Best Photo Printers Under $300 (2008)

Hi Everyone,

I've been in the market for photo printers for about half a year now. I am constantly looking for new photo printers that can help me make quick prints of my photos so i can hand them out to my friends and family. These photos may include events from my cousin's wedding, my brother's graduation and my own birthday party.

There are Five key factors that i look for in a photo printer.

These are:

1. Image Quality
2. Performance
3. Interface (ease of use)
4. Image Editing
5. Overall printer design

Thoughout my research, I've discovered 4 great printers that are outstanding in performance and quality. I've listed these printers below.

The Canon Selphy CP740 is a Dye Sublimation printer that uses heat to transfer images onto photopaper. (It is actually one of few Dye Sublimation printers still available on the market)

Image Quality - This printer uses yellow, cyan and magenta to simulate black. The good side to this is that the photos will look more realistic and natural. This is due to the printing process not leaving behind any ink dots. However a disadvantage to this is that since black ink is not present, photos develop a flat appearance.

Performance - This Printer can print a photo in 1 min and 15 seconds

Interface - Very Simple and small interface. You can choose to print dates, borders, remove red eyes and even select a larger view with only a push of a button.

Image Editing - This printer's only ability to edit images is to remove red eyes, giving it a thumbs down for this category

Printer Design - The CP740 includes a handly retractable USB cable. The memory card slots are unprotected and the printer lacks a flip-up LCD display. Loading paper is also a hassle as one needs to open the paper tray at an angle in order to load paper into the paper feeder.

Image Quality - The details and shadows on photos printed are very impressive. However, the downside to this printer is that the three-in-one ink jet cartridge that it uses does not contain any black ink! This limits the ability for this photo to print in black and white.

Performance - This printer can print a photo in 1 min and 17 seconds

Interface - The interface is a bit complex. There is a scroll wheel for navigation. The layout of the menu items are confusing and misleading. There is also no option for previewing edited photos before printing.

Image Editing - Some features include color-tweaking, cropping and image edits.

Printer Design - The Memory Card slots are unprotected. This printer has a retractable carrying handle. Foldable covers are used to protect the control panel.

Image Quality - The Photosmart A626 produce photos that are attractive and impressive. The only flaw to this tri-color ink cartridge printer is that the image appear darker than they should be.

Performance - This printer can print a photo in 1 min and 30 seconds

Interface - This printer features a very innovative touch-screen interface which uses a stylus. The standard buttons are really easy to use. The touch screen interface makes printing photos a "piece-of-cake". Users simply insert their memory card, select which photos they want to print and they can start printing them right away.

Image Editing - The Photosmart A626 provides great tools for photo editing. Users can sign a photo, compose a message, or even draw horns on someone's head (HAHA). The ability to crop photos, add captions and frames are also available!

Printer Design - This printer only weights about 3.4 Pounds! It is designed for travellers. Loading paper into the printer is a hassle however, as one needs to pull open the cover on the back of the printer. There is also not much space to do this.

Image Quality - This is a Four-in-one ink-jet cartridge printer. It uses a combination of yellow, cyan, black and magenta.The photos produced are crisp and clear. The shadow detail is also amazing, giving photos a life-like image.

Performance - This printer can print a photo in 42 seconds (that's really speedy)

Interface - The interface consists of a muitibutton control panel and 3.6-inch LCD screen. It is very easy to use and simple to understand.

Image Editing - A wide selection of photo editing tools are available for selection. These tools include, croping photos, red eye removal and many other color effects are available.

Printer Design - The printer comes with a built-in-CD burner, allowing users to burn and back up their favorite photos easily. The design is not the most attractive, with a bit of "industrial" tastes. However the great performance of this printer is truely an asset to any office or home.

That's all for the review of 2008's best photo printers that you can get for under $300. I hope this information was able to help some of you who are looking for a new photo printer!