Kodak printer dock 4000

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By Calvin Siew
Nov 03, 2003

If you own a Kodak digital camera and are a big fan of direct printing, the company's new dye-sublimation printer may just be your cup of tea. This latest offering of the printer dock series builds on the earlier EasyShare printer dock 6000's direct way of converting your digital images to 4R prints. However, unlike its predecessor which worked with cameras made in the year 2003 only, this model is compatible with all CX/DX3000 and 4000 series cameras.

One Stop, One Touch
Following the EasyShare printer dock 6000, this latest entrant has the ability to charge your camera while you're transferring images to your computer, or printing. As such, you'll find two rechargeable 1,850mAH nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries bundled with the unit. Even though this should really be a commonsensical scenario, there is no caution on the printer dock to remind users to use rechargeable batteries instead of disposables when docking their cameras--especially in light of the dangers associated with the charging of disposable batteries.

Staying true to its roots--"You press the button, we do the rest"--the printer dock 4000 is really easy to set up and operate. You can start transferring images or printing with just a touch of a button. There is, however, a slight annoyance with regard to previewing or the selection of images. Unlike other manufacturers which make use of a cable to connect the camera to a printer, the Kodak camera sits or docks to the printer.

Even though this equates to one less cable to lug around, it does mean that in order to make use of the camera's LCD, you'll have to turn the printer around. In addition, depending on your particular make of digicam, buttons and controls placed near the base of the device will be difficult to access.

In Use
Like most dye-sublimation printers in its class, the printer dock 4000 sports a low print resolution when compared to conventional inkjets. However, unlike the latter, where pictures are formed literally in dots, dye-sublimation units make use of color (cyan, magenta, yellow and, sometimes, black) films that are heated to permeate the glossy surface of the paper media. This produces photos which are of a continuous tone and which, upon close inspection, do not exhibit grains that would otherwise be visible on some inkjets. Therefore, we found the overall quality of the printer dock 4000 to be generally above average, satisfying the needs of most point-and-shoot users. I should also add that dye-sublimation printers add a layer of clear, protective coating which makes your photos more scratch- and water-resistant. In the case of the printer dock 4000, Kodak calls it XtraLife laminate.

In terms of speed, we found this Kodak to prefer print jobs spooled from the PC. In our tests, outputting from the PC allowed prints to be churned out at about 25 seconds faster. True to the printer's specifications, it took approximately 2 minutes for the first photo to be printed when using a camera--subsequent photos required about 90 seconds.

As with Canon's CP-300, there're a few things to look out for and (possibly) address during printing with the printer dock 4000. Due to the relatively small footprint and design of this Kodak unit, you'll have to keep the side of the unit clear (up to 9.5cm) of any obstructions for the paper to exit. Still, we found it strange that it required that much room given that the input tray already extends a rather lengthy 15cm. Additionally, because the unit requires the use of heat to produces photos, it will pause for a cool-down period when it gets too hot. This happens under heavy usage and with multiple prints.

Price For Simplicity
The printer dock 4000 is arguably one of the easiest and most complete companions for a digicam. Still, it's not without its price. Firstly, due to the proprietary connection, this accessory is available and useful to Kodak digital camera owners only. Next, the consumables are sold in packs of 40 and cost S$36.90 (US$21.20). What this translates to is a rather dear S$0.92 (US$0.53) per photo--albeit for scratch- and water-resistant outputs.

All In All
At S$349 (US$201), the EasyShare printer dock 4000 is easily one of the most affordable dye-sublimation 4R photo printers around. If ease of use and functionality are high on your list of priorities, and you're a current (or soon-to-be) owner of a Kodak digital camera, the printer dock 4000 may just be the thing for you. It'll give you quality outputs that you expect from a Mini-Lab, with convenience at the touch of your fingertips.