Why is a Photo Printer Different to a Normal Printer?

Every printer that you see in computer stores should be capable of printing photographs and other forms of graphics as long as the printer is identified as a colour printer. These colour printers can accept coloured ink cartridges and toners. As long as these cartridges contain cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink, it is possible to for print outputs to closely match whatever that needs to be printed on the screen. But the actual quality of the printer varies and that explains the different price points. The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer is one of the less expensive printers but it refers itself as a photo printer. This is something worth noting if you want to buy a coloured printer because printers like The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer have some distinguishing features that make it different than a standard colour printer.

Media Handling

Just by looking at The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer, you can conclude that the printer is small enough to print standard 4x6-inch photographs. It is basically the type of printer for processing photographs that you take with a digital camera so you won't have to take it to some professional outlet just to get quality prints.

Ease of Use

While getting a standard coloured printer is nice if you want to print images on larger media, getting a photo on a 4x6-inch photo paper requires a bit of work. You have to adjust some settings and make sure you feed the photo paper correctly or else you might waste it. Printers like The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer are all about making it easy to have long-lasting photographs and it doesn't require all of those complicated settings. It has a USB port so it can connect to Canon cameras or other cameras with PictBridge support so you can print photos without using a computer. A memory card slot is provided if a direct connection to the camera doesn't work. You can also copy photos to a USB flash drive and plug it in the USB port. This allows all types of people to conveniently print their digital photos without assistance.

Photo-focused Features

The main focus of photo printers is to get fine looking outputs that are close to photos taken by a film camera. But when it comes to digital cameras, the quality of the image doesn't just depend on the printer but it depends on the camera that took the photo as well. Some of the older digital cameras may be able to capture good moments but the colours might be off and the presence of red-eye can be unsettling. The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer features a few basic functions that improve the look of the photo before it is printed. This includes auto image optimizations and skin improvements. If 4x6-inch photographs aren't your preferable size, you can also print smaller stickers if you have the paper or go for ID print layouts straight from the printer.

Printers like The Canon SELPHY CP800 Dye-Sub Photo Printer offer better photo quality than some of the bigger models but the price manages to go under €119 because of its limitations outside photographs making this a good separate device for doing the job nicely.

About the Author

Vincent Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For a wide range of printers and products by brand, he recommends Printware Ltd, a leading provider of Photo Printers.