Sony DPP-FP95 review

Although it has a similar clunky design to Agfaphoto's AP 2300, its clean lines and a gloss black finish at least help make Sony's DPP-FP95 look rather less dated.

The same is true of some of its features: the built-in HDMI port means you can look at photos in high-definition on a suitable display before deciding which ones to print. This could be quite handy if you're looking for a mini-photo printer because you don't have a computer, but it's not strictly necessary; the DPP-FP95 has a 3.6in flip-up colour screen that does a great job of previewing photos stored on the many memory card formats it accepts.

Working directly with photos stored on memory card is pretty painless, thanks to the speedy interface and simple control system. The printer's various functions are accessed through with a four-way control pad and a simple, icon-driven menu bar that pops up at the top of the display. Further options appear on an opaque panel, so the image you're working with never disappears from view.

As with Agfaphoto's AP 2300, paper is loaded into a cassette that clips into the front of the printer, and pages are fed through the rear as the DPP-FP95 makes each of its four dye-sublimation print passes. Loading the separate ribbon is simpler, though, as the spools are built into a cassette that simply clips into the side of the case.

As with all three dye-sublimation printers here, print quality was superb, but photos weren't quite as well saturated as those of Agfaphoto's AP 2300 or Canon's ES30. The DPP-FP95 also exhibited slight stepping on certain prints, though to a lesser degree than the ES30. However, you'll need a very sharp eye to spot it.

Unfortunately, at £184 Sony's DPP-FP95 is rather expensive; it's twice the price of HP's A636, in fact. At 18p per photo, prints aren't expensive, but you could buy an A636, print 400 photos and still spend less than £184. Unless you're desperate for an HDMI output or you'll be printing thousands of photos, there's no reason to spend this much money.