Epson PictureMate
Photo Printer Review

Do you find it difficult to find a small, portable printer to print your digital photos while on the move? Well, the Epson PictureMate may well be the answer to your troubles. This inkjet-based dedicated photo printer performs well and produces photo-quality printouts in a 4- by 6-inch maximum size. It's reasonably priced as well, so it won't burn too deep a hole in your pocket.

 

The Epson PictureMate photo printer
 

Design and Construction

One look at the Epson PictureMate and you can see that it designed for portability. Measuring 10.1" by 5.8" by 5.75" (WHD). The printer looks like a mini stereo and even has a nice handle folds down when you don't need it.
 

The Ink System

The Epson PictureMate uses inkjet technology for photo printing. The ink system consists of nozzles which propel ink droplets in Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Photo Black, Red and Blue color.

The advertised cartridge life of the PictureMate is 6 months at 77 degrees Fahrenheit (or 25 degrees C). That's a pretty long life so you don't have to worry about replacing the cartridges too often.
 

Connectivity

The Epson PictureMate allows you to slide a memory card into a slot or use the USB connector on the back. The USB connector allows connection to a PictBridge or USB-Direct Print camera, a CD or ZIP drive, a USB memory key, or an optional Bluetooth adaptor.
 

Paper Types Supported

In terms of paper types, the Epson PictureMate supports PictureMate photo paper (only 29 cents per photo), as well as premium glossy photo paper. I found the standard PictureMate photo paper to be capable of producing beautiful prints, so there's no real need to get premium glossy paper.
 

Quality of Printouts

The printouts from the Epson PictureMate are nothing short of amazing. Choosing photos from my own collection, I printed photos with rich color tones - the results came out beautiful. If you use waterproof and smear-proof printer paper, you get even sweeter results.
 

Shortcomings

Some color photo printers have a color LCD for previewing images. This, however, is lacking in the Epson PictureMate. Also, the PictureMate takes about 2 minutes 20 seconds for each 4- by 6-inch photo, which is a tad slow compared to competing models.
These are really a small issues though, given its impressive feature list and quality printouts.
 

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has given you some insight into the Epson PictureMate photo printer. If you're looking for a good photo printer at a reasonable price, which also produces quality printouts, then the PictureMate is right up your alley.

Share Your Pictures at SmugMug

If you've tons of digital photos to share and but are not sure which photo sharing site to choose, then do take a look at SmugMug. I've been a happy user of their photo sharing service for two years now and I've been most impressed by it. The service allows you to upload, arrange and share your photos, as well as buy prints or burn picture CDs.

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