DemystifyingDigital is a feature written by Dan Havlik, editor of DemystifyingDigital.com
If you’re scrambling to buy a holiday gift for any of your friends with a digital camera, you can’t go wrong with a portable printer. While in the past these portables were long on cuteness but short on features and print quality, the latest models from Canon, HP, and Epson rival desktop inkjets of days gone by. Best of all for anyone who’s ever mumbled “How do I get my pictures out of my digital camera?” portable printers provide a fast and easy solution for making prints. A great stocking stuffer — provided, of course, that it’s an extra large stocking.
Canon Selphy ES2
We loves…LOVES…the compact photo printer category for how easy and convenient and absolutely cool these little devices are. One of the hottest new and easy portables is the Canon Selphy ES2 which may look like a lunch pail but can print 4×6-inch and 2×3-inch photos with the best of them.
The Selphy ES2 has an easy scroll wheel for selecting your shots and making adjustments on the printer’s tilting 3-inch LCD screen. The printer’s Easy Photo Pack system is a simple way to load paper and ink simultaneously with no mess or fuss.
$199
HP Photosmart A826 Home Photo Center
Part photo kiosk, part home printer, part mobile device, the HP Photosmart A826 Home Photo Center is the perfect family photo machine. With a giant 7-inch touch screen, the HP Photosmart A826 lets you get busy with your digital pictures including creating snazzy slide shows; adding fun frames; drawing or writing on your shots with a stylus or your finger; removing red-eye; slimming pudgy subjects, and tons of other features. This pod-shaped printer is also portable so carrying it from room to room — or house to house — won’t wear you out.
$199
Epson PictureMate Zoom
Epson practically invented the portable photo printer category with the original PictureMate back in 2004. And it’s newest flagship printer in the line — the Epson PictureMate Zoom — is their best models yet. First off, there’s the PictureMate Zoom’s excellent print quality which is the best of the bunch. Add in a generous 3.6-inch LCD screen, a built-in CD burner for archiving your shots, and a range of special printing features including sepia, B&W and wallet size photos, and you’ve got a dynamite little machine. Best of all if you’re in a hurry, this printer is fast — with 4×6 print times as quick as 37 seconds.
$199