Today's tech deal brings you word of an offer from Camera Phone Zone. These good folk are throwing in a half price compact photo printer with selected touch screen camera phones.

The photo printer itself comes in the form of the HP Photosmart A526, which produces 6 x 4 "high quality" borderless prints from a variety of memory cards, and has a 2.4-inch colour LCD screen.

This printer will be available for ?29.99 when bought with the following camera phones:

Samsung Genio Touch, 2-Megapixel: ?73.40 RRP

LG KS360, 2-Megapixel: ?73.40 RRP

Samsung Tocco Lite, 3-Megapixel: ?97.87 RRP

LG Viewty Lite Silver, 5-Megapixel: ?97.87 RRP

Follow the link to the Camera Phone Zone website for full details and we'll have another tech deal for you tomorrow.

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Tags: Phones Printers Photo printers HP HP Photosmart A526 Camera Phone Zone Daily Tech Deal

Daily Tech Deal: Half price HP photo printer at Camera Phone Zone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Sony has recently announced a new digital photo frame?with a built-in printer, but what does it actually look like in the flesh? Pocket-lint was on hand to snap a photo gallery when it made a quick pit-stop in New York.

The new?Sony digital S-Frame DPP-F700?is an all-in-one device that gets a 7-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution and can print 4 x 6-inch, 300 x 300 dpi photos in 45 seconds.

The idea is that you'll be able to print out a photo when you get the usual comment of "Oh I love this one, can I have a copy?"

You'll be able to edit the images in frame, meaning you won't have to worry about a PC, however the large form factor and ugly-looking paper tray means this is unlikely to find space on your mantle piece.

The DPP-F700 digital photo frame-printer will be available in the States for about $200 in January.

Tags: Cameras Sony Digital photo frames Printers Photo printers Sony S-Frame DPP-F700

PHOTOS: Sony S-Frame DPP-F700 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:07:28 +0000

Sony has announced the launch of a new multi-tasking digital photo frame - the S-Frame DPP-F700 - that offers a built-in photo printer.

The all-in-one device gets a 7-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution and can print 4 x 6-inch, 300 x 300 dpi photos in 45 seconds.

The frame allows the user to edit images before printing with options including enlarge, reduce, crop, date stamp on/off, border/borderless as well as brightness, contrast, hue, and sharpness adjustment.

Images can be transferred onto the frame via USB from a PC, with support for Sony's memory card formats as well as SD, MMC, Compact Flash and xD.

Complete with remote control, the DPP-F700 digital photo frame-printer will be available in the States for about $200 in January.

Related links:

• PHOTOS - Hands on photo gallery

Tags: Cameras Sony Digital photo frames Printers Photo printers Sony S-Frame DPP-F700

Sony digital S-Frame DPP-F700 offers built-in photo printer originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:29:18 +0100

According to HP Media Test Expert, Thom Brown, the cost of printing has come down 30% in the last three years. The average user will get through 3.8 ink cartridges each year which works out as a cost of $6 per month. It's a good way of rationalising it but 30% or no 30% it still feels like bill shock every time we have to we have to play the replacement game.? The real trouble is that few of us ever thinks of the purchase of a printer as a subscription or a model with significant running costs. So, for those who can't take the pain at the checkout, Pocket-lint went over to HP's ink factory in Dublin to find out exactly where all that money goes.

The process of printing is like dropping grapes into a bucket from the top of a 30 story building at speeds of 50km/h and at intervals of 30,000 times a second. We're asking those cartridges to make single dots on a page from 32 separate super-heated vapour explosions but yet be cool enough by the time they arrive to be dried and in good condition. And all of that through a nozzle just one third the breadth of a human hair. If the droplets are not the exact right shape, the lines on the documents on the photographs will become blurred and raggedy, the contrast poor and the images far from sharp. And if the results aren't good, then the consumer will blame the printer manufacturer, so it's small wonder that they put so much into the production of the cartridges.

There's a holy trinity of printing between the machine, the paper and the ink cartridge but out of them all it's arguably the cartridge that's the hardest working of them all. The ink comes into contact with both the machine side of things as well as the paper too. The paper itself is specialised to some degree with a choice between porous and swellable technologies - you can ask us about that one another time - but the cartridge has become such a piece of work that more often than not these days, it's even the place where you'll find the actually printing head which was previously always found in the machine.

The engineering and assembly that goes into each cartridge is certainly more than you'd expect especially when standing there with your bill shock face. As well as the tiny nozzle, each one contains a sponge and a filter as well as the ink. The sponge is there to ensure that every last drop of ink is soaked up from the cartridge container but is not so greedy that it starves the nozzle. The filter is 7 microns in size and is designed to block whatever impurities that may have got in there that could clog up the nozzle and ruin the drop flow.

The cartridges are filled in a vacuum to make sure they're up to the brim and, once done, the lids are placed on top and ultra-sonically vibrated against the main body until the two heat up and fuse together. The heads themselves are made from an incredibly thin film and held down by the inert and rather pricey metal Palladium to make sure that they're perfectly in place. Each cartridge also has its own unique ID chip to make sure it's gone through all the quality control and, if there is a problem, it can be traced back to a particular batch.

But of course, it's not just the plastics where all the money goes. A huge amount of the expense is concerned with the ink itself. Each new ink takes around 3-5 years to develop. The fluid dynamics are selecting for viscosity, anti-smudge factors, quick drying and colour permanence to last years of exposure to light. The droplets are examined under electron microscopy for size, shape and speed to make sure they'll give that perfect image reproduction when required.

It's small wonder that manufacturers like HP recommend using their ink cartridges and no one else's when it's time to change them over. Sure, a significant part of their business is the ink cartridge money spinner but it's easy to see how a refill of their specially engineered hardware could produce some very patchy results. The new ink is not going to have the same viscosity which will give a dramatically different performance but, more than anything else, the cartridges simply aren't designed to last for a second life cycle. Many of the parts such as the delicate filters and nozzles might well have worn out. HP describes refills like second hand cars. There's just no guarantee that they'll run properly.

Thankfully, you can buy into a printer type and system where new cartridges cost less. You can make the choice whether you'd rather spend more on the outlay or pay higher running costs but, for now at least, shelling out for new cartridges is a part of life. From an eco point of view, companies like HP are crying out for us to send back the empties so that they can recycle them. 70% of the new ones are made from the plastic of the old. But, until they run a decent incentive schemes to help with further ink purchases, it seems unlikely that many people will bother.

So, until then, you'll just have to remember these facts the next time your printer runs dry and it's time to stump up the cash again. You won't like it and it's still not cheap but at least you'll have a better idea of where the money is going.

Related links:

• Feature - How to buy the right printer for you
• Review - Dell 1320C printer review
• News - Polaroid re-launch announced

Tags: Hardware Printers HP Photo printers How to Features Ink cartridges

Why is printing so bloody expensive? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:08:40 +0100

Printers aren't the sexiest of gadgets. We know this. But the fact remains that more and more people are choosing to print out their digital photos as well as using the things for letters, contracts and other documents. So, if you want to know how to avoid the pricey ink trap and make sure you're getting the most beautiful snaps for your frames then read on.

Rule 1: Work out how much you'll use it

This is both the hardest thing to figure out and also the most important at the same time. In fact, if you get this bit sussed, you're pretty much home already. The trouble is that it's hard thing to estimate because it's not worth paying attention to while you do it. In fact, you're most likely only going find out the answer after it's too late and you've already made your purchase. So, as dull as it might sound, if you can have a good estimate at this now, it'll save you a fair bit of money and trouble in the long run.

Rule 2: Cheaper printers have more expensive ink

You might have only paid ?30 for the hardware in some sale or other but chances are that a cheap printer will cost you more in ink cartridges over time whereas replacements on a more expensive piece of kit will work out better as time goes on. So, based on the calculation of how many pages you think you'll be printing each month, you'll have some idea of how often you'll get through cartridges. Lots of brands these days say on the packaging just how many sheets they'd expect you to get out of them. Combine that with your printing frequency and you'll have some idea of how much you'd expect to pay in refills over each year. Factor in the initial cost of the machine and you'll see at what point it might be worth going for a higher spec printer.

Rule 3: How long do you intend to keep your printer for?

The majority of printers these days - certainly those towards the bottom end of the market - are actually quite future proof as far as performance goes. The reason is that most of the important technology is in the cartridges which house the print heads themselves. So, each time you change the ink, you're effectively buying whatever new printing upgrade the manufacturer has been working on even if your machine is three years out of date. The exception here is that some printers have permanent or semi-permanent heads - that is to say that to some degree the print head technology is in-built, so bear in mind that these other machines might not last quite so long. On the plus side, their ink replacement is considerably cheaper, so they're an excellent option for those who can't stomach the cartridge game.

Rule 4: Lasers are not necessarily the best

Most home user probably would opt for an ink jet anyway but even if you really want to spend some cash or you're a small business trying to make the right choice, don't just presume that you'll get more for your money with a laser printer. The major advantage of them is that they're fast but if you only print a couple of sheets at a time then remember that a laser printer will have to warm-up first before it goes into action. They've got significant;y quicker at this over the years but many ink jets will beat the less high tech laser models over a page or two. On the other hand, if you're going to be calling for 20 sheets at a time, then a laser's probably the right call.

Another issue is that lasers won't necessarily offer more accurate colours over all parts of the spectrum as a high end ink jet might. So, if printing photos is the reason for your purchase then make sure to read the reviews carefully if you really are sold on the idea of these bigger, faster machines. On the cartridge side, you won't have to shell out for a new one quite so often but you will be looking at a fair old wedge when you do. Quite a good compromise if you're unsure of which type to go for are often the prosumer type ink jet machines often referred to with names like office jet and such. They're generally quicker and more economic with the ink provided you use them on a regular basis.

Rule 5: Use the right refills

One option to make you're ongoing printer use cheaper is to go for non-brand printer cartridge replacements or even have your empties filled back up again. By all means give this a crack but bear in mind that you're rolling the dice here. A printer cartridge is a very fine tuned and specific piece of kit and only those produced by your hardware manufacturer are designed to get the best results from your machine. Some non-brand replacements are reliable but many aren't. Of 2,000 people surveyed by HP who had tried alternative cartridges, 50% of them said they were unsatisfied and wouldn't try it again. Now, it might be that the other 50% chose a better label but it could also be that pot luck.

The ones to be most careful of are the refill services. Ink cartridges contain quite a few subtle parts which will very often be worn out by the end of their natural cycles. Trying to squeeze a second batch of ink out them might well cause lower quality results, leaks or a total failure. Even if your refill or non-brand cartridge does print accurately, tests have also shown that most of them have ink with 50% less permanence than the ones specifically built for your machine. That is to say that their printed colours will fade far quicker over time.

Another thing to keep your eyes out for are extra large cartridges and printer packs. It's just a question of a buying in bulk mentality. These deals will offer you a lower cost per page but just make sure that you're going to use them up within the best before dates.

Rule 6: Use the right paper

There's a holy trinity of printing between the machine, the ink and the paper and if any one of them is out, there's a chance that you won't get good results. Fortunately you don't have to be quite as specific with paper as you do with the ink and there'll be a number of brands which your printer manufacturer recommends. Photo quality paper is the one to pay most attention to. If you are going to print your snaps, then you'll be peeved if they're anything less than what you can get down the shops so, it's not really a place to scrimp. That said, they often come in grades equivalent to “good”, “better” and “best” so try a few and see which reaches the right price/quality point for you. One piece of advice for all printing is to make sure that your paper is 80gsm thick or over – if you require your documents to have an aesthetic value, that is.

Rule 7: A printer is a subscription

Most dissatisfaction over printers is caused by the bill shock of the cartridges. The problem is that people just aren't in the right mind set when they buy them. You've got to see the purchase of a printer much like a mobile phone where there's an initial outlay to consider as well as an equal, if not more significant, running cost. Pick the subscription model that suits you the best. Are you happy paying little and often or would you prefer to shell out in bursts? You might consider a cheaper printer more like a 12 month contract where as a better model you'll need to keep for a longer period of time to really reap the economic benefits.

Rule 8: Do you need a printer at all?

Of course, the ultimate PAYG model is not to buy a printer at all. There's plenty of web services and high street shops which provide very reasonable and guaranteed quality photo printing services. Then you've no need to worry about an initial outlay or storing another piece of hardware at all. If you just need the odd document off the line, then there's almost an internet cafe on every corner that'll churn them out at 10p per sheet. In the long run, it'll probably work out more expensive but if you really don't need a printer that often, then it's probably best not to buy one at all.

Related links:

• News - Kodak ESP 3250 and 5250 printers unveiled
• News - Daily Tech Deal: Canon Selphy printer with Bluetooth adapter
• Buy - Help choosing a printer

Tags: Hardware Printers HP Photo printers How to Features Ink cartridges

How to buy the right printer for you originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:53:15 +0100

Twenty years ago you couldn't help but marvel at the site of a stadium twinkling with thousands upon thousands of camera flashes and wonder just how much money Kodak was raking in. This year the last roll of 35mm Kodachrome colour film will leave the production line, bringing to an end a great part of history. At the dawn of the digital age, Kodak saw 35mm film sales plummet from $15 billion to $200 million in under 5 years. If you haven't heard much from the tech giant in the interim, aside the odd photoframe, it's because it went from a consumer facing family name to a 70% B2B specialist at almost the click of a shutter.

A few years on and Kodak is on the march once more with its familiar gold logo appearing on our shelves on increasingly desirable products. 97% of cinema films are still printed on Kodak - for the time being, at least - but now half of the company's 19 lines are digital, including consumer photo printers and more recently the Kodak Zi8 - arguably the top pocket camcorder on the market today. What's more, even though time may have been unkind to film, the number of photos we're taking has hit astronomical figures and, as far as Kodak is concerned, there's a huge part to play in that. It may have been a while since consumers saw the brand on a daily basis but Kodak still has one thing that you simply can't buy. Trust.

This year has seen Kodak reach out even further to the public with a series of blogs, a Facebook app and an iPhone app that connects consumers directly to the Kodak Gallery, a user site for uploading images where they're safer and higher in resolution than any other such service on the net. The latest step from the company in its embrace of the digital age has been to conduct a survey of the birth of the digital family called The Future of Reconnectivity. Entitled both with the public's concern over our increasingly virtual lifestyles and as part of Kodak's fact finding for future product strategy, the report sampled 2,500 consumers from France, UK, Germany, Italy and the US and asked them just how they use photos in social networking and what they hold dear in their digital lives.

By far the most telling stats were those associated with Facebook. It turns out that people with more Facebook photos have more friends. Now, that could be that they have more photos because they have more friends who take more pictures of them in the first place. They also discovered that people who smiled more in photos had more friends too. Perhaps we all like to know happier people? But probably the one that's harder to explain is that those who post more videos have more people in their networks. The report describes these users as part of a growing "digital aristocracy" and, for those who simply must be a part of it, you can help yourself out with photo editing software that will automatically remove frowns from pictures and turn them into smiles. In reaction, you'll also find groups on Facebook for people who like images of sad and angry faces. Good for an amusing browse.
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In general, there were also patterns that emerged in what kinds of pictures were taken by different age groups. Those in their 20s predominantly took what the study referred to as "vertical photographs" - those in which the subjects were mainly on their feet. Probably something to do with youth and all that energy they have. By the 30s it was more what was described as "10 o'clock photos" where subjects were mostly sat down and largely more sedate. By our 40s, it's all about photos more for business and by 50s and 60s, it's all about family shots which seems to make sense.

The concern for Kodak more specifically is how to get the most out of our digital photo stock or how to bring out the "digital shoebox" as Kodak chief marketing officer Jeff Hayzlett puts it. On the virtual side of things, Kodak is looking at easier methods of sharing digital photos both across networks and anywhere in the home between photoframes that are yours and those perhaps at another family member's house hundreds of miles away. A large focus of the company's business now is, of course, home printing of shots but for those that wish to send their stills in the other direction, it's actually possible for to get metadata from scanned hard copy photographs. The paper on which Kodak prints were made contains all sorts of detail including when and where the printing was done. Very useful for mass digitisation and sorting.

There's clearly plenty of inroads for Kodak and enough faith from the general public in the name of the brand the world knows so well. The big question is whether or not the products and services can deliver as well as the competition. This time there's no relying on George Eastmen to invent the revolution. The technology is already there and Kodak has been behind the digital pack so far but with a combination of legacy and innovation anything is possible. What we can say for sure is that we'll be seeing more from the New York company in the consumer space to come but it's another thing altogether of how the B2B side of the business will cope as more and more cinemas go digital too.

Related links:

• News - WEBSITE OF THE DAY - Kodak Gallery
• Features - Five great rangefinder cameras

Tags: Cameras Camcorders Kodak Kodak Zi8 Printers Features Facebook Surveys

Is Kodak coming back? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:48:20 +0100

Summit Global, the licensee of the Polaroid brand, has officially announced the world re-launch of Polaroid, with both instant photography products and digital offerings due to be re-available.

The new Polaroid will manufacture a range of instant film products like the Polaroid 600 instant film, and also re-introduce a range of instant cameras including the "Polaroid One".

A great success for the Impossible Project, campaigners who worked hard to see instant film back to realistic prices, it's thought this move will bring Polaroid to a whole new audience, as well as appease retro-photography fans.

In addition to film-based efforts, Polaroid will also work on ZINK tech with ZINK Imaging, a team-up last seen in the Polaroid POGO instant digital printer.

Along those lines, there are also plans to market the digital Polaroid "Two"and plans have been revealed to produce a Polaroid "Three" - an instant digital camera that produces 4-inch by 3-inch instant digital photos.

Tags: Cameras Film cameras Polaroid Biz Printers Digital cameras Compact cameras Zink

Polaroid re-launch announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:18:03 +0100

For today's tech deal we have chosen the Canon Selphy CP710 printer, which is on sale at Ebuyer for ?26.07, saving you ?17.39 on its original ?43.46 price.

Being cited as the "perfect accessory" for a digital camera or Bluetooth mobile phone, this printer allows direct transfer of data from digital cameras with PictBridge or mobile phones via Bluetooth - since the printer comes with a free Bluetooth adapter - hence no PC required.

Other features include a 1.5-inch LCD screen and a 1-minute photo option that will dish out borderless post card prints in 60 seconds.

The link below will take you through to the Ebuyer site and we'll have another tech deal for you tomorrow.

Related links:

• Shop - Ebuyer.com

Tags: Printers Photo printers Canon Canon Selphy CP710 Daily Tech Deal Ebuyer

Daily Tech Deal: Canon Selphy printer with Bluetooth adapter originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100