The Canon PIXMA MP640 is a photo-oriented inkjet MFP that prints, scans and copies. It features auto-duplexing to help you save paper, PC-free photo printing connectivity via memory card, PictBridge and IrDA devices, and a 3” color LCD preview screen. Add in Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and the ability to print straight from your iPhone or iPod Touch through the Easy-PhotoPrint app, and you have a printer with the ability to do almost everything you expect from a home photo MFP, at least on paper. But what happens when you actually turn it on and test it out? A couple of web experts have spoken, and they give the PIXMA MP640 a solid endorsement.

Sarah Meyer of PrinterComparison.com likes the PIXMA MP640’s easy setup, easy to use software and navigation, and lab quality photos. Print speed is reasonable, although Meyer reports delays of up to 20 seconds when you print bigger files and documents. She also found that after repeatedly printing monochrome text and color pages at a ratio of 3:1, the PGI-220 black and CLI-221 magenta ink cartridges ran out after around 386 pages (reported yields are 600 pages for the PGI-220, and 448 for the CLI-221 color cartridges). That said, you can keep printing even after a cartridge runs out. Overall, while Meyer wouldn’t recommend the PIXMA MP640 for a professional office, she considers it a good fit for home users and students.

Mike Pasini of Imaging-Resource.com likes the fact that with the PIXMA MP640, you can preview copies on the LCD screen before you print them out. Print quality for photos and text is excellent, the auto-duplexer works well, and the printer is easy to set up and use. Pasini would’ve preferred a touchscreen to the somewhat imprecise navigation wheel on the control panel, and he recommends not editing your photos on the LCD screen because the colors don’t accurately match the eventual output. But despite the flaws, Pasini gives the PIXMA MP640 “prolonged applause” for its impressive mix of photo-friendly and office-friendly features.

The $300 Epson PictureMate Show – PM 300 is a photo-only printer that features a built-in 7” digital photo frame for displaying and previewing images. In addition, the printer comes with its own remote control, and you can plug in a memory card or PictBridge/USB Direct Print digital camera for PC-free photo printing. But is the PictureMate Show as fun and interesting in practice as it is in theory for avid photo hobbyists? A couple of online reviews are in, and the feedback is positive.

M. David Stone of PCMag.com gives the PictureMate Show a very good 4 out of 5. Before getting to the positives, he does bring up an interesting point – while the product is apparently marketed as a “2-in-1” digital photo frame slash photo printer, Stone sees it as “much more a printer with a big LCD preview screen attached.” Regarding the size of the printer itself, he adds that “the Show is so big that no one I asked would even consider using it as a [desk or tabletop] digital picture frame…” But outside of the interesting marketing strategy, Stone likes the PC-free photo printing connectivity, 270 MB internal memory for photo storage, easy setup, generous 1 year warranty, fast print speed, and excellent photo quality. Also, cost per photo is 25.3 cents, which is relatively low for a photo printer. He does warn that there are no buttons on the printer, so you can only operate it with the remote control. Overall, while Stone notes that it’s easy to dismiss the PictureMate Show as more style than substance, the printer gets the job done where it really counts – functionality and performance.

Peter Piazza of About.com gives the PictureMate Show a solid 3.5 stars out of 5. He agrees with Stone that the “photo frame” is really just a big, “strangely low-res [preview] screen,” and the dependency on the remote control can be frustrating. On the flipside, Piazza really likes the color and sharpness of photo prints, describing them as “lab quality” multiple times in the review. Memory card and PictBridge connectivity are convenient features for those who don’t like being tied down to a PC. In the end, Piazza essentially says that while the PictureMate Show is imperfect when it comes to its photo frame and certain minor quirks, it’s perfectly capable of serving as your go-to home photo lab.

The $100 Lexmark Impact S305 is a budget-friendly inkjet all-in-one that prints, scans and copies. You also get Wi-Fi for tangle-free sharing in a small workgroup, as well as PC-free photo printing via memory card and PictBridge. It lacks the big color LCD and PC-free web connectivity of some of its bigger siblings, but the web experts have spoken, and they seem to appreciate the value that the Impact S305 brings to the table.

Justin Yu of CNET gives the Impact S305 an impressive 4 stars out of 5. According to the review, the printer “laid down total domination in the race for print speed” and print quality for text and photos was very good. Yu also likes the easy Wi-Fi setup, memory card and PictBridge connectivity, and the useful software and programs that come with the printer. Overall, the review concludes that the Impact S305 packs plenty of punch for the price.

TechreviewSource.com also gives the Impact S305 4 stars out of 5. Just like Yu, the review appreciates the fast print speed, high quality output, and Wi-Fi. Memory card connectivity is another benefit, especially considering the affordable MSRP. The small LCD is hard to read at times, and the lack of an auto-duplexer or ADF reminds you that this is a printer intended for more budget-minded home and small office users.

Finally, Jonathan Rougeot of ComputerShopper.com gives the Impact S305 a solid 7.4 out of 10. Like the previous two reviews, he likes the high print quality and fast print speeds, although copy and scan speeds are a little less impressive. Rougeot agrees that the lack of an ADF or auto-duplexer limits the appeal outside of the home office market, but if you’re not asking for too much, the Impact S305 will give you more than enough of what you need.

Printers that are capable of making 3D objects have been around for awhile, albeit at prices that your average consumer can’t afford. But apparently HP has seen the future, and now they’ll be the first big-name printer maker to release their own 3D printer later this year. Actually, the company will be lending its name to a machine manufactured by Stratasys, which makes the uPrint 3D printer that Jay Leno uses. No word on pricing for the HP printer, but the uPrint goes for $15,000.

What’s interesting to me is that HP isn’t actually manufacturing the printers. It’s not a bad arrangement when you think about it – Stratasys is a relatively unknown company that can benefit from the “sales and distribution” expertise and resources of a big brand name, and HP can save its R&D dollars while getting a feel for the 3D printing market. Whether or not the new printer is an improvement on previous models in terms of price and functionality, the fact that HP is getting in on the 3D printing revolution proves that this is an emerging field worth watching in the years to come.

(Story via CNET; Photo via Morguefile)

There’s an interesting article in the LA Times about how consumer advocates and regulators are pushing for stricter reporting of how much ink is in a cartridge. The main issue seems to be that people don’t trust the page yields often reported in place of ink weight or volume. Page yield testing can be done in all kinds of ways with all kinds of output that use different amounts of ink, and printer companies aren’t exactly an open book on where their numbers come from. The growing outrage is understandable, considering how printer ink costs can really add up over the long-term. As we’ve mentioned before, ink companies are aware of this, and they’ve taken steps to make testing standards and reporting of page yields as uniform as possible. But it doesn’t seem to be enough for the critics, and many of them are gathering at the annual meeting of the National Conference On Weights and Measures in Nashville (January 23-27) to put pressure on the printing industry for better information on cartridge yields.

Personally, I agree that cartridge yield reporting could use some improvement, although I’ve seen volume reported in milliliters for OEM cartridges and compatible cartridges. The real issue for me is that everyone prints different kinds of output, but it seems that no one has an easy way to keep track of how much ink and paper they’ve used. So I have an idea – why not invent a device that measures weight and volume of ink used, as well as number of pages printed, for single print jobs and over extended periods. You could attach it to your printer, and it could give you a personal and customized snapshot of how much you print and how fast you go through your cartridges. As a result, you can make more informed decisions when you shop for printer consumables. Maybe there are engineering issues I don’t know about, or maybe the technology already exists, but it seems like a reasonable solution for people and businesses that print a consistent amount of output over extended periods.

Until consumers feel more comfortable about the information they get from printer companies, they may want to stock up on compatible cartridges for a fuss-free way to save money. Cartridge makers certainly know that their customers want complete information on how much ink is in every cartridge. The big question is whether or not the industry will give the public what they want, when they want it.

(Photo via Morguefile)

Following in the recent footsteps of HP and Gwen Stefani, pop superstar Lady Gaga has signed a multi-year deal to become a “creative director” for a new line of Polaroid imaging products. In the official press release, Gaga says she is “proud to announce [her] new partnership with Polaroid as the creative director and inventor of specialty projects,” and is “excited to extend [her]self behind the scenes as a designer.” According to a story in the New York Post, Polaroid VP Jon Pollock says Gaga will be “coming in a couple times a month at a minimum.”

The new face of Polaroid made an appearance at CES 2010, along with a few new products scheduled for release later on this year. Besides the PIC 1000, which is a redesign of the classic instant camera, Polaroid introduced two new printers that don’t use ink: the 3”x4” Instant Digital Camera with built-in Printer, and 3”x4” Instant Mobile Printer (if you already have a camera). Both products can print 3”x4” photos by heating the color crystals already embedded in the special ZINK paper. Not as big as the 4”x6” prints that the Pandigital ZINK Printer can roll out, but definitely an improvement over the 2”x3” photos produced by the currently available Polaroid PoGo Camera with Printer and PoGo Photo Printer.

Personally, I’m skeptical about Lady Gaga’s potential impact on the success of the new product line. We’ve talked about name dropping and endorsements in the past, and I still believe that the face of your campaign has to have at least something in common with the product. Michael Jordan endorsing basketball shoes makes sense to me because if a tool of the trade is endorsed by a master of the trade, a customer can make the connection and assume it’s worth buying. In this case, a pop singer with distinctive fashion sense endorsing a lineup of cameras and other related products seems like a bit of a stretch, although she’s apparently been a Polaroid fan and user for awhile now. But even if consumers can make the connection, considering the rapid turnover on the pop music charts these days, can we even assume Lady Gaga will have the same appeal when these products come out later on in the year? Perhaps the toughest job in marketing is turning a product that consumers don’t need into something they just have to have. To that end, it’ll be interesting to see if the marriage between Lady Gaga and Polaroid is a match made in heaven, or a bad romance.

(Story via PrinterComparison.com)