The thought of Canon printers usually reminds me of when I used one of their Bubblejet things, the ones where the ink would run off the envelope if you took a printed letter out in the rain. Horrible things they were. But times have changed. Canon is now taking on the might of Epson in the printing stakes.

Luminous Landscape has an excellent review of the Canon ImagePROGRAF iPF5000 Printer: ‘This is a 12 ink, pigment-based, 17″ carriage photographic printer capable of printing in 16 bit mode. It is physically large, moderately priced (for what it does), and, as will be seen, surpasses just about every other fine-art inkjet printer yet available, in terms of both image quality and convenience of features. …With the iPF5000 they have taken aim squarely at the Epson 4800, accurately targeting all of that printer’s flaws, and in some ways surpassing its well recognized first-rate image quality.’

If you’re printing fine art, water soluble pigments are definitely persona non grata.

JPG (pronounced, Jay peg) is a file format used for storing and displaying images. It’s the most common format online, only really challenged by GIF.

JPG is the acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It has the apparent disadvantage that when you save a picture in the format it loses some data. This is caused by JPGs compressing the image, which may seem a major drawback. However, the format does preserve a lot of information even in high compressions which makes it ideal for screen viewing.

Most digital cameras save images by default as JPGs. In most case though, you do have some choice over the degree of compression used.

Even inexpensive point-and-shoots will have a menu giving a choice of picture quality in their armory. Please note, this is not about “resolution” which measures the number of pixels in the image. The image quality you set determines by how much the picture will be compressed, so how much quality is lost.

There is a further trade-off in that the higher the quality, the more space the picture will take on your memory card. Remember, you can always use another memory card, but you can never recover the loss of quality in the image.

The bottom line is the use you intend for the final picture. Web pages and emails are best served by low quality pictures. Making prints from the image requires the highest quality obtainable at source.

Here are some useful facts and tips about using photo-printers to produce excellent photographs direct from the camera.

Gone are the days of the box-camera — it is the age of digital technology and digital cameras have taken over the entire range of photography. Digital camera printers with many unique and useful features are now available to take care of this deficiency.

As these digital camera printers do not need a computer to give you the prints, you can print directly from the camera and this makes it very convenient and portable. However, deciding which printer, out of the hundreds flooding the market, would suit you best is the most important question. Given below are the special features and other information relating to these cameras that will help you make the right choice.

In order to get prints at home, digital camera printers have special features ranging from paper sensors that recognize photo media to built-in editing tools. The other special features are given below:

• Memory Card Slots: If you have a memory card slot, all that you have to do is to insert your camera’s memory card and print. You don’t need a computer or any cables.

• Color LCD screen: You can see the photos on a color LCD screen before you print.

• Front-panel buttons: If you want to preview, edit or remove the red eyes, you should choose a printer that has front-panel buttons for this purpose.

• Photo proof sheets: Thumbnail images on a printed page can be displayed on photo proof sheets to enable you to preview and choose the photos you wish to print.

• One-touch connections: You can have one-touch connections to your printer, TV, and PC if you place your camera in a built-in dock for printing directly from your camera. The other advantage is that you can recharge your batteries every time you connect.

Besides considering the above factors you should also consider the following paper-handling factors before you decide which digital camera printer you wish to buy.

• Capacity: It is cumbersome to keep on adding paper to the printer. As such the number of sheets a printer can hold is important. Generally personal printers hold between 100 and 300 sheets.

• Versatility: Choose the printer that can print on the type of paper you wish to use. Some printers cannot print on certain types of papers that other printers can.

• Paper size: Your choice of a printer should be such that it can handle letter (8 1/2″ x 11″) and legal (8 1/2″ x 14″) sizes, as well as borderless 4″ x 6″ and 5″ x 7″ photo paper, panoramic paper, and envelopes.

• Image Quality: The prices of the printers of color photographs, though high in the beginning, have now come down and are within the reach of the average buyer but you must ensure that the printer can deliver photo realistic results, which should be as close to real photographic prints as possible.

• Print Resolution: For fine details and smooth gradation the print resolution should be about 2,400 x 1,200 dpi and this would be more than sufficient.

These digital camera printers store the images we capture on a memory storage device like a memory stick, a memory card, or even the camera’s built-in memory. There are many people who would also like to have actual copies of their photographs. It is a matter of choice and depending on your needs you can choose the best digital camera printer. The above-mentioned features will help you in making the right choice.

By Ismael D. Tabije, who runs the website, www.bestlaptopnotebookdeal.com

If you’re new to digital photography here are Ten Top Tips for buying a digital camera:

1. Price: This can vary from around $100 to upto $10,000 for a high end professional camera. You can buy one with good resolution and options for under $600. Ones with more manual control settings can be found for around $600-2000 dollars, usually suited to serious amateurs.

2. Resolution: To print good quality color photos at the standard film sizes 4″x6″ or 5″x7″ you’ll need a 1-2 megapixel camera. If you are printing as large as 8″x10″ then you’re going to need a higher resolution around 2-3 megapixels.

3. Viewfinder: Low-end digital cameras provide an optical viewfinder while more expensive ones replace the viewfinder with a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Look towards purchasing one with an LCD display. Kodak make digital cameras with superb displays so have a look at those.

4. Focus: Most cameras are either fixed-focus or autofocus which is suitable for the average digital camera user. With a fixed-focus lens everything from a few feet to infinity is in focus. The only problem with this is when shooting pictures up close. Autofocus will automatically bring whatever is in the centre of the viewfinder into focus.

5. Storage: Many cameras come with a small memory card, but if you want to take lots of pictures or footage, it is a good idea to check whether what is supplied is enough. Chances are it won’t be, so look at how much a new ‘decent’ capacity memory card etc is going to cost for that particular model.

6. Compression: If you want the highest possible image quality, look for a camera that will let you save pictures in “CCD raw mode” which means with no compression at all.

7. Batteries: It is important to get a camera that will accept rechargeable batteries. There are three varieties of batteries available Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium-ion (Li-ion or LiOn). A camera may accept only one or two kinds of batteries so be sure to find out what kind.

8. Power Saving: To save battery power, use a camera that accepts an AC adaptor.

9. Interface: If you are interested in maximum speed you should keep your eyes open for cameras and card readers that support FireWire

10. Video Output: This can be invaluable for presentations. If you would like to do this, look for a camera with a video-output terminal. It allows you to display your pictures on a TV or projector.

By David Crossley of www.digitalcamerasinfozone.com ( All the information you need on buying your next digital camera ).