Photo printer reviews: What to look for in a photo printer
Other Considerations
PictBridge logo
PictBridge allows you to connect your printer to your digital camera, and print photos without having to use a computer.
Colour LCD screen
Built-in LCD screens preview the image you're printing. Some let you edit images or reduce red eye when printing from a memory card.
Bluetooth
If you like taking photos with your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone, you could buy a printer that allows wireless printing via Bluetooth.
Memory card slots
An easy way to print snaps is to use the memory card slots on the printer. Take the memory card out of your camera, slot it into the machine and press print.
Docks
Some printers have docks that let you click your camera directly on to the printer to select and print your photos. Docks work only with particular cameras, usually from the same manufacturer.
Battery
Some printers come with batteries, which gives you more flexibility and allows you to print away from a mains power supply
Types of printer
Dye-Sublimation
There are two types of technology used in small format photo printers. You'll have probably heard of inkjet printers; dye-sublimation printers are a little rarer.
Dye-sub printers use one large 'ribbon cartridge', which contains three panels of colour film. The paper runs in and out of the printer three times and is coated in a different colour by the cartridge each time.
Photos from a dye-sub printer are touch-dry as soon as they are produced and tend to be slightly more water resistant than those produced by an inkjet printer.
Inkjet
Inkjet printers use a series of nozzles to shoot minuscule droplets of ink directly on to paper to build up an image. The images they produce consist of thousands of tiny each smaller than diameter of a single human hair. Inkjets tend to be quieter than dye-sublimation models, which can whine while printing.