent and quite frankly, the best I’ve seen outside a traditional photo lab. The colors are bright and true, and the image is crystal clear. The total cost per photo runs in the neighborhood of $.60 each. Packs of the P-60NE paper run about $35-$38 each – not outrageous by any stretch of the imagination but not dirt cheap either.

The last nice thing that I can report is that this printer requires zero cleaning. Because there's no toner or liquid ink, running a cleaning routine is totally unnecessary. The Dye Sublimation ribbon and Printhead work on a thermal transfer system. Quite simply, it's heat that transfers the color to print media. The Printhead never touches the actual color, it touches a thin plastic film with the color on the opposite side that touches the paper. I hope I'm not confusing you.

Now the bad:

For all the stunning photos I’ve printed the one thorn in my side is the size. The paper yields a bordered, and yes disappointing 3.5”x4.5” image on a 4"x5.5" photo. Heck, the smallest 35mm photo you get nowadays is 4”x6”. I know it may not sound like much reading this review, but when you compare the two side by side you’re looking at a substantial difference. There is another model available from Olympus, the P-400 that utilizes larger paper, but the $799 retail price moves it pretty much out of the price range of the average user. Considering that you can purchase perforated paper that eventually yields a borderless 4"x6" ink-jet photo, this in my opinion tips the scales in this regard away from the Olympus.

Another problem is the fact that this printer only takes one size paper. If you’re looking for versatility you won’t find it here. A photo quality ink-jet is the way to go if you even think you’ll want a variety of photo sizes. Chalk another one up for ink-jet!

Lastly, although the P-60NE paper is not outrageously expensive, it is hard to find. The only place I was able to find it recently was on eBay. You would think that a search done on CNET or MySimon would yield some results, but unfortunately it didn’t. Supplies should be readily available, not hardly available. Geez! I saw a nice array of ink-jet supplies at Path-Mark (a supermarket chain out here in glorious NJ) the other day. Another score for ink-jet.

My Recommendation:

Does this printer get my recommendation? If you can absolutely live with the small, one sized, albeit beautiful output and hard to get supplies then I say, “Go for it!” If on the other hand you even have the slightest inkling that you’ll want even a little versatility then don’t do it. What will end up happening is the same thing that happened to me:

An unused printer gathering dust on a computer table that eventually got sold on eBay for an outrageously low, get it out the door price will be your fate.