Kodak Easyshare Photo Printer 500

• Print real Kodak pictures from popular memory cards (CF, SD, xD, or MS) and PictBridge enabled digital cameras
• Edit and view pictures before you print on the dock''s 3.5-inch (8.9-centimeter) display
• Print real Kodak pictures in 60 seconds with or without a computer
• Wirelessly connect dock to your computer with optional Kodak Wi-Fi card(not included), or print from Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, PDA or other device
• Select from four print sizes up to 4 x 6 inches (10 x 15 centimeters)

In reading a couple of the reviews previously posted, I decided to add a clarification as it seems many people don''t understand these types of printers. This is a dye sublimation printer.

What''s that mean?

Well, first and foremost, it means it uses dye, not pigment. The paper is stained. It is not an inkjet. There is no ink. There are no jets. There is nothing wet to be sprayed on.

Instead, a roll of film contains an alternating portion of Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and a clear coat. The roll is similar to a fax machine ribbon. Pass 1 stains all the places that need to be yellow, be they very pale and dim or rich and deep. Pass 2 takes care of adding the Magenta dye. Pass 3 adds the Cyan dye. Finally, pass 4 applies a clear coat finish to ward off moisture, peanut butter from children''s fingers, UV light and so on.

One reviewer stated the photos looked like negatives. That''s probably due to a roll of film that is out of sync with the color that is supposed to be printed. That is, the printer was wanting to lay down the yellow dye, but the film was positioned at the cyan dye. All the colors are off, that way. It''s easy enough to resync the film if it should ever get out of whack, but unless the film cartridge itself was malfunctioning, there''s really no way for "User Error" to cause this.

What may seem at first a tedious task to constantly change the roll of film every time you run out of paper is in fact, in my opinion, a blessing. You can buy kits of 40, 80 or 160 prints (overall per-print cost drops rapidly when you buy larger kits). The kit comes with enough pre-cut paper and enough film to print the exact number of photos. When you run out of paper, you run out of film and vice-versa.

This truly reduces waste compared to inkjets, which let you know you didn''t have enough Cyan for that last print by totally ruining the print itself, and because of the waste, your overall costs go up. Plus you must keep spares of various ink cartridges, yellow usually being the one that is used most often and needs the most spare cartridges on hand.

Another issue I hear often that applies to these small printers (whether dye-sub or inkjet) is the LCD screen. It is claimed to be too small, too low resolution, etc. OK, so it is. But let''s keep its purpose in mind. It''s main purpose is to let you see the photo before printing it so you know you are printing the right one. Say you have 78 photos on your SD card, and somewhere around number 65 is the one you want to print. The LCD is there to help you ensure you are printing the correct one. This avoids waste by not forcing you to print photos 60 through 69 just to make sure you get the one you wanted.

On the Kodak (not always present on competitor models), the LCD also lets you do some very basic editing, such as rotation, cropping, zooming and a wee bit of built-in red eye reduction. Personally, I wouldn''t touch the built-in red eye reduction. It reduces red all over the photo, not just in eyes.

Use a computer and a capable software package for all graphics enhancements.

Final bit of bad news: It takes an 8+ color inkjet or a 6 color dye-sub printer to give you anything truly close to lab quality photos at home. The cheaper home printers that handle CMY colors can''t do Red, Green nor Blue. They can get close, but not quite there. Red will never be red. It will look a little on the violet side. Blue and Green will also be close, but not quite. Unless the printer also has a source of pure black dye/ink, it won''t get you crisp, dark, contrasting blacks, either. It will approach black, then things get murky and muddy. Deep ruby red next to indigo next to black will look like so much muck.

Lab photos are the best quality and, if you use the internet to upload them and have them delivered to a local retail store, they are much cheaper, too. This Kodak can actually be cheaper if you buy the 160 prints kit and do some serious shopping for the lowest price. The 40 and 80 print kits are far more expensive than lab photos.

If you want the absolute best quality photos at the absolute best price, use a lab (or spend 15 to 20 thousand on a lab quality printer). If you want the next best, get an 8+ color inkjet. It''s a problem to run out of one color in the middle of a print, and they are notorious for clogging their jets if left unused awhile, but they offer the overall best color capabilities. Your costs, including waste, will take that smile off your face, though.

Getting down to the under 250 dollar printers, though, (which means NOT having an 8+ color inkjet), the dye-sub printers are hands down cheaper to operate, less prone to handling damage and better pixilation than any inkjet. The Kodak series print the best approximations to true Red, Green and Blue than any other home dye-sub, in my opinion.

If you want to do your own photos at home or on the road, are willing to buy the 160 print kit, and want a small photo printer under 250 dollars that give the absolute best image that lasts the absolute longest under normal handling, the Kodak series is the way to go. The only decision for you is WHICH Kodak printer. If you own a Kodak EasyShare camera, you''d probably want a printer with a docking cradle. If you own a non-Kodak camera (with Print Bridge or a compatible memory card), the 500 is your best choice.

Added July 3, 2006:

NOTICE! The Kodak PP 500 will *not* accept any JPEG image over 3.5mb from your memory card when inserted into the memory card slot in the printer. Neither will it accept the DPOF printing instructions from a JPEG over 3.5mb from your PictBridge link. Yes, you *can* print *huge* JPEGs by either (1) sending them from your computer to the printer as a printable file, or (2) manually selecting the print you want from you PictBridge camera and requesting 1 full print.

OK, in simpler terms: If your camera takes photos where the resulting JPEG file is over 3.5mb, you loose the ability to:

1. Do anything at all with such photos directly from your memory card while the card is in the printer''s memory card slot. The printer will complain it''s an invalid file format. No view. No print. No rotate. No multi-ups. No nothing.

2. Use DPOF features of your camera for such files over PictBridge. You *can* navigate to the photo on your camera and request to print it over PictBride, but you can only request a full 4x6 photo (no 2-up, 4-up, etc.), and you can only request one copy. If you want 2 copies, wait for the first to print then request a 2nd copy.

KODAK really blew it on this limitation. With affordable cameras taking snaps in the 10+ megapixel range today, KODAK is really telling customers to use "antiquated" technology for their cameras in order to use the KODAK printer. It''s like Sony selling you a CD player that only plays the first 60 seconds of any song on your CDs. Not what you''d expect from Sony. Not what you''d expect from Kodak, either. VERY curious and VERY stupid.

However, I do stand in favor of the printer. The output quality beats any CMY+Overlay inkjet and is closer to true colors than similarly priced dye-subs. CMY+Overlay+Black inkjets will give you better blacks, but your operational costs will rise and waste will increase. Using the 160 print kits, the Kodak can be cheaper than lab prints (try Provantage as a source). While traveling, I convert my hi-res photos to a copy of lower resolution (using the copy/resize feature of my camera). That way, I can use the memory card and the LCD editing features if someone with me wants a quick snap. At home, I use my computer to print the original, higher quality photo.

Buy Kodak Easyshare Photo Printer 500 Now

Bought a Kodak 500 on line. The LCD never worked so I tried prints from my computer. They were washed out & did not come close to the Computer LCD screen image, Kodak instructed me to return the unit to New Jersey at my expense, evan though it never worked. The several hours spent on line with thier customer service & 17.00 for frieght were compensated with a sample film 10 pack worth 2.50 after I complained about the return freight. I recieved a replacement unit about a month later. It was used but "certified" by the repair center. I set it up & it gave a false empty ink pack message which constantly pops up, it will not work from my directly connected pict bridge equipped camera & the prints I ran from an inserted SD chip are good except the bottom of the pictures are blank with a ragged edge. I am now trying to get a refund & have been instructed to return this unit for repair, ALSO AT MY OWN EXPENSE!! stay clear, Kodak does not back these things for a good reason.

Read Best Reviews of Kodak Easyshare Photo Printer 500 Here

I purchased this printer from Amazon, printed some pictures I had on a card. The pictures were taken mostly on a Nikon Coolpix S1, though some were taken with Kodak cameras. I then tried printing from my Intel based Mac, didn''t work. (Note-call Kodak if you have an Intel Mac and want to print directly, they have a beta driver.) I downloaded a firmware update for the printer, 1.0.4, and after applying that firmware update the printer would no longer recognize the pictures taken on the Nikon camera.

I then purchased another one of these printers from a local store, and pulled the card out of the older/broken printer, inserted into the new printer and it could read/print all of the photos on the card. Thus proving to me that the firmware update was the root cause for my not being able to print those pictures.

The printer would show "Unrecognized file format" on the screen when I attempted to view the pictures. A Kodak V603 camera was able to view the pictures.

I love the printer for family shots, etc and plan to use it to print pictures to send to family. Just an FYI for those that have this printer and might want to print pictures from a camera other than a Kodak. I have a few friends who work at Kodak so I hope to bring this to the attention of the right people and get it resolved in a future firmware update. I realize mistakes do happen, but this one rendered my printer broken to me and I could not get the older firmware to downgrade. :(

Want Kodak Easyshare Photo Printer 500 Discount?

We bought this printer at Christmas and the first had a blank screen (software problem). We returned it to Best Buy, no problem. We enjoyed the new one for 9 months, and now we are having to shipped it to service at our expense with the exact same problem. I am currently reviewing camcorders and are finding reviews very informative. Please take ours to heart.

This printer easily handled a new USB jumpdrive, with photos exported from iPhoto on an old G3 iBook, and was just intuitive to operate. But by far the best feature, besides the many ways you can get photos INTO this printer, is the fact that you know exactly what you per print cost is, because you''ve already bought the paper and the dye transfer cartridge for 10, 40 or 160 prints.

You can scroll through the prints and decide, for each one, how many prints you want. If you have ten sheets, you can print ten prints. You decide. Really great product from Kodak.