The Epson PictureMate Flash ($300 street) is Epsons new top-of-the-PictureMate-line photo printer. Its also the most complete personal photo lab available to date for printing 4- by 6-inch photos.
Not only does it produce true photo-quality prints at fast speeds, but its built-in combination CD-RW burner and DVD reader make it easy to print from optical discs or to copy your photos from a memory card to a CD.
Epson says the Flash, which will be sold only through Best Buy, should be available in early November.
If you dont want a CD drive, Epson will be happy to sell you the PictureMate Snap (which is the Flash but without the optical drive) instead.
The Flashs drive goes a long way, however, toward turning a typical dedicated photo printer into a self-contained photo lab. With it you dont need a computer to print from optical discs, archive your photos on CDs, or simply copy photos so you free up space on your memory card.
Even better, Epson has made it so easy to burn CDs that anyone can do it—even the most extreme technophobe. Simply insert a memory card and a blank disc, press the Save button, and step through a few easy instructions and questions on the LCD.
You even have the option to print an index sheet so you have a visual record of the photos on each disc—a particularly nice touch.