Portable Photo Printers and Everything You Need to Know about Them

06/30/2011 16:51

Portable photo printers: what are they and what benefits do you get from using them? Those who usually print with ordinary printers in their homes, offices, and businesses may not really value portable photo printers. But those individuals who value photo printing like photographers and photography enthusiasts give more importance to these printers because they can use them to print beautiful photo printouts anytime, anywhere. There are 6 important things that you need to know about these devices.

Portable photo printers come in two forms: inkjet or dye sublimation devices. Between the two, dye sublimation printers are more popularly used because they are lighter in weight and are easier to use without a computer. These dye sublimation printers have their own LCD displays as well as fully functional control panels which make them easy to use for direct photo printing. On the other hand, portable inkjet printers are better preferred by professionals because they can print up to legal size documents.

Dye sublimation printers are the most ideal photo printers. Dye sublimation is a method of photo printing that is exclusively used for that purpose, and the printers which make use of this mechanism can produce excellent quality photos despite their small size. That’s why professional photographers choose to use compact photo printers with dye sublimation whenever they are on the go.

These printers usually have direct photo printing functions. Bluetooth, infrared, memory card slots, PictBridge, and USB connectivity are some of the direct photo printing features incorporated in portable photo printers so that they can be operated even without computers, and they can also be compatible with digital cameras, memory cards, game consoles, mobile phones, smart phones, and tablet PCs.

Compact dye sublimation printers are capable of printing only up to 4’’ x 6’’ photos. They aren’t as versatile as inkjet models and they are also exclusively for photo printing because they dye panel inks are not ideal for text print production.

Portable inkjet printers are more flexible. Because they are able to produce up to legal size documents, these printers have more functionality than the dye sublimation ones. But these devices are more popular for professionals since they are preferably used for document printing.

The prices of portable photo printers can be quite costly. The highly detailed engineering and the sophisticated construction of these printers make them worthy of a higher cost. But despite their high prices, they are still considered as excellent investments since they can provide a lot of benefits which photographers and photography enthusiasts can really enjoy and make good use of.

Now that you understand these facts and information about portable photo printers, you will be better able to decide whether these types of printers are what you really are looking for or not. But for photographers and photography enthusiasts, having a portable photo printer is very important for them since these devices bring to life their interests and passion, and they can also serve as profitable devices for professional use.