Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Epson PictureMate Dash Review
Posted by Chris Baxter in "HARDWARE" @ 08:00 AM
Product Category: Portable Photo Printer
Manufacturer: Epson
Where to Buy: Amazon.com [Affiliate]
Price: $99.99 USD
System Requirements: If connected to a computer the Dash requires 256MB of RAM, 300MB of hard disk space, and a USB port. The included software supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and MAC OS 10.2.8 or greater.
Specifications: Size: W:9.1" D:6.5" H:9.9", Size when printing: W:9.1" D:13.6" H:10.5", Weight: 5.3 lbs.
Pros:
Cons:
Summary:
The Holidays are here and that means pictures - lots and lots of pictures. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to make prints of some of the pictures on the spot so you could hand them out to loved ones? Also, wouldn’t it be nice to easily make 4"x6" prints of the family picture that you want to send out with the Christmas cards without a bunch of hassle? Well if these scenarios appeal to you then Epson has a printer you might want to check out. The Epson PictureMate Dash is a small, lightweight photo printer that you can take anywhere and does not need to be attached to a PC to print your pictures. It even has the ability to perform simple edits and enhancements to your pictures on the fly. Impressed? I was when I read the list of what all this little printer is capable of. Did I remain impressed?
Read on for the full review!
This, That, and the Other Thing
At first glance the Epson PictureMate Dash looks like a small plastic box with a handle. In a world of hi-tech gadgetry and futuristic designs, the Dash is not an impressive looking device, but let’s be real here, it’s a printer, and who buys a printer based on its looks? Weighing in it at 5 lbs., about half the weight of a standard ink jet printer, the Dash is a little heavier than I would have expected for something as small as it is. But when you pick it up by its handle the weight is hardly noticeable. In fact here is where that box-like design really shines, the weight is so well distributed along the handle that carrying it is like a second thought. The design really lends itself to portability.
Figure 1: The Epson PictureMate Dash - A box with a handle that turns into a printer.
The Epson PictureMate Dash comes with the following included in the box:
What's this? It comes with a CD-ROM that includes printer drivers and bonus photo software? Isn’t one of the points of this printer to not be attached to a computer? While the Dash can operate without the use of a computer, it can still be attached to one via USB cable. The reason for doing this would be to take advantage of the more powerful imaging software that a PC can run.
The “Quick Start” poster is nothing new, seems like everything comes with them these days.
Remember the good old days when anything you bought came with a nicely printed and important looking manual? Well those days are long past. For most products these days you have to either look to an included CD-ROM for the manual or download it off of the manufacturer’s website. Don’t get me wrong, I can understand the reasoning, it saves money and trees not to print manuals for products, but I still miss the thrill of knowing that I bought something complex and cool because it has a big manual. Instead of the big manual, which can be found on Epson’s website by the way, you get a small booklet entitled “Basics”. In all fairness for not being a big full blown manual, the Basics booklet does cover most things you would want to do with the printer, which is impressive given that this is actually a booklet instead of a book.
Epson also throws in 20 sheets of Photo Paper and a Photo cartridge that is good for about twenty prints. Twenty prints seems kind of useless to me when you consider that you can waste them all just learning how to use the printer. I think it would have been nice for Epson to have thrown in a full Print Pack to get people started.
