Epson has released three useful tips for those who want to preserve their summer memories on the form of photographic prints. “National Photo Month is a great time to remember what a true photo is all about – the printed image,” said Richard Day, product manager, Epson America. The three tips are: 1) print on real canvas (this is to promote Epson’s Signature Worthy Exhibition Canvas Matte media), 2) check the paper type you choose in the printer’s driver matches the paper you are printing on and 3) let the prints dry 24 hours before framing or displaying them.

Kodak has revealed two all-in-one printers and its new Pic Flick HD iPad app. The Kodak ESP 3.2 all-in-one printer (£79) is the latest addition to the company’s inkjet printer portfolio. “With a refreshed and modern design, it is targeted to photo-centric consumers and families who want great value, quality and simplicity,” Kodak says. “It offers Kodak’s signature easy Wi-Fi set-up and a 6.1cm colour touchscreen for effortless navigation and a better ‘walk up and print’ experience.” The ESP 1.2 all-in-one printer (£69, pictured) provides consumers with an easy way to print and save. It too offers effortless Wi-Fi set up and a 3.8cm intuitive touchframe interface for quick navigation making it simple to print, copy and scan. Coming in June, the free Kodak Pic Flick HD App for iPad lets consumers create personalised photo cards, collages and prints, with the ability to add captions and speech bubbles. For photo prints, Kodak Technology identifies the colours in the photo and automatically generates matching borders for prints and collages.

PermaJet has announced that all users of the PermaJet range of papers are automatically entitled to use the company’s new free ICC Custom Profiling Service. The remote custom profiling service is simple - once you’ve downloaded the target files and instructions you just need to print out the patch target files onto the paper that you require the profile for (with all colour management switched off in both your image software and printer driver) and mail them to PermaJet. When received, they are scanned with a high quality Gretag spectrophotometer to create a totally accurate custom ICC profile tailored to your printing environment. The profile is then e-mailed to you, usually on the same day as being received in the post.

Kodak and Samsung have formed a strategic alliance to sell consumer inkjet printers in Europe. Under this agreement, Samsung will be marketing Samsung branded all-in-one inkjet printers using Kodak’s printer and proprietary ink technology. “Through this alliance, we believe that we can benefit from Kodak’s vast experience in inkjet technology. Now we can offer additional products in a segment below our laser printer line-up, where Samsung has not been present up to now,” said Jürgen Krüger, Director of IT Solutions Printing at Samsung Electronics. The printers recently launched in Germany.

Epson has won two awards from the Technical Image Press Association. The Epson products recognised by TIPA were the Epson EH-TW9000W, named as the ‘Best Photo Projector,’ and the Epson Stylus Photo 1500W, which won ‘Best Expert Photo Printer’ (pictured). The former is a Full HD 3D projector that offers easy-to-use features, while the latter is a wireless, A3+ printer that allows fast, easy printing from laptops, desktops and the latest generation of mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads via Epson’s iPrint app.

Canon has been awarded six separate honours by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). The award-winning Canon products include the EOS C300 (Best Professional Video Camera), the EOS 5D Mark III (Best Video DSLR), the not-yet-available EOS-1D X (Best Professional DSLR, pictured), the EF 8-15mm f4L USM Fisheye (Best Professional DSLR Lens), the Powershot G1 X (Best Expert Compact Camera) and the Pixma MG8250 (Best Multifunction Photo Printer).

Canon UK has announced that select models of the Canon Pixma All-In-One inkjet printer line-up will now support Google Cloud Print, providing driver-free printing from a PC, tablet or certain othermobile devices to any Google Cloud Print ready printer. The service will initially be supported on three recently launched models including the Pixma MG8250, Pixma MG6250 and the Pixma MX895 (pictured). For further information, visit the Canon Europe website.

Canon U.S.A. today announced that the Canon Pixma MG8220 and MG6220 Wireless Photo All-In-One inkjet photo printers now support Google Cloud Print. This service allows users to print from Gmail and Google Docs on a mobile device and from the Google Chrome browser for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome devices. A third printer, the Canon Pixma MX892, is also scheduled to provide the same support in May.

Canon USA has announced the Canon Pixma MX892 Wireless All-In-One (AIO) printer. This print, copy, scan and fax machine has a variety of connectivity options for easy printing of documents and images from the cloud and other compatible portable devices. For those registered with Google’s PicasaWeb Albums, there is Pixma Cloud Link so users can print photos directly from their online albums. The printer also provides direct access to a wide range of printable templates, such as stationary and calendars, so photographers can get creative with their images, the company says. Additionally, the Canon Pixma MX892 Wireless Office AIO printer will also have 802.11n wireless capability allowing for a high-speed network transfer rate and easy sharing on a network. The will have an estimated selling price of $199.99.

Canon UK has announced the upcoming launch of a pair of new premium All-in-One printers, the Canon Pixma MX715 and Pixma MX895. Replacing the Pixma MX885 and Pixma MX870, the new Pixma models produce ISO speeds of 12.5ipm for black and white documents and 9.3ipm for colour prints. A 1pl ink droplet size and 9600dpi print resolution produces documents and images with smooth gradations and fine detail. Additionally, both models feature a flatbed scanner, boasting 2400dpi high-resolution scanning. Built-in Wi-Fi capability allows for scanning and copying from virtually anywhere in the office, and with Canon’s Easy Photo-Print App, PC-free printing and scanning from mobile iOS or Android devices is also possible. The MX895 features a 7.5cm display whilst the MX715 has a 6.2cm display. Both new Canon Pixma printers will be available from April 2012.

Offering a 16% greater printing capacity from a unit that is 20% smaller than its predecessor, the Citizen CY Dye-Sub Photo Printer enables users to save space in retail environments such as small kiosks while delivering more prints per roll of media. Features include easy-to-install ribbons that can be automatically identified by the printer and a double buffer that enables full speed output with no delay between prints.  The CY also features a drop-down front door that allows easy access when changing media and offers the potential for the printer to be built-in to its environment. For further information contact Citizen System Europe via the website below.

The ultra-slim Canon Selphy CP810, successor to the popular CP800 compact photo printer, offers a number of improvements including expanded creative features and improved usability. For enhanced viewing and operation, the Selphy CP810 features a tilting 2.7” colour LCD screen and one-button printing. The improved Auto Image Optimizer function increases the quality of the print output compared to the quality of the original digital image, recognising scenes and improving the subject by making specific adjustments. In addition, a selectable Smooth Skin effect evens out skin blemishes for more flattering portraits, and manual brightness adjustment can be applied to fine-tune the prints produced. The Canon Selphy CP810 will be available from May 2012, priced at £99.00/€109.00.

Canon U.S.A, has added three new all-in-one printer/copier/scanner devices to its Pixma range. The Canon Pixma MX512 ($149.99, pictured) and Pixma MX432 ($99.99) feature 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity with AirPrint support, and printing speeds of approximately 9.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.5 ipm for colour. The Pixma MX512 additionally features a Dual Function Panel for easy navigation through menus, an Ethernet port for increased connectivity and a 2.5-inch TFT screen for easy viewing of menus and images. The Canon Pixma MX372 Office AIO printer, which comes without Wi-Fi functionality, provides output at approximately 8.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.0 ipm for colour. All three printers can produce a 4”x6” borderless photo in approximately 46 seconds.

The Canon Pixma MG4150 is a new compact, Wi-Fi and Web-enabled, All-in-One printer, copier and scanner. Capable of printing a quality 10x15cm borderless photo in approximately 44 seconds, the Pixma MG4150 features FINE print head technology with a minimum 2pl droplet size and maximum 4800dpi print resolution, and comes with a 6cm LCD display for easy operation. Bundled with a comprehensive suite of scanning, document and photo printing software, the Canon Pixma MG4150 is available from March 2012, priced at £119/€139.

A virtual tour of Polaroid’s CES 2012 stand.

In addition to their Android camera, Polaroid actually have some interesting products on their large CES booth (cunningly located right next to Canon). There are not one but two 3D cameras, a waterproof dual-view model (iT023), a wi-fi camera (iS030), the Z340 Instant Zink camera, and the Dua flash that has a built-in movie light for shooting video as well as stills.

Take a closer look at the Polaroid CES booth in our photo gallery.

Epson today introduced the Epson Artisan 1430 wide-format printer. Offering brilliant, Ultra Hi-Definition prints as large as 13”x 19”, wireless networking and mobile printing, the Artisan 1430 delivers professional-quality photos by leveraging Epson’s exclusive Advanced MicroPiezo print head with DX5 technology for accurate ink placement and smooth gradations, the company says. The Epson Artisan 1430 also allows PC-free printing and sharing of photos from a smartphone or tablet, and offers image enhancement tools for automatic colour correction red-eye removal etc. The printer will be available in February for $299.99.

Our second award is for the Printer of the Year 2011.

In the fast-changing world of photography, printers are one of the slowest-moving sectors of the market, with relatively few major releases each year. Epson updated their A3+ range for 2011 with the new R3000, building on their past successes and hitting the sweet-spot of pro-level features at a still affordable price.

”...the R3000 is definitely the one to choose thanks to the addition of wi-fi and internet connectivity, more intuitive LCD control panel interface, wider range of media handling options, much bigger ink cartridges and the dual installation of both photo and matt black. The Epson R3000 ultimately offers fantastic print quality and a better user experience at a slightly higher price than its predecessor, and is therefore well deserving of our Highly Recommended award.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Epson and the Stylus Photo R3000!

Polaroid has announced the Z340 Instant Digital Camera, which features a 14-megapixel image sensor and integrated ZINK printer. Designed for portability, the Polaroid Z340 “pays homage to its analogue predecessors, yet contains an advanced, easy-to-use digital feature set,” says the manufacturer. “Simply snap, check out images on the Z340 camera’s 2.7’’ LCD screen and choose photos for printing.” The Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera’s integrated printer outputs 3"x4” prints - the same size as the classic Polaroid photos - using the patented ZINK Paper, an advanced composite material with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals embedded inside. The full-resolution 14-megapixel photos are saved on SD memory cards, and can be printed at much larger sizes using a dedicated photo printer. The Polaroid Z340 camera is available starting today for $299.99 at Polaroid.com, B&H, Adorama and Amazon. The Polaroid ZINK 3x4’’ Paper can be bought in packs of thirty for $19.99.

“One Hundred & Forty Characters” is a project initiated by award-winning photographer Chris Floyd. Inspired by Floyd’s interaction with the photographers, editors and other individuals he follows on Twitter, One Hundred & Forty Characters bridges the gap between traditional relationships and those increasingly formed through online communications. “The project essentially puts faces to 140 of the online names I have become familiar with and I wanted to show a mixture of around 100 portraits comprising both individual and group shots,” said Floyd, who looked to HP to reproduce his images as large-format prints. Floyd worked with the HP Bracknell-based team who used both the HP Designjet L25500 Printer and the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer to output the portraits. The exhibition “One Hundred & Forty Characters” is currently on display at Host Gallery, London.

Ilford have released custom-crafted ICC profiles for the new Canon PIXMA PRO-1 printer. The profiles help ensure professional photographers are able to produce accurate and consistent results on Ilford Galerie media using this just-launched and feature-rich Canon printer.