Thu, 15 Nov 2007 Mitsubishi CP9800DW Review

There are quite a few dedicated photo-printers available these days, and while their print quality may be impressive they’re often rather slow.

Professional users who need to produce large quantities of photo-prints might want to look at something more like Mitsubishi’s CP9800DW. It’s an ‘event’ printer, designed for social events such as weddings, where you may need to quickly produce dozens of copies of each photo to give to all the guests.

The CP9800DW weighs a thumping 21kg, and measures about 40 x 40 x 33cm, so you’ll need a good solid desk or table to rest it on. Installation is quite straightforward – our only complaint is that this £1,300 printer doesn’t include a USB cable.

It may look like a Borg Cube, but the CP9800DW works like any ordinary printer. You can just open your photos in Photoshop or any other photo-editor, select the required settings from the standard Print dialog box and then hit the Print button.

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you share your creations online?

Question of the day!

Do you share your creations online?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes

TBC

No

TBC

What do you create and how do you share it?

Tweet your answer here...

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

The CP9800DW uses dye-sublimation technology to produce prints at sizes ranging from 4 x 6in to 6 x 9in. One paper roll and ink cartridge will give you 600 prints at 4 x 6in (which works out at 8p per print) or around 270 prints at 6 x 9in (28p per print). The print resolution is 300dpi, which is lower than most ink-jet printers, but dye-sub printers can produce excellent quality at 300dpi, and we had no complaints about the sharpness or detail in the prints we produced.

It took 45 seconds to download and print our first test photo, however subsequent copies of the same photo took a mere 19 seconds each – and smaller print sizes will obviously be even quicker. That makes it a good choice for photographers, studios or bureaux that need to produce multiple prints as quickly as possible.

The CP9800DW does make quite a racket while it’s working, so it’s probably best suited to studios where you can hide it away in a corner. However, it’ll earn its keep if its sheer speed means that you can meet a deadline and keep your customers happy.