Canon Selphy CP740 review

Most current inkjetS print photos very well, but you either have to cut them out yourself or fiddle around to match the dimensions of pre-cut paper.

An easier way to make your digital snaps physical is to use a compact photo printer. The Selphy CP740 prints onto various sizes of photo paper, from 6x4-inch postcards to widescreen panoramas.

The CP740 is certainly compact, but you'll need some room on your desk, as the paper tray stretches six inches in front. There are several input options. You can print from your PC via USB; insert a Memory Stick, Compact Flash or SD card into the front of the printer; or plug your PictBridge or Direct Print-compatible camera into the printer's USB port. The memory slots will only accept cards formatted in a digital camera, so you can't save your photos to your PC's card reader and expect them to print. For direct printing, camera images must also be in JPEG format.

The 2-inch screen shows a preview of any photos on your memory card, so you can scroll through and press Print when you find the one you want. If you've plugged your camera into the printer, you choose your photos on the camera's screen. It's just as easy to print from a PC. The Selphy comes with a simple program which displays images, lets you adjust orientation, brightness, contrast and hue (colour), reduce red eye, then print. This program only accepts JPEGs, but you can print any image from your favourite PC software and make the same adjustments in the print options.

Print quality was generally good. The relatively low resolution of dye sub printers doesn't compare directly with inkjets - 300dpi is all you need. Photos were slightly dark at the default settings, but with good contrast and vibrant colours. The printer had some trouble with subtle variations in tone, though, giving a few strange smearing effects. The supplied starter cartridge gives you a measly five prints, but a 108-picture pack of ink and photo paper costs £23 from www.999inks.co.uk. This works out at 22p per print, which is a lot more than you'd pay to get prints from a photo service, but good value for a photo printer, which gives you the convenience of instant results.

Author: Chris Finnamore