theheidis's Full Review: Sony Digital Photo SV55 Thermal Printer
I'm going to do this review with limited technical specifications, and more my personal opinion & what I know about this printer. (you can get specs at www.sony.com)
The Sony DPP-SV55 is a dye-sub printer, which appears to be the latest technology in photo-quality printers. One thing it can do that ink-jet photo printers can't - is apply a protective coating over the photo after the ink has been applied - thus allowing the photo to last longer & to be more comperable to traditional film prints from a photo lab.
This printer prints 4x6 prints, so you don't have to worry about cutting the paper, just like the typical size you get from a photo lab. It will print a size smaller (on sticky-backed paper) but I haven't tried that.
QUALITY: The quality is great - and the paper is very nice. This printer can handle a maximum resolution of 3.8 megapixels, and I did notice a difference when printing out a 3mp photo vs. a lower resolution.
YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A COMPUTER!: That's right, you don't need to hook this up to a computer to be able to print from your digital camera. This printer has a slot for the Sony memory stick, and PC cards. It has a video out (and comes with the video cable) so you can hook your printer to your TV's video input & select a photo to print(and do certain editing such as b&w, sepia, etc.) When hooked up to your TV, there is an arrow button selector you use to navigate around the different options. Even simpler, you don't even need to hook it up to a TV! (without hooking it to anything you are unable to view what photo will print, as the printer has no LCD (although the model above this has an LCD screen) - but if you only have 1 photo on your memory stick, just put it in the printer, press enter, then print and there ya go!
USB HOOKUP: Just like any regular printer, you can hook this up to your computer with a USB cable. This isn't compatible with Win XP yet(at least the CD that came with mine) but there may be a downloadable driver available from Sony.
PAPER & INK: Paper comes in packages of 25 sheets (4x6) along with the ink for around $20. So you never have to worry about the ink running out, you just always change the ink with each new pack of paper. Loading the paper & the ink is very easy to do.
PRINTING TIME: It takes a couple of minutes to print out a photo, and you will see your photo "develop" as it applies the 3 colors from the ink cartridge, because it will slide partially out of the printer a few times as it processes. When it is done it will slide out onto the paper tray.
OTHER OPTIONS: There are other fun things you can do, like print multiple photos on 1 page in a variety of sizes, sharpen, brighten, etc.
SUMMARY: I think this printer is very cool...It's square & flat and looks so different from the printers I'm used to. It's pretty small & light, with a nice silver finish. The paper & ink are also a lot more expensive than getting prints from a photo lab - but remember, you are only printing the ones you want, so you're not paying for those "bad" photos you always get when you send your film in (right?). So if you like to be in control of your prints - this is a great printer.
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