Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 Snapshot Printer Review

The Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 is a truly unique snapshot printer. A snapshot printer is a printer dedicated to printing photos only and Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 is more than that. It has got a digital frame screen which is basically a LCD screen attached to the printer. Its price is 300 dollars which is fair considering that, in a way, you get 2 items: a printer and a digital frame to view your photos and more.

It is easy to use Epson PictureMate's integrated frame, just stick a memory card to the input, upload your photos to the printer's internal memory (270 megabytes) and your photos will be displayed on a 7-inch, 480 x 800 resolution LCD screen. Not to mention, it is able to show your photos using a variety of slideshows, animations and effects.

Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 is, of course, able to print. Photo quality on this snapshot printer is truly awesome. It has god 1.4 ppm (pages per minute) while printing colored photos; black and white photos turn out great too with embellish grayscale. This printer comes also with an infrared remote control which is able to operate the printer and the menu controls which appear on the digital frame. The remote control works fine from various angles; the manufacturer states that this remote is able to operate from a distance of 16 feet.

Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 is well configured to work with various computers. It can also be operated as a standalone printer but this way of using it has some minor downfalls. For example, it is hard to use the cropping tool, especially to zoom in and out, it is not able to choose random photos to print (it is only able to print photos which are grouped by date). To avoid these kinds of problems, you should better use this printer on a MAC or PC with its software and drivers.

Epson PictureMate has an input tray of 20 sheets. There are inputs for Memory Stick, SD Card, CompactFlash, USB port and you are able to buy a Bluetooth adapter directly from Epson. This printer is loaded with a printing cartridge which will be able to print 20 photos. Replacement cartridges will cost 38 dollars (including paper) and will print 150 photos.

All in all, Epson PictureMate Show PM 300 is an innovative device and you should definitely consider it if you are a fan of photography. Source