Product Reviews

Described by Epson as a "personal photo lab", the PictureMate is its first entry into the dedicated 6x4" photo printer market, where it competes directly with Canon's CP-200 and the Hewlett-Packard Photosmart 245. Approximately the size of a loaf of bread, it resembles a portable stereo without speakers, but misses nothing in terms of photo functionality. Prints can be sent from a connected PC or PictBridge camera, or made directly from almost any memory card via a simple index printing system. An optional £59 adaptor allows communication with camera-equipped Bluetooth devices.

Prints made using the default settings are disappointing,

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with some fine banding and visible dithering in lighter areas. However, if you select 'Enhance fine detail' it's a different story. Print times double from 140 seconds per borderless sheet to nearly five minutes, but the resulting quality leap is dramatic. Banding is eliminated and only close examination reveals the prints' inkjet origin. Colour reproduction was excellent across our tests, with lifelike skin tones and vivid saturated hues. Greyscale prints are equally impressive, but only with the driver set to black and white.

Print quality isn't perfect, though. There's a slight lack of definition that softens high contrast areas. It can enhance some subjects, but most suffer slightly.

The PictureMate uses the PicturePack consumable set, which bundles 100 sheets of Epson's 10x15cm glossy photo paper with a six-ink cartridge of sufficient capacity to print on them all. Running costs work out at 29p per print which is significantly cheaper than the competition, and not much more expensive than the high street photo labs from which Epson is trying to tempt digital photographers. The PictureMate's best print quality isn't far removed either; it's just a shame that for 36 prints it offers only a three-hour service.