Electronics

[Moonchilde]

I've had two inkjet small footprint 4x6 photo printers in the past, when I printed out ALL my photos. They were a PIT* for me because the ink was always drying up and supplies wasted, they took forever, and they weren't cost-effective.

FF 25 years. The small dye sublimation printers eliminate the ink-drying, you buy one box of ink/paper with everything you need in it, we all print MUCH less than we used to, so the fact that it still isn't instant isn't as much of a biggie - nor is the price because we're maybe printing out 6-12, not 50-60.

There are two of these printers on the market and QVC sells both of them - E229164 and E289451. At first I thought I'd buy the Selphy because - Canon, no trouble getting supplies, reliability, etc. and because as good as QVC's price is, it's less on Amazon 😏

But I started researching the PrinHome, made in China for Asian markets. Some reviews said the prints were better than the Selphy, and from the specs its software will do quite a bit that the Selphy software doesn't. That pushed me to investigate more, until I discovered that the PrinHome is also sold by Sharper Image. They pretty much only sell stuff that has a quality rep. And QVC's current price is $25 less than SI's.

There are 1-2 star reviews for the printer on both QVC and SI - along with rave 5-star reviews. To me, most of the 1-2 stars were people who never got it to work, or didn't follow directions. I don't think I'll have that problem - but if I do I'll just return it and buy the Selphy wherever is cheapest.

I have ordered the printer, and after I've tried it out, I'll report back on my opinion, helpful info for set-up and questions, if there is any interest in this post ;-)

[violann]

I'm super interested. 

I've been tempted to ask if 4x6 photos can be printed on regular printers and hadn't even thought about what you're describing, @Moonchilde.

I can and would read the directions, but is the process straightforward? Do these link to a smartphone or tablet to make pictures from?

[Moonchilde]

@violann, 

4x6 photos *can* be printed on regular printers but it has to be a printer with some sort of arrangement to adjust the paper tray to snuggly hold 4x6 paper. IMO, unless your printer is in the $200+ range and advertised as a photo printer, you wouldn't be that happy with the results. And the ink jet printers all have that nozzles-drying-up thing that often means both wasted paper & wasted ink, unless you are printing pictures daily.

As I understand it, the PrinHome will print directly from a phone or tablet through a free app for iOS and Android. If you have Android you can do it through NFC, it also prints from an SD card, a thumb drive, or your PC or Mac via USB cable though you have to download a driver if you have Win 10.

I think the issue some are having is with wi-fi, and I'll have to see how it goes when I receive it. Supposedly the printer generates its own wi-fi signal without needing to be routed through your wi-fi router, as you don't apparently input your router password but direct connect to the printer's wi-fi and that confuses people. The *description* confuses me, but I think in practice it will be fine. Just have to wait and see!

If you go to the Sharper Image site and search for Smartphone Photo Printer there is a good short video. I would still buy it from QVC at this point because both the printer and the supplies are cheaper at QVC.

[Moonchilde]

@violann, I ordered the printer Tuesday, it shipped Wednesday, and arrived on Friday!

I'm very pleased with the machine itself - the photos are great! No muss, no fuss in unboxing and setting up when I followed the instructions. The wi-fi is fine, no problems. I've put it through its paces and am more than satisfied as far as quality.

The app/software, however, is not super-intuitive. Watching the QVC and other set-up videos helps, but some steps need to be followed exactly and there is a certain amount of trial and error, but I conquered it in the end, and IMOthe photo quality and convenience is worth the bit of learning-curve hassle.

[violann]

@Moonchilde- Thank you for a very helpful review! Have to do some research to see which of these I could master myself, but I know exactly what to expect from the unit you purchased.

Have FUN and do BEAUTIFUL THINGS with it!