Hands-on with the Dell Wasabi

Leonard Goh | Feb 20, 2009

The Dell Wasabi is a portable printer targeted at teenagers. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

Earlier this month, Dell announced the Wasabi, a portable printer which utilizes the Zero Ink, or Zink technology. This technique can be seen as the digital equivalent to Polaroid's Instant Film. In fact, Polaroid already has the Pogo, a 3.2-megapixel digital camera with a built-in Zink printer.

The Wasabi is really light and compact. Fitting one into a jeans pocket was easy enough when we tried as it wasn't as bulky as we expected it to be. There is a removable lithium-ion battery which can last for about 15 photographs before you'll need to recharge it. We think the battery life can be improved, considering its target audience is teenagers who'll probably be printing pictures for everyone in a group photo.

The printer uses the Zero Ink, or Zink printing technology which don't require ink cartridges. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

Because of its compact footprint, the Wasabi can print on only 2 by 3 inches paper. Note that you have to use paper compatible with Zink gadgets and not any other photo paper you print with an inkjet or laser printer. This is because they don't have the chemical coating that is applied on Zink paper. Additionally, when you open a new pack of Zink media, there is a blue color slip with bar codes on it. Place this below the photo paper and let it run through the Wasabi. Dell informed us that this is to calibrate the printer for accurate output. The calibration process takes about 30 seconds.

The slip of paper will calibrate the printer to the type of media used. It comes with every pack of Zink-compatible paper. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

The Dell printer is PictBridge- and Bluetooth-enabled, so most digital cameras and camera-phones on the market can send image files directly to the Wasabi for printing. The transfer rate with Bluetooth depends on your mobile phone as well as the file sizes. At close proximity, the Nokia E71 took about 13 seconds to send a 3.2-megapixel image, while the Sony Ericsson K800i Cyber-shot needed about 25 seconds to transfer a similar resolution photograph.

It took the Dell printer 40 seconds to output a picture in our tests. Do note that as the aspect ratio for the Wasabi is 2:3, images that are 4:3 will be slightly cropped. For our test prints, we didn't see much significant cropping, but subjects that are near to the edge may be affected.

Button layout on the top of the printer. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

There is a reprint button if you need to make an additional copy. We noticed the output from brighter image files tended to look better and have higher color accuracy. Dark photos suffer from noise dotting the darker regions. As for the print quality, it is probably acceptable for its target audience.

The trendy casing is a refreshing touch for a printer. Normally, we associate inkboxes with dull shells and boring aesthetics. For the Wasabi, the mosaic translucent cover gives you an idea of how much paper is left in the gadget, while the smiley/sad face on the top right corner tells you the status of the printer.

With its compact footprint, we didn't have trouble putting the Wasabi in our jeans pocket. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

The Dell Wasabi is already available for sale in the US for US$149, and it is retailing for S$249 in Singapore. Check with your local Dell store to see if the Wasabi will be sold in your part of Asia. As for the photo paper, a 24-piece pack of photo paper with sticky back costs S$18, but there will be other bundles available which may lower the cost per print. Although each picture costs more than what you can get from a printing studio, the Wasabi should strike a chord with teenagers who probably want to print photographs to share with friends instantly.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Printers
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