Finally, when we compared the Canon IVY 2 to its mini printer peers, it provided the best color images of the lot, though they were far from what the best printers can produce. Some photos were even a little over-processed, which we didn’t love. Also worth mentioning among the mini printers is the KODAK Mini 3 Retro 4PASS. It provided some vibrant prints with popping colors, but had the tendency to blow out the highlights. At the end of the day, mini printers can only offer a certain amount of resolution. Both of these minis would make great companions for printing memories you can actually touch instead of being relegated to your smartphone.
The printer’s built-in “Carbon Black Mode” allows for what the company says are rich blacks and exceptional contrast on glossy paper. The new SureColor P5370 is designed to replace the current SureColor P5000. Photo printers don’t get updated often but Epson feels like it’s making the upgrade worth it with a group of new features and the promise of better quality prints. The most important thing to make sure your prints roll out of the printer similar as to how they look on your screen is to calibrate your monitor. Calibration ensures your printer and screen have the same interpretations of colours.
Epson SureColor SC-P900 I am using in this article costs around 1200 euro (Inc VAT). All that said, the ET-8500 will give you excellent prints, that, when preserved with simple storage techniques, can last decades. And those prints will cost significantly less than those of the dedicated photo printers I’ve been reviewing for the past 30 years.
The printer needs nearly three feet front to back to use the photo feed at the rear for an 8×10. When printing from the top tray or bottom trays, the printer takes up less space. But, the holster for the printed photos will stick out from the body another ten epson laser printer inches. I used the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 with my 2015 MacBook Pro, as well as my iPhone. I used Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster, Epson Fine Art Velvet, and Canon Pro Luster paper. I printed both high contrast, colorful images and muted shots.
The level in the ink cartridge lowers by about 1/4 after initialization because of how the ink is stored at the ready for printing. From there, the app walked through the nozzle and alignment check. On the initial set-up, the touchscreen prompted me to scan a QR code to install the Epson Smart Panel app for set-up. This is the easier option since the app walks you through the process. Setting up through the app was easy and started with using Bluetooth to search for and then connect to the printer. The only real disadvantage with the Canon SELPHY is that the machine is limited to just a few print sizes and Canon’s glossy proprietary paper.