mbossman2
03-02-2003, 02:59 PM
After having a lot of issues with printing photo quality images on glossy inkjet photo paper (banding, fading, colors running etc), I decided to take a look at a dedicated specialized printer for my digital camera (4.1megapixel Sony MVC-CD400) output. After looking at several options within the budget range ($150-250), I decided on the Sony DPP-EX5 (retail $199).
For those of you who are anware of the Dye Sublimation color print process, you can checkout the details here: http://www.mandebyrosie.com/sublexp.htm.
There are 2 ways of printing with this printer.
The 1st, and more traditional, method is to connect to your PC (or MAC) via the USB connector (please note, this printer does not included a A-B USB cable, so factor that into your budget). The set up was a breeze, Windows XP Pro detected this printer instantly and the driver install was trouble free.
The 2nd method is for users who have cameras that support Sony's memory stick technology. With this method, you connect the printer via an included cable to you TV. The printer has controls embedded in it that allow you to make the same adjustments that many of the more popular imaging programs allow you to do (color adjustments, special effects, text entry etc), but instead of using your PC and mouse, you use the buttons, rocker switches and on screen menus to make and save the changes.
What really makes this printer worth the money is the quality of the out put. I compared the output of an Epson 4 color, 1440dpi inkjet printer (Stylus 640) printing on glossy inkjet photo paper, a photo lab version of the same picture and the output from the Sony printer.
The Epson output, while pretty good, was substantially darker than either the Sony or the photo lab product. There was also some (very) minor banding on the Epson output. Additionally, the Epson output faded after being placed in the sunlight over the period of 3 days. On a more frivolous note, the Epson output bled after my dog gave it a good solid lick (it was after all a picture of her).
The Sony output matched the quality of the photo lab output (please note that this was not a one hour photo lab in a grocery store, but a local color lab). The image matched the color and image quality. Over the 3 days, the prints sat in the sunlight, there was no appreciable fading in either the photo lab or Sony output.
In regards to speed, the Epson takes approximately 4 minutes to generate a 4x6 print, the Sony takes 90 seconds and the photo lab took 3 days (i dropped it off late otherwise it would have been back the next day).
Cost per print (consumables only)
Epson: approximately $0.35 per print
Photo Lab: approximately $.40 per print
Sony print: $0.75 per print
On a per print cost basis, the Sony is slightly less than 2x as much per print as its competitors, but, the speed of the output linked with the quality amd portability (if you use memory stick), makes this an excellent choice for the entry level to medium level digital photographer.
Not all things are all rosy with this printer: A couple of dings on this product:
1) The fact that this printer does not come out of the box any consumables to allow you to play with immediately is pretty cheap (Hear that Sony?)
2) Availability of consumables: in a search for the media and "ink" (they come bundled together, 25 pieces of photo paper and 1 reel of "ink") after getting home and opening it all up (it still cheeses me off, even 3 weeks later), I went to 2 office supply houses and 2 computer shops before I found the media packs at CompUSA (the farthest of the 4 places I went to).
3) The fact that even when the printer is in "snooze" mode, the damn fan runs (my wife takes any noise or lights from my workstation area as a "waste of electricity" and must be dealt with mby finding me and telling me that my computer is on [if nothing critical is running] or by telling me that she turned off my PC [usually when I am doing a back up or something that is mission critical])
Overall, the out put, size (about the size of a hard cover book) and speed, outweighs, the downsides.
I give this printer 7.5 out of 10 (BTW, I am a tough marker).
For those of you who are anware of the Dye Sublimation color print process, you can checkout the details here: http://www.mandebyrosie.com/sublexp.htm.
There are 2 ways of printing with this printer.
The 1st, and more traditional, method is to connect to your PC (or MAC) via the USB connector (please note, this printer does not included a A-B USB cable, so factor that into your budget). The set up was a breeze, Windows XP Pro detected this printer instantly and the driver install was trouble free.
The 2nd method is for users who have cameras that support Sony's memory stick technology. With this method, you connect the printer via an included cable to you TV. The printer has controls embedded in it that allow you to make the same adjustments that many of the more popular imaging programs allow you to do (color adjustments, special effects, text entry etc), but instead of using your PC and mouse, you use the buttons, rocker switches and on screen menus to make and save the changes.
What really makes this printer worth the money is the quality of the out put. I compared the output of an Epson 4 color, 1440dpi inkjet printer (Stylus 640) printing on glossy inkjet photo paper, a photo lab version of the same picture and the output from the Sony printer.
The Epson output, while pretty good, was substantially darker than either the Sony or the photo lab product. There was also some (very) minor banding on the Epson output. Additionally, the Epson output faded after being placed in the sunlight over the period of 3 days. On a more frivolous note, the Epson output bled after my dog gave it a good solid lick (it was after all a picture of her).
The Sony output matched the quality of the photo lab output (please note that this was not a one hour photo lab in a grocery store, but a local color lab). The image matched the color and image quality. Over the 3 days, the prints sat in the sunlight, there was no appreciable fading in either the photo lab or Sony output.
In regards to speed, the Epson takes approximately 4 minutes to generate a 4x6 print, the Sony takes 90 seconds and the photo lab took 3 days (i dropped it off late otherwise it would have been back the next day).
Cost per print (consumables only)
Epson: approximately $0.35 per print
Photo Lab: approximately $.40 per print
Sony print: $0.75 per print
On a per print cost basis, the Sony is slightly less than 2x as much per print as its competitors, but, the speed of the output linked with the quality amd portability (if you use memory stick), makes this an excellent choice for the entry level to medium level digital photographer.
Not all things are all rosy with this printer: A couple of dings on this product:
1) The fact that this printer does not come out of the box any consumables to allow you to play with immediately is pretty cheap (Hear that Sony?)
2) Availability of consumables: in a search for the media and "ink" (they come bundled together, 25 pieces of photo paper and 1 reel of "ink") after getting home and opening it all up (it still cheeses me off, even 3 weeks later), I went to 2 office supply houses and 2 computer shops before I found the media packs at CompUSA (the farthest of the 4 places I went to).
3) The fact that even when the printer is in "snooze" mode, the damn fan runs (my wife takes any noise or lights from my workstation area as a "waste of electricity" and must be dealt with mby finding me and telling me that my computer is on [if nothing critical is running] or by telling me that she turned off my PC [usually when I am doing a back up or something that is mission critical])
Overall, the out put, size (about the size of a hard cover book) and speed, outweighs, the downsides.
I give this printer 7.5 out of 10 (BTW, I am a tough marker).