The Canon Selphy ES2 photo printer is primarily intended for standalone use, but can also be directly connected to a computer via USB.
The case is a ‘handbag’ design with a hinged and spring-loaded carrying handle on the top. The white and beige shell has a robust feel, but we would have liked to see a padded bag to protect the high-gloss surface from scratching while on the move, and to protect the otherwise exposed LCD screen.
Buyers concerned with portability are likely to choose the optional battery. This wasn’t included with the review sample, but according to Canon it is good for around 50 prints per charge. The power adaptor is the inline variety rather than a plug pack and measures around 13 x 7 x 3cm, so carrying it further than from one room to another won’t be especially convenient.
The ES2 itself measures approximately 21 x 12 x 18cm, with a convex back and a sloping top panel bearing the controls. Various flaps conceal front and side mounted connectors, the battery compartment, and the consumables cartridge.
The ES2 is a dye-sublimation printer, and the cartridge contains the film that carries the dye, along with 50 or 100 sheets of photo paper. The nature of the dye-sublimation process means manufacturers can pack just the right amount of film that’s needed for a set number of prints.
A curious feature is that the cartridge is loaded with the long edge of the paper horizontal, but the printing mechanism is perpendicular to this. So when printing starts, the sheet appears through a slot near the base, rotates through a net 90 degrees, then disappears back inside. And the dye-sub technology requires four passes (one for each dye colour), so you see the sheet partially emerge from the top before being drawn back into the printer for the next colour.
Photos can be directly printed from memory cards including variations on Compact Flash, Memory Stick and Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard (including SDHC), and xD. USB storage is not supported, but printing via USB from PictBridge cameras and via iRDA from mobile phones is. Bluetooth connectivity is an optional extra involving an external dongle.
Drivers and software are included for Windows 2000, XP and Vista, and Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. The software bundle is minimal, comprising ZoomBrowser EX for Windows or ImageBrowser for Mac (for acquiring, managing and using photos), EOS Utility (downloading photos and remote shooting with EOS cameras) and Ulead Photo Express LE for Windows (to gussy up snaps with frames and other decorations).
Printing time was a respectable 81 seconds click to drop for 6 x 4in photos.
Prints from the ES2 held their own against other stand-alone photo printers we have tested. That said reds tended towards magenta, affecting skin tones and light brown shades in sand and wood, for example. The blue sky looked right, but yellows were subdued and grey areas were darker than we're used to seeing. Overall, the results were well within the acceptable range and we doubt many people would notice anything out of the ordinary in normal conditions.
The paper is slightly smaller than Canon's inkjet photo paper, which presumably explains the extra cropping along the short edges, and feels a little more flimsy. It's also reasonably glossy, but we didn't like the way the paper features perforated tabs on the short edges, presumably because the mechanism can't print right to the edge of the paper. While the tabs snap off fairly cleanly, the residual roughness is noticeable while handling the photos.
You don't need a computer to modify photos before printing as the Selphy has built-in smarts. The front panel screen and buttons (the scroll wheel conveniently doubles as the up/down/left/right buttons) can be used to crop images, adjust colours, correct redeye, include annotations such as the date, or superimpose graphic elements.
The latter include frames, 'stamps' such as hearts and snowflakes, and speech bubbles, though there doesn't seem to be a way of adding text to the latter. Other options include printing calendars, multi-image layouts, or sheets of passport-style photos in a variety of sizes.
A selection of built-in image effects are provided, namely faded edges (vignettes), soft edges, soft focus and star lights.
In addition to the normal 6 x 4in paper (the back of which is pre-printed for use as postcards), the ES2 handles 3.5 x 4.7 in 'L size' and 86 x 54mm 'Card size' (ie, business card) papers. Black and white cartridges are available as well as colour, and the former deliver a true black, unlike the slightly brown results we've seen from some in-store printers. Interestingly, two passes are needed for mono prints.
While we prefer the output from Canon's desktop photo printers to that of the ES2, it is a convenient and flexible unit for those that want to print on the go.