Performance Analysis

The best way to test photo-printers is to print pictures that reflect what people would print. Simple stuff, really. Our tests included printing a high-resolution photo on the printer's own specialist glossy paper. Our overall aim is to establish the print quality of the printer.

As well as testing for high-quality A4 prints, our major test for comparison was printing out the same 6x4in photo from an image captured by a 6-megapixel digital camera. This file-size is good enough for A4 printing, but was scaled down by each printer's drivers and software to fit the 6x4 media in each.

Performance
We printed this main photo out twice. The first print was an unmodified one, printed to show the printer's default image settings (albeit set to highest/best quality). We then used the printer's software and drivers to auto-enhance and correct the image. This second image was then printed.

The two give an interesting view of what's going on with the printer. Some over-compensate in the first place but correct in the second, others sharpened the entire image but left the colours alone, while some like the Lexmark tweaked the image in ways you'd want and expect.

Comparing the two photos together, and then against the original image gives the best indication of the printer's performance. While speed is a factor in printing it was ignored for these tests: quality of prints was what we were looking for.

We rated the prints on colour, clarity, brightness and contrasts in the images. We also rated them for variance from the original digital image.

A weighted average of all the scores is then given.

Features
The other major score was the printer's feature set. Our primary focus is on the photo printing, so more points were awarded to the photo-printer feature than others. Speeds, resolutions, connectivity, card support, PictBridge and inks were considered, plus bonus points were awarded for other features such as borderless printing, portability and more. For instance the Kodak has an irDA printing function to allow for direct printing from camera-phones, and the Lexmark is an all-in-one device, so some extra points were awarded here.
The printed feature score is derived from a weighted average.

Value for money
With all the printers costing $399 (except for the Canon which cost $349), pricing variance was not going to be an issue. However PC Authority determines Value for Money from the performance and feature scores. The higher the score and the lower the price, the better bang for your buck you receive. This figure is then weighted to give a value for money score.

The overall rating is simply a direct average of the previous three scores.