Epson on November 2 debuted its PictureMate (PM) 210 and 250 photo printers, featuring direct printing from handsets and game consoles, in the Taiwan market at recommended retail prices of NT$6,990 (US$211) and NT$7,990, respectively.
According to market surveys by Epson, the global demand for 4"×6" photo printers will increase from 11.3 million units this year to 14 million next year, said general manager Victor Chen for Imaging & Information Solution Business Group of Epson Taiwan.
For the Taiwan market alone, International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates the demand for 4"x6" photo printers will grow from 11,300 units in 2006 to 13,800 in 2007, Chen indicated. But Epson is more optimistic, projecting the Taiwan demand to be 14,000 units for this year and 27,600 units for next year mainly because the IDC forecast is based on photo printing from digital cameras mainly but demand from printing from phone cameras and digital TVs is growing, Chen pointed out. The demand for direct printing from phone cameras is expected to grow especially fast since the mainstream camera resolution is shifting from 1.3 megapixels to 2-3 megapixels which is suitable for color photo printing, Chen added.
| Epson PictureMate 210/250: Main specifications | ||
| Specification | PictureMate 210 | PictureMate 250 |
| Resolution | 5,760 x 720 optimized dpi with Variable-sized Droplet technology | |
| Screen | 2-inch color LCD | 2.5-inch color LCD |
| Printing speed | 53 seconds for a full-color 4"x6" photo | 42 seconds for a full-color 4"x6" photo |
| Printing format | USB direct printing, PictBridge | |
| Dimension (W×H×D, mm) | 215×262×339 | |
| Weight (including inkjet cartridge) | 2.5kg | |
Source: Epson Taiwan, compiled by DigiTimes.com, November 2006
Epson recently launched its PictureMate 210 and 250 portable photo printers in Taiwan
Photo: Epson Taiwan