Monday, March 3, 2014

Tools of the Trade Tuesday-Canon Selphy v. Epson PictureMate Charm

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

The pups are happy to have their mom back home! They haven't left my side since yesterday. The Giant sent me this pic while I was away on my retreat.  The hounds thought I was upstairs.  It pulled on the heartstrings...despite the fact that they look like demon dogs with their glowing eyes.


So, I have been wanting a portable photo printer for several months to take to crops and retreats. I feel like as soon as I get one, a newer, improved version will be available.  This is what I refer to as technology-induced anxiety. And lo' and behold, as soon as I began my research on the Canon and Epson printers, I found that a new Canon Selphy model had just been released in Jan.; the CP910, retail: $99.99. Epson also has a newer model of the PictureMate but it is out of my price range at $256 (B&H). I thought I would share some of my research with you in case you too are trying to decide on which portable photo printer to buy. Here is a quick and dirty run-down of each of the printers I'm looking at.


Selphy CP910
Price: $83.24 (B&H) B&H Canon Seplphy CP910
Print from a digital camera?: Yes
Wireless Connectivity: Yes
Print Sizes: 3.95 in x 5.83 in, 2.1 in x 3.4 in, 0.7 in x 0.9 in, 3.5 in x 4.7 in
LCD Screen-2.7"
Features: Borderless printing, red eye reduction, Image Optimizer, PictBridge Interface, Supports AirPrint, smaller print cartridges than its predecessor, optional rechargeable battery
Resolution: 300 x 300 dpi
USB port & SD Card slot
Dye-sublimation printer
Power Adapter
1.8 lbs.
Accessories: B&H-battery charger $65.99, battery pack $49.95, color ink & paper pack-$12.99
Review: PC Magazine PC Mag-Selphy CP910
Cost per print: .32 (based on retail price of ink)


Epson PictureMate Charm PM225
Price: Amazon has it for $172.99 and free shipping if you are a Prime member. B& H Photo, Video, & Pro Audio has it for $174.99 w/ free shipping. B & H Epson Picture Mate Charm
Print from a digital camera?: Yes
Wireless Connectivity: Yes with bluetooth adapter
Print Sizes: 4 x 6 only
SD Slot/USB
Features: PictBridge Interface, optional rechargeable battery, borderless printing
Resolution: 5760 x 1440 dpi
Can print on glossy or matte
7.9 lbs.
Accessories: bluetooth adapter ($38.99-B&H), rechargeable battery ($42.95-B&H), glossy print pack ($36.29 on sale-B&H)
Review: PC Magazine PC Mag-Charm
Price per print: .32 (based on retail price of ink)

It appears that the Epson PictureMate has more accessories to purchase to make it truly portable and the ink and paper cost more.  I also like that the Charm can print both glossy and matte photos (I prefer matte but have learned to live with glossy). The Selphy is very portable at only 1.8 lbs. and now has a rechargeable battery pack that wasn't available with the CP900. Both work without having to be hooked up to a computer because both have SD card slots. As far as resolution goes, the Charm wins but do I really need anything above 300 x 300 dpi for scrapbooking?

Decisions, decisions...

I am very interested in hearing about either of these two printers so if you have one, would you please let me know how you like it in the comments below?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds










3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this post. I have been on the fence with both these printers for a while now and just can't decide. I'm leaning twards the Picture Mate. I have heard through a tread on Scraptastic Club that the Picture make can print smaller that 4 x 6 with the help of an edditing app on your phone or program on your computer but that would mean you'd need to be by your computer to print which makes it less portable. I'm excited to see what your readers have to say. There is a thread on The Pocket Source talking about these printers if you wanna check that out. Thanx for your comparison of the two.

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  2. I have a CP Selphy 900 and I love it. The photos are somewhere between matt and glossy, they are a bit glossier than I'd prefer as I love matt photos. But it's okay and useable. The photos on this page: http://jennifergracecreates.com/time-to-cleanse-my-word-for-2014/ were both printed on my Selphy. I didn't buy it to be portable really, I just wanted to be able to print at home and our home printer was always giving streaks on my pictures. These ones always print well, except sometimes a bit dark so I've learnt to brighten them a bit before printing on the selphy. I use the PicFrame app on my phone to join photos together if I want more than one on a 4x6 piece. Overall I am really happy with it, it worked like I expected and now when I want to scrapbook something straight away I don;t hesitate to print it out! Hope that helps! x

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  3. Do you follow Kerri Bradford? She did a good comparison on these two printers in February. (Also, just check her out! She is an awesome designer!). Here is the link to the comparison blog post: http://www.kerribradford.com/2014/02/25/picturemate-charm-vs-selphy/

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