Epson PictureMate Review

Mark Goldstein | PhotographyBLOG | April 4, 2005 | 6 Comments |

The Epson PictureMate allows you to print 10x15 cms borderless photos at up to 5760 x 1440dpi-optimized dpi in the comfort of your own home. The Epson PictureMate uses a 6-colour high gloss pigment ink printing system and print life is claimed to be 104 years. The PictureMate has a built-in memory card reader supporting 9 different formats and can also be directly connected to any PictBridge or USB DIRECT-PRINT compatible device. The Epson PictureMate has a monochrome LCD screen that allows you to select which photos you want to print. A few weeks ago I reviewed the similar HP Photosmart 375 printer, awarding it 4.5 out of 5 stars - can the Epson PictureMate compete? Read my review to find out.

Website: Epson PictureMate Review

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#1 Nick

This mirrors my comment about your much vaunted "Photosmart 375", but I see no analysis of print cost... We all know that buying the printer is only the first of many costs, and your failure to evaluate cost per print seems short-sighted. The Epson seems to do pretty well according to independent testing, it is at most $0.29 per print, and if you feed additional paper, as low as $0.23. This needs to be part of your evaluation, unless you expect us to throw away the printer after using the included supplies.

8:53 am - Tuesday, April 5, 2005

#2 Mark Goldstein

Good point Nick.

It's difficult to test the running costs when you only have the product for a week or so, but I will add a section for it anyway and adjust my review accordingly.

Have you got a link for that PCWorld article?

The Photosmart 375 is still a better printer in terms of image quality than the PictureMate though.

9:07 am - Thursday, April 7, 2005

#3 eric perkins

I've not seen the defects mentioned in the review during the 2 months I've used the Picturemate. Perhaps your printer had a sample defect?
Print cost, using additional paper, has been well under 20 cents each.
My only complaint is that there is no way in the driver to apply color controls: I'd like to be able to reduce the saturation a bit.

11:44 am - Wednesday, May 25, 2005

#4 Mark Goldstein

The review sample wasn't a new one, so it must have been used and tested by several other people. I'll hopefully be able to test the newer PictureMate 500 with the colour screen, which removes one of my key concerns about the original PictureMate.

9:52 am - Thursday, May 26, 2005

#5 Dereck Fowles

Looking for Epson's site and found yours. Having trouble with the prints of my picturemate.. reddish hue to the prints. Found your site excellent and your review of the picturemate first rate. I have added it to my favourites

8:38 am - Monday, August 8, 2005

#6 Mark Goldstein

Glad you like the site Dereck!

Is your monitor calibrated? That would be the first place to start.

8:41 am - Monday, August 8, 2005