I have a new gadget.
When I was in Arizona last Christmas, I was playing around with my mother-in-law’s photo printer. It’s a lot of fun turning something digital into something analogue. I began lusting after a nice portable device for printing out photos.
I started browsing Amazon and looking in electronics shops but I couldn’t really justify the expense: the nice ones are kinda pricy.
Earlier this week, I stopped to press my face against the local branch of Jessops to drool over their range of photo printers. That’s when I spotted it: a Canon CP-300 reduced to less than £100.
After some self-deliberation, I slapped my money on the counter. It’s still not cheap but, relatively speaking, I got a bargain.
It’s small, though not exactly what I’d call lightweight, and it comes with a rechargable lithium-ion battery so I can print photos just about anywhere. I can also print straight from my camera but I can’t imagine not wanting to check levels and curves on my iBook first.
The printer does come with some lock-in: I have to use the specific paper for this printer. Or rather, the specific card. All the prints come with postcard-style backing; space for a stamp, lines for writing the address, etc.
At first, this struck me as a little strange but then I started imagining the possibilites: travelling somewhere, snapping some photos, printing one out, slapping a stamp on it and mailing it…
…or I could just find a Wi-Fi hotspot and send the photo by email.
Perhaps this photo printer marks the beginning of a luddite-like regression to a pre-digital lifestyle. I hope I don’t catch myself eyeing up an abacus.