Canon Selphy CP400 review

Verdict:

The Selphy is a simple and swift printer that produces decent photos. While we prefer the PictureMate, this is a fine choice for anyone who needs the higher speed of a dye-sub.

Review Date: 22 Jun 2005

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Canon's CP400 is only about the size of a thick paperback book, but its long input tray means it occupies about twice the desk space.

Like the Dell and Kodak dye-sublimation printers, photo paper passes out of the rear during printing, so a further small area must be kept clear.

The CP400 has no memory card slots or preview screen, but it is the least expensive printer on test. Canon sells bundles of paper and ink cassettes in packs of 36 or 108 prints, but the Selphy arrives with a measly five. The postcard-sized media has perforated borders that snap off cleanly, while address lines on the back mean you can send them in the post. You need to use a marker pen to avoid smearing, though.

Direct printing support is limited to PictBridge cameras or devices that support Canon's own Direct Print standard. It's straightforward enough to connect a compatible device and make prints, but you have fewer advanced options than you get on a printer with card slots and a preview screen.

The CP400 was the second-fastest dye-sublimation printer in our tests and comfortably ahead of the fastest inkjet. Although it lagged behind the Dell, its colours were more accurate. Prints from the Selphy were much sharper and showed a greater degree of fine detail, with none of the colour ghosting we saw with the other dye-subs. However, its black-and-white printing was too dark and lacked sufficient contrast.

Using the larger supply packs, prints from the CP400 cost a little over 24p each. This makes it cheaper to run than every other printer here except the Epson PictureMate.

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