Sony Snaplab

[foto op]

I am considering purchasing the Sony Snaplab Printer and was wondering if anyone had it and was using it. If you do or have had experience with it would you please let me know --

thanks,

Joe

[JDArt]

Do you have a link? Never heard of it.

[foto op]

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...me=specs&var2=
http://www.upcr10l.com/

[happusa]

Never was a fan of dye sub printing for home use. That Sony printer will only print up to 5X7. For a lot less money you can get an Epson R2400 that will print 13X44.

[foto op]

Actually... I bought it last week. It will be used for the events that I shoot for clients that want prints right away. I have tested it and love it -

Got it from this company: http://www.upcr10l.com/ The guy's name is Bob and he was great to work with. If you inquire about it please tell him I referred you.

And I have other printers for larger prints - this is not a printer a professional photographer would buy for anything other then events or weddings.

[Mr. Pickles]

It certainly seems fast, putting out a 4x6 in 16sec. From the site you bought, the print packs are priced pretty well for home printing with a 4x6 coming in at 25 cents per print. The 5x7 ones seem a lot higher than they should be (69 cents per), but maybe it is me.

Overall, I think most will not be buying this, unless they are doing what you are doing. Event shooting and the like will make this printer worth it.

[foto op]

This is not meant to be a home printing product. With the initial investment being over $1500. This is meant for working pros who do high quantity events or for retail stores looking to put a quick easy printer onto a sales counter. You can put pricing and control the passwords for who gets to print on it.

Also the cost for a 5x7 at .69 is not bad at all -- compared to a $3-4 price at a quality lab.

[Mr. Pickles]

I know it is not a real home printing product. I meant to as a statement that most on here are thinking in terms of home printing. I certainly think that it has its place, and that it would serve you and others well in a "store" type setting, or even at large events. Doesn't look portable, but certainly could be used off-site easily I'd think.

[foto op]

its not the most portable thing in the world -- ABS does sell a rolling case for it though for $250. but at $24lbs - its not that heavy either. i have my first event with it on sept. 8th -- with about 200 couples so we will see. but i really like the tests so far.

[shmspac]

I have used dye sublimation printers (Fargo) for printing security access cards and like the finished product, although I have not used dye sublimation for printing on photo paper, so I would be interested in hearing your comments after you have used the Sony printer for awhile. As for cost, it really makes little difference (to me) if the output is of quality, after all, having a high quality print is the objective of most photographers and having a printer that produced consistent quality prints would be welcomed. On the other hand, there are lots of dye sublimation printers from which to select, so what is it that drew you to Sony?

[foto op]

I can tell you that my first impressions, having had it less then a week, but running about 50 prints through it, are very good. Just this morning, my son took off for his first day of 7th grade. I printed and index sheet for my wife to choose from, 4x6 prints and wallets in about 10mins. The controls for editing are very easy to use - cropping zooming, re-positioning. I pumped the contrast a little, and ran them off -- all prints in about 15 seconds.

As for what brought me to it -- The combination of the quality and consistency I was hearing, the ease of transport - it's only 24lbs., and the per print price. Also a lot had to do with Bob at ABS - he answered all my questions on the phone and gave me a thorough run through for about 2hours on site. I had brought a CF card with photos and we also hooked up my laptop. He had originally offered to let me borrow it for a few weeks, but after I spent some time with him and the unit, I decided to buy it on the spot. Excellent customer means a lot to me.
Yes - there are a lot of units out there -- some more and some less expensive - This one fits right into my work flow with lots of options for growth.

enjoy

[Horse Photog]

It's been a few months now since this topic was originally posted. Photo op, do you have any updates for us? I'm wondering if the device has adequate memory to handle 2 gig flash cards?

[foto op]

I do not think there are any restrictions - I use a 2GB Hoodman card and haven't had any problems -- I would suggest contacting the company I bought it from to double check -- http://www.upcr10l.com/ -- tell them I referred you and ask them -- if you get an answer please post it here -- I will tell you that I have used it for about 5 different events with no challenges and only wonderful results!

happy shooting

[Horse Photog]

I e-mailed several questions the them, but haven't heard back from them yet. Joe, does the Snaplab handle RAW files? Or does it work with JPEG only?

[foto op]

According to their web site and specs of the unit - it will only handle the following:
JPEG: JFIF 4:4:4, 4:4:2, 4:2:0 (baseline JPEG)
Exif 2.2.1 compatible
DCF 2.0 compatible
TIFF: Exif 2.2.1 compatible (TIFF-RGB non compressed)
BMP: 24bit Windows format
(some versions of the file formats may not be compatible)

Which leads me to believe that it will not handle RAW files -- but most events can be shot in high-res JPG - at least that's what I do -- I did just also leave a message for Bob saying that you had emailed him -- if you don't get a response try him again - there is also 800-355-2271 -- he's a good guy -- thanks

[Horse Photog]

According to Bob, the regional amnager said that the SnapLab will NOT handle RAW files and his advice was not to shoot in JPG + RAW. The memory limit issue has not been resolved, and remains a potential issue since I shoot 4G cards.

[foto op]

hmmm didn't know or hear of any issues with larger cards -- like I had said I used a 2gb CF card without issues -- if you want to send me your 4gb card I will test it out for you -- just send me a private email or goto my website for my address -- happy to do it and send back a couple of prints.

Happy Turkey!

[KimPossible]

Hi foto op,
can you please tell me how sony can charge over 1500.00 for this printer? how does it compare to other protable photo printers that cost 150.00 - 229.00? I understand this one prints in 15-17 seconds, but the epson portable photo printers print in approx 30-40 seconds. Is the 15-30 seconds worth almost 10 times the cost?

Ive recently gotten into shooting parties, events, weddings - and am looking for a reasonable way to print great photos fast. My epsons work fine, but you seem really happy about the sony snap lab. Can you please tell me if youve ever used an inkjet portable photo printer, and help me understand paying q500.00+ for a portable photo printer?

I appreciate all help from anyone. thanks ...

[foto op]

Hi Kim, et al --

I have had other Epson portable printers, PictureMate, etc. and have never been happy with the speed or ease of use. One size, slow, inkjet, inconsistent -- The Sony, while certainly more of an investment, is easy to use and has lots of variable packages, sizes and the speed for high volume events is amazing. I can print key chains for kids at a kids party and turn around and print 4x6 prints for the adults -- Figure also that if you are printing 250 photographs at an event. The Epson at 35 seconds (using your #'s) would take almost 2.5 hours to run those prints. vs. The Sony at 16 secs per print would take about 1 hour. If I can cut my printing time to my client who is standing over me waiting in half - then it's worth it -- and the per print cost of .25 for a 4x6 is wonderful --

Here is another way to look at it -- If you figure that you charge $10 per 4x6 to your client then you will more then pay for the Sony in one job. $10 x 250= $2500.

That's how I justified it to myself. I paid for the printer and the paper in 2 jobs - now I am making pure profit everytime I take it out of the box.

Best thing I can say is to contact Bob at http://www.upcr10l.com/ and ask him questions -- he really knows his stuff -- please tell him I sent you -- helps my relationship with him too -- Happy Shooting
Joe