Printing Digcam Images

I carry my digital camera with me wherever I go, and particularly when I'm in places I haven't been before. I take lots of pictures and post them online, usually at flickr.com. But there are times, especially when I've just taken a shot of our 'new friends' around the fire, or just sitting around getting to know each other, that I wish I could get some of the shots printed and hand them out.

Of course, there's usually a pharmacy not too far away where I can slip my memory card into the kiosk and print out a few copies. But somehow that just never seems to get done... the moment has passed and the urgency disappears.

But on my last trip I was fortunate to have one of Epson's PictureMate Dash printers on hand when the moment arose. The PictureMate has been around in earlier versions, but the latest incarnation is faster and (for me) easier to use. I also got one of the perfectly-designed travel bags that lets me stuff the printer, paper, extra ink cartridge, and cables all in one padded and stowable pouch.

So, when the time was right, I pulled the kit out of its hiding place in a small cabinet, opened it up, and slid my memory card into the printer. In a few seconds, my images started to appear on the 3.6" LCD. From there I scrolled around the images, selecting which ones and how many of each photo I wanted printed. Once I had made my selections, I pushed the Print button and the printer started spitting out 4x6 prints at the rate of about one every 40 seconds. I was able to hand out prints to our guests right there on the spot.

All that may not be so amazing, as I've seen lots of folks with printers in their rigs. But the fact that I didn't have to use my computer to download, edit, select, and print the photos really made things convenient.

Of course I wasn't the only one with a camera, and two of the others wanted to hand out a few of their masterpieces too. They were able to just insert their memory cards even though their cards were different from mine because the printer accepts a wide variety of memory formats including USB drives.

I was able to select from a list of formats including multiple images on one 4x6 sheet. That cut down on the expense of printing, that runs at around 35 cents per print. My PictureMate Dash sells for around $100, and the Zoom model that includes a CD burner sells for around $200. There are lots of accessories, including a battery pack and a bluetooth adapter for printing wirelessly from a cell phone.

My PictureMate now has a permanent home in my equipment cabinet, where it doesn't take up a lot of space, and is protected in its carry case.