Pros: Incredible photo quality and a great price. Fast and easy.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: If you want 4x6 prints from your computer, there is no comparison. Get this printer and fool even your local photo lab. You don't even need a computer!
J_McNew's Full Review: Sony Digital Photo SV55 Thermal Printer
Don't be fooled by the DPI ratings of "photo quality" inkjets. They don't even come close to Sony's dye sublimation technology. There are no dots to see. Colors are laid down one at a time, one over the other. Also, these images do not run when wet and are protected from fading by a UV overcoat.
Also, some people complain about the cost. A 4x6 borderless print costs about $0.70. This depends on where you buy the paper/ribbon. Recently I read an article about inkjet photo printers where Epson claimed that a 4x6 print on an Epson inkjet printer, including ink and and glossy paper, costs between 50 and 80 cents. So I believe the Sony is right in line with printing costs.
You don't even need a computer! You can connect the printer to your television for viewing images. Also, you can crop and rotate images as well as adjusting color and contrast. There are also many built-in features such as calendar printing and greeting card printing. You can also print multiple small images on one sheet... great for wallet size photos.
This printer features multiple memory card readers. There is a dedicated Sony Memory Stick slot and a PC card slot that can accept Compact Flash or Smart Media through the appropriate adapter. When attached to your computer via USB, the printer functions as a card reader. The memory card slots show up just like another floppy or hard drive. You can read/write as easily as you drag and drop files from one folder to another.
There are different paper choices. I usually use the 4x6 borderless paper. This makes a 4x6 print that looks just like a photo from a lab and comes in a 25 pack with ribbon. You can also get smaller size paper that results in a bordered image (think Polaroid). These come 30 to a pack and are cheaper... about 50 cents each. There is also 4x6 sticker paper (one big sticker) or small size multi-sticker (9 postage stamp size stickers per sheet). These are about 80 cents per print.
Paper is very robust. You can even send a 4x6 print as a postcard! They fit perfectly in a photo album, too. The printer uses Sony's SuperCoat2 UV protection, so they should hold up as well as a traditional photo.
Fast! A 4x6 comes out in about 90 seconds. It takes very little time to render the image, even on my old Celeron 333mhz computer.
Changing ribbon and paper is very easy and self explanatory. You can switch from one paper type to another in the middle of a roll of ribbon. Each pack of paper comes with just enough ribbon to print those images. You never run out of paper or ribbon halfway through.
Getting your images ready is a snap. You need to crop your image to the right size and resolution. Just resize to 1664x2466 at 403dpi and print! It will even tell you if your image is too big. I have never printed one wrong!
The comparison: I won't even compare the output to that of an inkjet printer... there is no comparison. The only other dye sub printers I have used are both Olympus. Both of them were good. The small size Olympus printer only features a Smart Media slot and the 4x6 prints are bordered, so they're not really 4x6 inches. The resolution is a bit lower, 300dpi I believe. The paper and ribbon packs are more difficult to find. I find the Sony a bit easier to use and it has more built-in functions.
You'll be able to fool anyone into thinking this is a real photograph from a lab. I have yet to see an inkjet print that could hold up to the same claim.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299 Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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