Epson PictureMate 240 review

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Verdict:

The printer that thinks it's a coolbox. Low-cost compact that prints stunning photos.

Review Date: 20 Jun 2008

Price when reviewed: £70

Supplier: http://www.buyepson.co.uk

Reviewed By: Kat Orphanides

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

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Epson's PictureMate 240 is the bulkiest portable printer in this group, but the advantage is that it's sturdily built.

A plastic handle makes it easy to carry, and a folding lid protects the built-in 2.5 inch screen. It can print from memory cards and PictBridge cameras, but the best print quality can only be achieved if you print from your PC using an enhanced resolution option. The large chassis leaves plenty of room for an optional battery pack, which you can buy for around £31 if you want to print on the move.

The PictureMate 240 takes a single four-colour ink cartridge and, like most compact photo printers, only works with 6x4 inch photo paper. The screen and memory card slots allow you to view, print, and edit photos without a PC, although the editing options are limited to cropping, a handful of set colour adjustments, and some colourful frames and clip art.

Print speeds were fairly slow. Six 6x4 inch photos took 10 minutes and 22 seconds to appear at the printer's maximum native resolution, and over twice as long using the Windows driver's Enhance Fine Detail mode. But it was worth the wait. Standard print quality was excellent, with particularly good results on skin tones and our challenging low-contrast test photo. Enhanced prints looked even better, with exceptionally sharp detail. None of our prints suffered from grain or poorly gradated shading.

One of the most attractive things about this printer is its price. At £64 it's the cheapest compact printer here, and print costs are also good value if you buy Epson's £25 combined ink and paper pack. Our photos worked out at a reasonable 16.6p each.

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