It wouldn’t be too far from the truth if we were to assume that you belong to one of the growing legions of photographers who use either their cell phone or digital camera to capture photos and then forget about them.

Chances are also high that you often leave the photos lying somewhere on your computer and even the good ones never see the insides of a printer! And it’s understandable too. Who, after all, has the time to go to a photo printing shop and get prints? There’s another option now that is online printing and while it does offer a good avenue to get all those photos printed, it can still be somewhat cumbersome.

If, however, you are one of those avid photographers who love to print and share as opposed to sharing over email, Facebook or other such avenues, here’s a handy, portable and really good option. The Epson PictureMate PM270 is a cute square box sitting on top of your desk that can churn out prints at your command. And honestly, while we weren’t exactly left open-mouthed at the results, they are far better than what one anticipated.

Installation

Out of the box, the PM270 is all-inclusive. The printer, power cord, USB connection and a printer cassette mean that you’re good to go. Interestingly, after you first insert the cassette (in the back of the printer), there’s a good three-and-a-half minute wait while it charges and you can begin the installation. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen with subsequent power-ups and you’re good to go immediately.

While technology has progressed this far, there’s still no getting around ‘installation’ of software, drivers and a good 15 minutes hitting “Next”, “Agree” and “Quit”! That’s the installation procedure. The PM270, though, also prints photos directly from your memory cards or cell phones and saves you the setup trouble. Nifty!

Printing

Once you’re done with the mumbo-jumbo of the installation, there really isn’t anything else to do but print. The PM270 includes about 20 4x6” pre-cut papers that you can place and start printing. We did experience a paper jam first up but when we placed the papers in individually, it worked just fine.

Printing from a computer through USB is a charm. Just put in the settings and we recommend you stick to borderless printing to get your photos. The quality, like we said, won’t leave you awestruck, but it isn’t the worst either. Detail was good as was the colour saturation, but sharpness in some cases was found wanting. Ditto for shadow areas. Highlights were well formed in most photos, but the darker areas did suffer. And no amount of re-touching seemed to change the outcome.

Printing without a computer

As mentioned, the true appeal of this printer lies in its DPOF (Direct Print Order Format) or Bluetooth capabilities. The DPOF component allows you to connect your camera directly to the printer. This is managed by the USB port at the back. So instead of connecting a camera to the computer, you just hook it up to the PM270. And it will show you the photos in the device to let you choose and start printing. There is also basic re-touching you can do thanks to the 3.6-inch LCD screen on top of the printer. Once loaded with paper, the top lid can be closed and a window provided on top can be used to view the LCD and progress of your prints. The buttons on the top of the printer are simple and allow for foolproof navigation and printing.

A printer of this sort is well suited for someone who loves to shoot and sample their photos before going in for a professional output. At approximately Rs 11,500, it isn’t the cheapest around, but it’s still a darn good quick-look solution. Photographers (amateur and professional) will love the speed and the opportunity of making quick prints. Hobbyists or occasional photographers will love the portability and the ease of use it offers. The portability cannot be emphasized enough. Just close all lids and you can carry it around like a lunch box… be a bit more careful with this, though!

The supplied cartridge is good enough for about 120 prints in the average settings and there is an ‘enhanced’ setting that gives out more detail in a photo but also takes longer (almost twice as long) to print and user a lot more ink.

One of the biggest limitations of this printer is the paper size. Nothing larger than a 4x6” photo can be printed. So if your need is framing or gifting photos or making larger than average prints, this isn’t for you.

Ratings:
Design: 4/5
Ease of use: 4/5
Interface: 3.5/5
Printing Speed: 4/5
Print Quality: 3/5
Value for Money: 3.5/5