The Canon
Selphy CP1200 is not an instant photo printer. But, combined with a
WiFi digital camera, it can release its photos in a matter of moments.
The size, 10 x 15 cm, is a little bit larger than the Polaroid 4x5. The
print quality is very good, in tests it always comes out very well. You
can print the photos almost live, via WiFi you can send the photo of a
digital camera to the printer and it's released a few seconds later. It
has an optional battery, with a capacity of about 50 photos. Costs of a
photo: 25 ct (27€ the pack paper/ink of 108 photos). This price makes
the Polaroidists dream...
I needed it to test and compare. Here it is:
Printer, power supply, paper feeder and battery (optional).
The printer.
Front open with flash card slot.
Right side, ink rollers installed.
Back side, without the battery compartment cover. Charger plug.
Battery installed.
Left side, USB connection
Paper feeder installed.
Switched on with some printed photos
Comparison of formats: Selphy, Fuji SQ10, Polaroid Pop and Fuji Instax Wide.
The
technique is thermal sublimation printing, the photo passes 3 times
under a film that "melts" a wax of each color on the special paper + a
4th time for finishing. The "inks" are apparently very stable, Canon is
talking about 100 years of durability. The photos have edges to remove
(easily) on the left and right.
A paper feed contains 18
photos. There are rolls for 18, 36 and 54 photos. The cheapest is the
pack of 6x18=108 photos with 2 rolls of 54. There are other formats
available for stickers and for passport photos.
The connections
leave nothing to be desired. You can insert an SD card directly and
print via the menu on the small screen which can be raised. There are
USB sockets in large and small size. It can be connected via cable to a
computer (drivers needed on the computer), but also to a digital camera
via PictBridge or an Android or apple mobile phone. It reads USB
stichs. And it has WiFi, so you can send photos via WiFi to the
printer, either from a WiFi camera or a smartphone. Please note that
with PictBridge the memory card must not contain more than 1000
pictures. I searched for a moment for the bug, as the card worked well
with more than 1000 photos if inserted directly to the printer.
The
printer weighs almost a kilo everything loaded. Add 220 gr. for the
battery. The black or white high-gloss finish is chic, but it's not a
good idea for a device that has to be handled often, fingerprints are
everywhere after 5 minutes (like the Polaroid Pop).
Everything
works very well. WiFi connectivity with direct printing is a marvel,
it's finally the instant picture with a camera of any optical quality.
Even if it's not an instant camera, this camera/printer combination is
a good solution if you want live shots. and it's cheap. The printer
costs about 100 euros, and as I already said, cost of a photo: 25 ct
(27€ the pack paper/ink of 108 photos). The battery is relatively
expensive, half the price of the device, but it is massive, hence its
price.
