I bought the Sony Digital Photo Printer (DPP-SV77) about a year ago with the intention of using it for all my
photo printing. It is easy to use, compact, and fits anywhere. It produces a great looking photo. The photos that measure 4 by 6 inches are perfect for printing postcards or borderless prints.Negatives: It prints too slow, and it's hard to find the glossy sheets of printing paper/print cartridge packets
that are much too expensive. I'm wondering if they are becoming obsolete??
This makes nice quick photos, but for enlargements and other custom work, this will not be the one to use.
I give this product 4 stars, deducting one star because of the negatives.
I bought the DPP-SV77 because I wanted a way to take my digicam media (CompactFlash) directly from the camera and make prints without using a PC. While the DPP can be connected to a computer, the built-in LCD makes this really unnecessary.Overall, I really like the printer, and will use it a lot to run out copies from my digicam. High points are of course print quality (which while somewhat oversaturated is definitely pleasing) and ease of use.
I found the passive-matrix LCD screen less than great; it has a slow refresh time and isn't optimal for evaluating the exposure quality of a photo. For this reason, I consider the built-in image editing tools a waste of time (and expensive paper); better to get the exposure right using your PC's image editing software.
The printing process also "feels" a bit rickety; the paper goes through four cycles (yellow, magenta, cyan, and an overcoat) and pokes out of the front and back of the printer each time; be careful not to touch it before the print is done. And there are various grinding and clicking noises during the (roughly 2 minute) print cycle that seem at odds with a modern electronic product (inkjets and laser are much quieter).
Nevertheless, the output looks great. You can print either glossy or textured prints, and the borderless option is indistinguishable from a processed film print you'd get at Wal-mart (except that the DPP output will probably be sharper and have better color).
I use a four megapixel camera at full resolution with this printer (roughly matching its maximum 2418x1612 resolution). I did note that the 4x6 aspect ratio (1:1.5) was somewhat longer and narrower than the photos I had taken (1:1.33), and the top and bottom of the picture were cut off upon output. Watch for this, as no warning is given on the screen of any mismatch between aspect ratios.
I also tried output from a 2mp camera, and while the shots were softer they still look very, very good.
Media (paper and dye-sub ink come bundled) is expensive, about seventeen bucks on average for a 25-pack of 4x6 materials. Interestingly, the paper was much cheaper in Japan (ten clams per pack or so), and I have seen ten-packs on e Bay where the price is as low as seven or eight bucks.
Overall, this printer is ideal if you don't want to have to be connected to your computer to output prints from your digipics. This frees you to do things like bring the camera and printer to parties for instant-gratification output. If you are okay with a stationary printer dependent on the PC, I would go with one of the cheaper Sonys with the same print engine and no LCD display.
I now have three photo printers, including the HP 1315, which prints 8X10s with great fidelity. But all things considered this is the best photo printer I own. Why?
The answer lies in the process. The finest commercial printing establishments use dye sublimation printers. These prints are a smoother and more stable. In short it was worth the higher cost of the printer.
What about the printing costs? In a sense it is more economical than ink jet printers. One ribbon per paper pack means no doubt that the printer will properly color the picture because there is always enough dye for each print.
Paper and ribbons are affordable, and the paper comes in several formats, though none is larger than 4X6.
