The Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock 6000 is a tiny photo printer-cum-camera dock for Kodak EasyShare CX/DX 6000 and LS600-series cameras. Although it's designed to print 4 x 6in borderless prints, the dock is capable of a lot more. The abundance of functions this dock can perform boggles the mind. Ranging from slide show streaming, three-hour camera Li-Ion battery charging, multiple print runs and PC file-synching, this printer does it all.
Printing direct from a docked camera, the Printer Dock 6000 uses a combined print paper/ink cartridge. Working out to around $1.50 per 4 x 6in, the continuous tone thermal dye transfer amount is limited to the number of pieces of photo paper supplied, meaning you'll never run out of ink during a printing session. You can pick up a pack of refills for a very reasonable $59.95.
The functionality of being able to do everything on the one unit by the touch of a few buttons is magic, allowing you to preview on the camera's LCD and print without the need for a computer – the ultimate portable device.
Taking around 90 seconds a print, the unit prints on the paper four times, the first three adding layers of colour, the last sealing with Kodak's equivalent of photo lacquer, dubbed ‘XtraLife', for durability and splash proofing equal to professional prints.
The AV-out allows users to stream the images in memory onto either a monitor or TV using the supplied AV cables, a fantastic way to show off your holiday happy snaps without printing and handing them around.
Suited more to infrequent photo printers; the EasyShare Printer Dock 6000 is great, printing 24 chosen images in half an hour. Unfortunately, for frequent and diverse users, cost is a big factor, at $36 per three dozen, it might be worth sticking with an inkjet system, especially when you can only print 4 x 6in images.
Combining ultra-portability, autonomous operation and brilliant results, Kodak have brought photo development for the home user another step closer to complete photographic independence.
