Samsung SPP-2020 Photo Printer
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| Samsung SPP-2020 Photo Printer |
| Software, Drivers and Testing |
Product: Samsung SPP-2020 Photo Printer
Provided By: Samsung Canada
Price: ~ $125.00 CND (Pricegrabber.ca)
Introduction:
We live in a digital age. I don't know very many people - or at the very least families, who don't have a digital camera, camera phone or computer. Digital cameras have really revolutionized the way we take pictures, but getting them on paper is not as easy as snapping the pictures. You have to set up a printer to do borderless pictures and that is not always as easy as you'd think. Samsung is one of the companies that have tried to relieve this pain and presents an offering to make this easier.
A few weeks back Samsung offered to fire me some new products. One of the coolest and possibly handiest products I've seen for a while could be the SPP-2020 Photo Printer. This is Samsung's offering of the "new" Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer printers that are now becoming quite popular. The advantage of this technology is that there is no ink used and therefore no drying time. Also DDTT printers claim that photo's do not fade with time. Unfortuanetly that's pretty hard to test in a week. In this review we'll take a look at quality, ease of use and cost to find out if it's something that should be on your wish list this Christmas.
First Look:
The Samsung SPP-2020 comes in pretty retail packaging and the model that I received looks very attractive and "mac-ish".
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The SPP-2020 comes packaged with a power adapter, a paper tray, 10 sheets of 4x6 photo paper and enough Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer media to get these 10 sheets printed. When buying consumables for this type of printer, the paper comes matched with the DDTT media so that you never run out of paper or "ink" independantly. They will run out at the same time and can be replaced at the same time for optimal quality and ease of use. Also included in the box, but not pictured above is the manual, install guide a registration card and a driver CD.
Specs & Features:
Before we take a good close look at this unit and start printing, we'll take a look at the listed specs and features as stated by Samsung.
| Method | Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer | ||
| Speed * | 60 seconds (4" x 6") | ||
| Resolution | 300 x 300 dpi | ||
| First Print Out Time | 75 seconds | ||
| Controller | Processor | ZR4100 (ARM7) | |
| Memory | 1 MB Flash / 16 MB DRAM | ||
| Emulation | Jpeg | ||
| Memory Card Slot | N/A | ||
| OS Compatibility ** | Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Mac OS 10.3 | ||
| Paper Handling | Input Capacity and Types | 20-sheet Cassette Tray | |
| Output Capacity and Types | 10-sheet Face Up | ||
| Media Tap | Yes | ||
| General | Net Dimension (W x D x H) | 180 x 136 x 61 mm (7.1" x 5.4" x 2.4") | |
| Net Weight | 0.98 Kg (2.2 lbs) (w/o cassette tray) | ||
| Packing Dimension (W x D x H) | 233 x 225 x 177mm (9.1" x 8.8" x 7.0") | ||
| Packing Weight | 2.3 kg (including accessary kits and inner box) | ||
| LCD | N/A | ||
| LCD Fonts | N/A | ||
| Interface | USB A type : USB 1.1 (Connect with DSC, Camera Phone) USB B type : USB 2.0 (Connect with PC) | ||
| Keys | Power | ||
| Noise *** | 55 dBA | ||
| Power Requirement | 110 ~ 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 1.7A | ||
| Power Consumption | Standby : 10Wh or Less Operating : 40Wh | ||
| Operating Conditions | Temperature : 10¡É ~ 32¡É (50¢µ ~ 89¢µ) Humidity : 20% ~ 80% RH | ||
| Warranty | 1 year from date of purchase or 2,000 sheets (whichever may come first) | ||
| Consumables | Type | Samsung Photo Paper, Ribbon Cartridge | |
| Model Code | IPP-4640G (40 sheets, 4" x 6", photo paper + ribbon cartridge) IPP-46120G (120 sheets, 4" x 6", photo paper + ribbon cartridge) Initial Kit : 10 sheets (4" x 6", photo paper + ribbon cartridge) | ||
| Options | SPP-00BA (Bluetooth) | ||
This printer features quite fast print speeds and the convenience of getting photo quality prints easily from digital cameras, camera phones, PDA's and camcorders without using a PC. To achieve this broad compatibility you will likely need to purchase the bluetooth adapter for the SPP-2020. If you are planning on printing from your camera phone or PDA this would be a great way to get it done easily.
Up Close:
This printer is really simple to set up and operate. It has a nice clean and simple design that doesn't get too complicated.
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The printer only has a couple of areas of interest. All of the connections are on the left side and involve a standard USB "B" port as well as a USB "A" port for PictBridge enabled devices. The round connector on the side is the power jack.
The front of the printer opens up and drops down to allow the paper tray to attach firmly. The paper is fed fron the front and actually returns to the front when done printing.
The ribbon cartridge is quite interesting in my opinion. The printer prints three colors. Yellow, Red and Blue and these three colors exist on this ribbon cartridge. It rolls by the paper and is applied where it needs to be - one color per pass - and yeilds a good picture. Installation of this cartridge takes place on the right side of the printer.
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The Ribbon Cartridge is installed by sliding it all the way into the slot until it clicks. Done. No mess. When you're out of paper and color, you simply press the green latch to release it. Done. No mess. It's very easy to replace and change consumables, which may not seem that important to you, but I know a gentleman who is 80 years old and he just purchased a printer like this. Ease of use to him is important.
The paper tray can hold up to 20 sheets of 4x6 paper and attaches securely to the front of the printer. The only issue I've got with the tray is that it attaches very securely. It took a bit of careful effort to remove it. I believe it will get easier to remove as it gets used more and wears slightly, but when it's new it's tight.
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Head on over to the next page as we take a look at the drivers then fire off some pictures with this printer.
