Tiny Printer needed

[jpb]

<p >I’m conceptualizing a street portrait project and would like the ability to print 4x6s for participants, on the spot. I need a very portable 4x6 or 5x7 printer that will give me decent results.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I envision the giveaways coming straight out of the camera (or off the card) and printed prior to any retouching that might happen later, but I’d like the print quality to be reasonable good. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Can anyone recommend a well performing portable 4x6 printer in the lower price points? I’m aware that the price of the printer can easily be overwhelmed with the consumables (ink and paper), so I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest printer, but am seeking the best long term value.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I went to Staples today and they only had one. The HP A-536 (very inexpensive: 50.00). Anyone have experience with this? I haven’t seen sample prints and also have nothing to compare it to, so can anyone tell me where this model falls in terms of the quality available on the market?</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I’m not looking for a full scale dye-sub printer… this’d be used out on the street in an urban environment.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Thanks,</p>

<p >james</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Canon makes several small dye-sub printers, one of which is battery operated (about $250). They make very good 4x6 prints (comparable to lab prints) for about $.20 a copy, in about a minute. There's no ink to dry out or spill and the prints are durable and nearly waterproof.</p>

[blueviews]

<p>The Selphy printers from Canon are the way to go. Great output, comparable to lab prints. The 20 cents/copy is a bit of a stretch, 36 sheets with ink is $11 plus shipping from B&H so more like 35 cents each. The printers are about $75 but really work well. We use them to make UW photo prints right after a dive, right out of the camera.<br>

Bill</p>

[colin turner]

<p>I second that. I keep a Selphy 510 battery driven printer in my pocket on difficult location shoots - works well as a Polaroid substitute with dyslexic art directors.</p>

[steven_clark]

<p>Epson makes the Picturemate line. Last one I ever played with was the first one, and that was a little cranky.</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>How's the color matching on those Canon Selphy's?</p>

<p>They sound like a very cool and convenient way to proof. Glad I saw this thread. I never heard of such devices.</p>

[jpb]

<p>This is all great info, just what I was looking for. Thanks so much!<br />james</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>Well I'll be darn. Photo.net's Bob Atkins did a review of the Canon Selphy here:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/cp510_710/</p>

[twmeyer]

<p>I have been using HP Photosmart printers for on site printing for about 5 or 6 years. The 300 and 400 series, now discontinued. You can still get them, new in the box on <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Hewlett-Packard-Photosmart-375-InkJet-Printer_W0QQitemZ230423539592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCOMP_Printers?hash=item35a6502f88">ebay</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/PhotoSmart-375-Compact-Photo-Printer/dp/B0002MK9X4">amazon</a> for about $30-40. They are very tough, take a battery (still available) and use Vivera inks that, when used on their Premium Paper, yields prints that Henry Wilhelm rates at over 100 years. I've got 20 of them... t</p>

<p> </p>