Canon Selphy CP710 review

If you want to print A4 photos at home, you're limited to an inkjet printer, but if you only need 6x4" prints you can choose between an inkjet or dye-sublimation device.

The CP710 is one of the latest models in Canon's Selphy range of compact photo printers, which comprises a mix of inkjet and dye-sublimation models.

The CP710 has three memory card slots and a colour screen, which can be used for making direct prints. The screen is small, but it provides enough detail so that you can choose which pictures you want to print. However, we'd recommend connecting it to a PC so that you can edit the photos, removing any blemishes or problems with the original shot.

It has a PictBridge port, and is the first printer we've seen with a captive USB cable, suitable for plugging directly into cameras with a USB Mini-B connector. This extends and retracts like a vacuum cleaner's power lead.

It's easy to set up the CP710. The printer's ink ribbon slots cleanly into a side compartment and the paper cassette clicks into the front. Canon sells ink and paper for the CP710 in 36- and 108-print packs, but the printer arrives with a cursory five sheets. The CP710 may have competitive running costs of 19.5p per print, but you'll need to buy a paper pack almost straight away.

Unlike other dye-sublimation printers we've tested, there's a choice of paper for the Selphy range. This includes credit card sized, label media and even a curious-sounding L-shaped pack. Most people will stick to the standard 6x4" photo paper, though. The rear of each sheet is marked out like a postcard and it can be used as one, provided you write the address in a spirit-based pen and remember to print the image the right way up.

The Selphy CP710 doesn't produce borderless prints, but the paper has perforated borders, which you remove after printing your pictures. While some paper we've seen ends up getting torn, Canon's stock is very good. The edges snap off cleanly and leave only a small white border that most people won't notice. If you're planning to frame your masterpieces this won't be a problem.

Dye-sublimation printers are normally quicker than photo inkjets, and print at their top quality without sacrificing speed. We tested the CP710 with our six standard 6x4" photographs, which it printed in seven minutes and 15 seconds. We repeated the test printing six photos directly from an SD card, which took just over eight-and-a-half minutes.

We were happy with the quality of our direct prints, which had natural colours and were free of the graininess we often see in the results from an inkjet. Photos were sharp and free of the colour bleeding that sometimes occurs between light and dark colours on a dye-sublimation print. Our PC prints were reasonable, but the Selphy struggled to reproduce a smooth blue gradient in the sky of one test shot.

As with other dye-subs, paper remains exposed during the CP710's print process and dust sometimes settles on it. This can cause odd-coloured blemishes where dye has been prevented from settling in a print pass. In all our prints, colours lacked vibrancy and dark shades were a little washed out, leading to a lack of contrast. The results from a good inkjet, such as Epson's Picturemate range, might have a little more grain, but they look better overall.