After having had a major role in popularizing this type of photo printer
by bringing to market dye sublimation printers at affordable prices,
Hi-Touch is extending its product line by offering a new printer, the 730PS,
with a list price of $399.00 US, and capable of producing borderless6
x 8 inch (15 x 20 cm) prints.
In addition the printer is able to handle 5 x 7 inch (12.5
x 17.5 cm) and 4 x 6 inch (10 x 15 cm) prints.
Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer Continuous Tone Printing:
The Hi-Touch 730PS operates as do all other such printers. Photos are printed
using a process that involves the application of 3 coloured layer to a
special photo paper, and then finishing the print with an overcoat that
protects the image from stains and UV.
Each colour is applied from
a ribbon cartridge [1] that consists of sequential
panels of yellow, magenta and cyan dyes followed by a transparent
overcoat. Each print is made using a 4-pass process that heats the
image onto the paper using a thermal head [2] that
has a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch). The resulting
300 x 300 dpi is fine enough that the human eye cannot detect
individual dots, making it effectively a continuous-tone print.
Indeed, with an image captured by a camera with a resolution
of at least 4 or 5 megapixel, dye sublimation prints at 300
dpi generally appear sharper than chemistry-based
prints made from 35mm colour print film.
The paper used with the 730PS
is feed to the printer with a paper tray that is inserted
in the front of the machine, able to hold 30 sheets at a
time, while its double-hinged transparent cover receives
prints as they come out of the printer. Worth noting, unlike
most other printers, paper for the 730PS does not have head or tail,
it can go into the tray either way, as long as it's face
up.
6 x 8 and 5 x 7 inch photo paper fits into the tray lengthwise while 4
x 6 inch paper fits into the tray widthwise. Papers are maintained in place
with adjustable sliders inside the tray. Whatever the paper used however,
the ribbon for the 730PS is the same, a large cartridge that can make up
to thirty 6 x 8 inch or 5 x 7 inch prints, sixty 4
x 6 inch prints.
Interestingly, Hi-Touch has
equipped the 730PS with a dust filter, something that none
of their smaller printer has. The filter slides on the inside
of the front panel, and reduces the amount of air-borne dust
that can get into the printer, and then end up on the first
print made after the printer has been left unused for a while.
Design:
The design of 730 PS is clearly rooted in other Hi-Touch printer. The colour,
metallic blue, is the same as the 640PS,
the shape a blend of the 630PS and of the 640PS. However, the 730PS is
considerably bigger than 4 x 6 inch printers, and requires a space measuring
([W]40.5 x [D]45.7 x [H]30.5 cm (16x18x12 inches) in operation. Still,
the space required for the printer remains reasonable thanks to its vertical
configuration, and the paper tray can be removed when the printer isn't
in use.
Stand Alone Printing:
The 730PS can be operated independently from a computer,
using its wired controller and the built-in memory card
reader. The card reader, like the printer itself is USB
1.1 and USB 2.0 Full Speed compatible and supports:
CompactFlash (I & II)
SmartMedia
SD/MMC
Memory Stick
Memory Stick Pro
xD (in a CF adapter)
and Microdrive.
The controller is equipped with a 1.5 inch,
high resolution, colour LCD monitor and
the menu it presents can be controlled with the buttons
below the screen:
Escape key
OK key
Arrow pad
Edit/Media selection key
Menu key
Print key
Used in stand alone mode, all the printer's functions are accessible through
the menu.
The menu screen indicates the
size of the printing paper (6 x 8) at the upper
right and the number of the memory card slot in use, in this
case (2).
The consists of 8 options,
each identified by an icon:
Photo
Quick Photo
ID Photo
DPOF
Index
Print All
Sticker
Setup
Photo: serves to select one
or more images for printing. Photos are first displayed
as thumbnails, 4 per screen, but can also be seen
full-screen. The up down arrows on the controller
are used to set the number of prints to make of any
particular image, effectively selecting it for printing.
Once a photo has been selected, pressing the Edit button
on the controller opens a list of options:
Move when used in combination
with Resize makes it possible to crop
the image.
Rotate rotates the selected image
in 90° increments (0°, 90°, 180°,
270°)
Resize makes it possible to zoom
into the image so it can then be cropped with
the Move option above.
Copies sets the number of copies
to make of the image.
Enhance allows control over Brightness,
Contrast, Colour (red, green, blue and yellow),
Sharpness.
OK confirms selections made above.
ID Photo prints a sheet of ID
photos, perfect for passports and other documents that
require a number of photo at a specific size. This
option requires the use of 4 x 6 inch paper, and allows
these formats:
33x45 mm
28x34 mm
35x50 mm
2x2 inches
50x50 mm
50x70 mm
45x65 mm
40x50 mm
35x45 mm
41x51 mm
30x40 mm
25x30 mm
35x35 mm
25x35 mm
2x3 inches
Index prints an index print of
the photos on the card. Three different thumbnail sizes
can be specified for each of the 3 print sizes that
can be made with the 730PS. In the chart below, the
number of thumbnails per page is shown as h x v, and
the total possible number of thumbnails per print is
shown in brackets:
4 x 6 inch paper:
6 x 5 (30)
8 x 7 (56)
5 x 4 (20)
5 x 5 inch paper:
7 x 6 (42)
9 x 8 (72)
6 x 5 (30)
6 x 8 inch paper:
8 x 8 (64)
10 x 10 (100)
7 x 7 (49)
Sticker is
for use with
Hi-Touch photo sticker paper.
Quick Photo immediately makes
1 print of a selected photo — no editing is possible.
DPOF prints photos according
to the DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) tags that
have been set with a camera.
Print All prints all images on
the card. Should the printer run out of paper/ribbon,
a notification appears on the screen.
Setup accesses the 730PS basic
configuration menu.
Card select: (CompactFlash or Multi-slot).
Update Firmware: allows updating the
730PS firmware from a memory card.
Printer Settings sets the printer default
settings for:
Position Calibration prints out
test sheet which serves to select the best
alignment of the image so that it bleeds
a little bit past the long edges of the
paper, and the tear-off ends.
Printout settings allows adjusting
way the printer interprets the colour space
of images and their brightness and sharpness.
Settings can be tweaked for: Brightness,
Contrast, Colour red and green, or blue
and yellow, Sharpness, Reset to Defaults,
and Save the any new settings.
Matte Effect applies a slight
texture to the print's overcoat giving
it a less shiny look. (On or Off)
Date Print prints the date on
the image according to the image's Exif
data. (On or Off)
Save: saves all changes to any
of the settings above.
LCD Adjustment allows adjusting the
LCD monitor's image for Contrast, Brightness,
Colour (red or blue), Horizontal position, return
to Defaults, or Save changes.
Language: selects the operating language
of the interface.
Cleaning Mode: asks that the ribbon
be removed and then pulls 1 sheet of photo paper
in and out of the printer to dislodge any particles
of dust that might be there.
About: displays the firmware version.
Printing From a Computer:
One CD is included with the 730PS. It contains the printer driver and a
new version specific to the 730PS of PhotoDesiree, Hi-Touch's
own image printing program for Microsoft Windows (Macintosh OS X 10.2
users can download the driver from the Hi-Touch Web
site).
730PS Windows Driver:
With Microsoft Windows, the Properties of the 730PS driver serve
to select the paper to be used, the orientation of the print (portrait
or landscape), and whether or not a preview will be shown prior to printing.
The Properties window of the driver has much the same function as the Setup menu
of the printer when it is used in stand alone mode (See above).
Three other tabs at the
top of the window control provide additional controls:
Tools provides a means to calibrate the printer if needed
by printing a test chart from which the adjustments are derived.
The same section also provides for a preferred setting to optimize
skin tones, or to select Windows colour management.
The next section, Advanced Tools, serves to clean the printer
using a special cleaning sheet that is available from Hi-Touch, and allows
very fine calibration of the 730PS colour settings.
The Advanced Colour Setting
window lets the user load an image and provides control over
brightness, contrast, sharpness; in addition to fine controls
over colours.
Moreover, when settings are complete, the specific configuration can be
saved and reloaded as needed later.
If a preview of the image has been selected in the printer's Properties,
yet another opportunity is provided to adjust the print.
The Preview window offers
adjustments for brightness, contrast and sharpness, along
with a scaling option that can be used to crop an image
much like the Move and Resize options
of the stand alone mode. And, as with other Hi-Touch photo
printer drivers, a button labelled MiraBella presents
a screen with 9 preset slight colour variations of the
photo about to be printed and which can be used to optimize
colour tones further if needed.
PhotoDesiree
2.0:
The new version of PhotoDesiree, version 2.0, is reserved exclusively for
this new printer. Regrettably, in comparison to the version for 4 x 6 printers,
this first release of version 2 still has a fair number of bugs in its
interface and is hobbled by a bit of rough appearance, mostly due to the
overly aggressive JPEG compression used to make the buttons, some descriptive
text that displays as nonsense characters, and poor translations such as "Do
not any layer exist!".
Similarly, the interface itself
has problems adapting to various monitor resolutions, or
resizing, and if the window is maximized or resized, some
of the buttons disappear from the lower part of the screen.
Still, even with these display problems, the program does function and
can be used with the different types of papers available from Hi-Touch.
Like the Windows driver, PhotoDesiree
offers the possibility of correcting images for colour, brightness
and contrast.
Running Costs:
Obviously, the larger paper size of the 730PS costs more than the supplies
for Hi-Touch's 4 x 6 photo printers. As with the other printers though,
the paper is sold in packs that include the ribbon:
6 x 8 size
30 Prints
$ 29.99 US
5 x 7 size
30 Prints
$ 23.99 US
4 x 6 size
60 Prints
$ 23.99 US
Note: At this time the 730PS is so new that it is not yet
available widely. Canadian and European pricing should be available
in the coming weeks.
Image Quality:
There is no doubt that Hi-Touch has got another winner with this printer.
Just like other Hi-Touch printers, the colour rendition of the 730PS is
excellent. So good in fact, that tweaking the image is never required if
the photo is reasonably good to start with.
Although this first release of PhotoDesiree for the 730PS is still a bit
quirky, it does work. Moreover, the Printer Driver which allows printing
to the 730PS from any Windows-based photo program is totally functional
and very simple to use.
The 730PS offers some simple,
but important improvements over previous Hi-Touch printers.
First, with this printer, 3 print sizes can be made, including
the most popular 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 inch. Second, the addition
of a dust filter helps reduce the dust that always finds
a way into the printer. Still, we strongly advise users to
keep the printer covered when not in use. Third, this is
a USB 2.0 printer and it prints fast. A large 6 x
8 inch print is made in 70 seconds, a 4 x6 print in a mere
45 seconds.
And fourth, the 730PS does not
use paper that has a particular orientation. As long as it's
face up, there is no need to fuss about which end of the
paper goes in first.
The fact is, with most dye sublimation printers the user is extremely unlikely
to be unhappy with the output. They are that good. What it comes down to
is the cost per print, and how good the colour reproduction is. With the
Hi-Touch 730PS, there is no reason to complain. The printer is excellent,
and so is the driver. Although it has a resolution of 300 dpi, we were
able to make very acceptable 8 x 6 prints from 2-megapixel photos. While
with 5 and 6 megapixel images, the prints were nothing short of outstanding.
and
the menu it presents can be controlled with the buttons
below the screen:
Sticker is
for use with 
PhotoDesiree
2.0:
