Sony's DPP-FP55 dye-sub photo printer is the better-specified version of two recently announced postcard-size printers from the company. It varies from the slightly cheaper FP35 by adding a colour 2in LCD screen and a media card reader.
Not surprisingly, Sony's Memory Stick formats are catered for, as are the more popular SD and MMC cards. However, there's no support for Compact Flash or the tiny xD card, thereby excluding the handy reader from a raft of Olympus and Fuji users and users of many professional and semi-pro cameras. It's not all bad news, though, both PictBridge and Direct Print compatible devices can still print through one of the two USB ports. While the Sony doesn't have a Lithium-ion battery option for true print-anywhere freedom, it has some handy built-in image editing features instead. It's just as well, as the FP55 is devoid of Mac drivers: if you want to print from a Mac, you'll have to first save your images on a memory card.
Print-layout options are comprehensive, too, and include the usual index print, passport-size prints and the like, as well some cheesy calendar and titling choices. What's odd is the decision to bury the borderless printing option in the Setup menu. Furthermore, we noted some very heavy-handed cropping of the top and bottom of our images. Prior to printing, the cropping isn't really noticeable, but you can zoom to check focus and the FP55 makes full use of the sizeable LCD to display images.
Although reasonably brisk for most files, the time taken to display each shot still varies by file size. Print times were suitably impressive, though. With each 6 x 4in print taking around 60 seconds, you won't be left waiting to see the results.
While we like the DPP-FP55, we'd like it even more if the print quality wasn't such a mixed bag. Prints were over-saturated, although most users will find the results attractive. It made skin tones, for example, look particularly appealing. Even greyscale prints were impressive, but closer examination revealed areas of pure white had an unpleasant grey cast.
So should you buy the Sony DPP-FP55 over its nearest rival, the Canon Selphy CP710? Probably not, although there's little to choose between them.
Should you buy the Sony DPP-FP55 over its nearest rival, the Canon Selphy CP710? Probably not, although there's little to choose between them.Author: Kevin Carter
Sony DPP-FP55