[MW Forums]

Though the mini320’s prints are attractive and the scroll-wheel interface is fun to use, the printer isn’t a very wise investment given its increased cost per print. Pitted against the PictureMate Zoom, which prints superior photos at faster speeds for a cheaper price per print, the mini320 almost doesn’t stand a chance. more

[ajhoughton]

One thing worth noting in the compact photo printer market is that there are two quite different printing technologies on offer. Canon's Pixma range, like most of the offerings from other manufacturers, are inkjets, whereas some models in the Selphy range use dye sublimation.
I always wish that reviewers would make this point when comparing devices, as it does have some impact both on image quality and on what you can use the final result for. With inkjets, typically the image is produced by dithering droplets of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink (modern inkjets typically have "photo" versions of some colours as well to help achieve a wider gamut and therefore better colour reproduction).
Dye-sub printers, on the other hand, produce their image by causing special ink to sublime into the surface of the paper. The advantage of this technology is that colours are not produced by dithering, and in fact the coloured dyes mix together in the paper so that each pixel of the final image is of a discrete colour. As a result, to achieve equivalent image quality a much lower pixel resolution is required.
The difference is often visible close-up or through a magnifying lens, but it can be substantially exaggerated by photocopying and/or scanning as these processes often result in visible moire patterns when using source material printed by an inkjet (this is similar to the effect you get by scanning material from a magazine, though inkjets normally use dithering rather than halftone screens). And this has an impact on what you can use your prints for. Prints from an inkjet are generally not acceptable as sources for passport or security card photographs, for instance, whereas prints from a dye-sub printer are more likely to be allowed.
The downside of dye-sub is that prints are usually more expensive.

[BrianChen]

You spoke too soon /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif We're running a compact photo printer round-up in our February issue, which includes an entire sidebar explaining dye-sublimation printing versus ink-jet printing. Also, an individual review on a Canon Selphy dye-sub printer will be appearing on the Web site very soon.

[migl]

Just an FYI, my wife found slowing down the printing rate and using Canon paper eliminated the traces caused by the rollers. It's a work-around, but it does work on hers. Worth trying if you still have the printer.

[exnihilo]

Speaking for myself, I've found that it's not worth it for me to buy a photo-only printer. I always just got to CostCo or Walmart and print the individual photos that I want there. The cost per page is almost always lower tham these printers, and I don't have to pay for the printer/ink/paper directly. Considering the ubiquitosness (sp?) of photo printing services, convenience isn't a selling point for me either.

[lotus]

what about nudie pics? :p