Verdict
The Canon Selphy CP1500 presents fast printing of small images, and the comfort of paper and ink that can final for a recognized variety of pages. It’s rather more compact and higher trying than an inkjet, and has helpful options comparable to direct wi-fi and reminiscence card printing. It’s a enjoyable different should you simply need to print small images, however in the end its prints lack the sharpness and depth that you just get from the very best inkjet printers.
Professionals
- Pretty good photograph print high quality
- Ink and paper bundles final for a specified variety of prints
- Cute and compact
Cons
- Solely prints on specialist papers, with a 10x15cm most
- Pictures not a match for the very best inkjets
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A distinct approach of printingThis printer makes use of the dye-sublimation method – it’s faster and extra handy than ink -
Pictures solelyThe Selphy CP1500 will print on Canon’s specialty papers, however solely as much as 10x15cm (6×4”) format
Introduction
The Canon Selphy CP1500 is not like every other printer you’re prone to have owned.
For a begin, it’s strictly photo-focused, working solely to provide shiny prints on particular papers no larger than a postcard (10x15cm). And fairly than creating them with droplets of ink or a powdery toner, it makes use of dye-sublimation – a fast method the place the ink comes from a ribbon. The CP1500 is high of the Selphy vary, and presents a choice of options prone to attraction to eager photographers.
The Canon Selphy CP1500 isn’t in any respect like a typical photograph inkjet. It’s a lot smaller – roughly the dimensions of a hardback ebook – and it’s smarter, with fewer gaps and openings. Partially, its dinky measurement is misleading, as you’ll want to fit in its paper tray earlier than you possibly can print, however even with this fitted, it’s acquired a much smaller footprint than the everyday A4 inkjet, and it’s loads simpler to search out room for.
Design and options
- Small photograph prints solely – no plain paper help
- Very small and sensible
- Large color display screen, and help for an non-obligatory battery
You should buy this printer in black, pink or white, however the fashions are in any other case equivalent. It’s managed by a 8.9cm color display screen, mixed with giant push-buttons, and there’s an SD card slot for direct photograph printing – MicroSD is extra widespread lately, however you may get a easy adaptor for subsequent to nothing.
This printer’s huge display screen makes it straightforward to browse, preview and choose reminiscence card images, however there’s no apparent print button when you’ve chosen multiple – it’s solely obtainable as an choice when viewing a person photograph.
The Canon Selphy CP1500 has Wi-Fi, so you possibly can be a part of it to your property community and print straight from Android and iOS gadgets – sadly there aren’t any PC drivers. Alternatively, you need to use Canon’s Selphy Picture Structure app to make a direct wi-fi connection, while not having to first be a part of the CP1500 to your property community.
This can be a extremely transportable printer, weighing lower than a kilo. If you wish to print actually wherever -, you can purchase its non-obligatory battery, which clips in on the again, although on the time of my evaluate the official Canon accent gave the impression to be out of inventory.
Canon has been making dye-sublimation (dye-sub) printers for many years, and so they’re surprisingly easy. The CP1500 requires an ink ribbon, which inserts neatly right into a hid compartment on its right-hand aspect. Every ribbon prints 36 occasions and comes bundled with that many sheets of photograph paper, or you should buy a 108-sheet pack and pay rather less per print.
On the time of writing, the 36-print ink pack value round £14, giving a worth of 39p per print, whereas the £28, 108-print pack labored out at 25p. That provides up should you’re printing loads of images, but it surely’s not unreasonable: compared, you’d pay 14p per web page to maintain an Epson inkjet in 10x15cm photograph paper, with ink prone to value a number of pence extra. It’s price noting that the CP1500 itself isn’t an affordable printer – Canon’s personal PIXMA TS-5350i, a reasonably competent photograph MFP, is lower than half the worth.
This printer helps codecs as much as 10x15cm (6×4”), which is a regular postcard-sized print. Canon’s paper vary consists of sq. and mini sticker codecs, together with a bank card measurement ideally suited for prints to go in a pockets. Nevertheless, no bigger codecs can be found, and it received’t print on plain paper – that is strictly a small photograph printer.
Dye-subs work by heating strong ink that’s impregnated within the ribbon, inflicting it to sublimate (flip straight right into a vapour). This vapour then condenses on the paper, depositing a layer of color. The CP1500 lays down yellow ink first, then pink, then provides a layer of cyan – combining these three is sufficient to construct a full-colour image.
It’s fascinating to look at. To a symphony of quiet clicks and whirrs, paper will get drawn from the tray and into the printer earlier than rising with a yellow sample. Fifteen seconds later it’s again with a reddish model of your photograph starting to take form, then in one other few seconds you possibly can see the complete photograph. There’s a fourth move by means of the printer whereas it lays down a clear, protecting coating, then the photograph’s finished. One factor to look out for is that 10x15cm prints do briefly poke from the rear of the printer, so you possibly can’t place it straight in opposition to the again of a desk.
Print pace and high quality
- Picture prints in lower than a minute
- Good, however not sensible photograph high quality
- Tear-off strips on 10x15cm paper
Canon says the CP1500 can ship a single postcard-sized photograph in simply 41 seconds, however I timed it at 59 seconds from tapping Print to the picture being dropped into its output tray. That’s nonetheless quicker than simply about every other inkjet printer working at its highest quality setting on coated paper.
Though this printer delivers borderless images, it may well’t cowl both finish of postcard media. Canon has acquired round this by including perforated tear strips to its 10x15cm paper. With these snapped off, there’s simply the faintest hint of the perforations, however the last print is actually with out borders.
The Canon Selphy CP1500 has a decision of simply 300×300 dots per inch (dpi), which is way lower than a photograph inkjet. Nevertheless, its dye-sub course of lets it make every of these dots any color it likes, whereas an inkjet wants to mix many to trick your eyes into seeing the color it desires. You received’t see grain or blockiness in prints from the CP1500 – to the bare eye they seem like they got here from a lab – however examine them to these from a very good inkjet and also you would possibly discover a slight softness to color boundaries and descriptions. Evaluate faces particularly, and people in CP1500 prints are rather less crisp and detailed.
Colors in a few of my check prints additionally lacked depth when in comparison with good inkjet prints. This was most noticeable across the intense greens of foliage, and in some summer time skies. I’ve beforehand seen dye-subs wrestle with the complete vary of shades in a blue sky, resulting in blockiness and digital artefacts, however the CP1500 had no drawback with something I threw at it. Pores and skin tones typically appeared correct, too, if maybe a contact lighter than ideally suited.
Newest offers
Must you purchase it?
You desire a small, fashionable and handy photograph printer:
This is among the smaller photograph printers we’ve examined, making it a very good choice if in case you have restricted desk area.
You need excessive photograph high quality:
Our checks present that the Canon Selphy CP1500 isn’t able to the identical high quality as inkjet printers, particularly for intense greens of foliage.
Closing Ideas
The Canon Selphy CP1500 is a small and trendy printer, centered on small images. In most methods it does a fantastic job – it’s quick and fuss free, and it’s additionally straightforward to make use of. If you would like a transportable photograph printer, or one which’s extra fascinating than an inkjet, it may very well be definitely worth the premium.
Nevertheless, in order for you the highest quality prints, or you have to print on 5×7” or bigger paper, you’ll have to get an inkjet comparable to Canon’s PIXMA TS5350i. Take a look at our Greatest Picture Printer round-up for extra choices.
How we check
Each printer we evaluate goes by means of a sequence of uniform checks designed to gauge key issues together with print high quality, pace and price.
We’ll additionally examine the options with different printers on the identical worth level to see should you’re getting good worth in your cash.
Measured the time it takes to print with varied paper
In contrast print high quality with different printers
Examined printing with monochrome and colored ink
FAQs
It’s fairly quick, spitting out lab-quality, postcard-sized images in 59 seconds.
You possibly can join utilizing Wi-Fi. Both be a part of the CP1500 to your property community, or use it in direct Wi-Fi mode and join wirelessly wherever you might be.
Canon says they’ll last as long as 100 years should you retailer them in an album.
