Labs

Sony's DPP-FP70 is an affordable dye-sub printer with plenty of features. Memory card slots, a PictBridge port and a selection of image-editing tools make it a versatile choice for direct printing. The printer was incredibly easy to use, whether printing directly from a memory card or from a PC. Its Windows driver was easy to install, although the printer didn't appear in our print options until we connected it for the first time after installation.

Its direct printing interface is excellent, and it supports SD, CompactFlash and Memory Stick Pro and Duo formats. XD cards aren't supported, which is a shame as they're common in Olympus and Fujifilm cameras. A well-designed menu system provides

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access to some creative printing options, letting you alter the colour balance, create personalised calendars and superimpose images on top of one another.

The DPP-FP70 is very portable, with a plastic handle that makes it look like an old transistor radio. No battery is available, so you're dependent on mains power, which limits your options if you want to use it when you're out and about. The 2.5in screen is clear and bright, although some of the creative printing options would benefit from a larger display.

The printer was the second-fastest in the group, taking five minutes and 17 seconds to print six photos. We were generally happy with the quality of our prints, which accurately reproduced pale colours and flesh tones. Brighter shades didn't look entirely natural, but we liked their vivid appearance. Although they suffered from an indigo tint, black tones and colours in shady areas were more vibrant than those produced by most dye-sub printers here, although the grey and brown tones in our low-contrast test image still looked rather flat.

The DPP-FP70 is a great choice for photos that stand up to close examination. However, we prefer Sony's DPP-FP90 for its larger screen size, and the FP70's overall print quality wasn't quite up to that of the best inkjets.