Olympus P-330 Digital Home Photo Printer
Details
- Availability:
- Usually ships in 1-3 weeks
- List Price:
- $569.99
- Our Price:
- $489.99
- Savings:
- 14%
- Average Customer Rating:
- 3.0 out of 5
- Manufacturer:
- Olympus
Ready to Buy?
- List Price:
- $569.99
- Our Price:
- $489.99
Features
- Makes real photographic prints
- 1,024 x 1,376 effective pixel resolution
- Supports 32-MB SmartMedia
- Works with PCs, Macs, and digital cameras
- Captures video stills from any standard video device
Description
The P-330 Instant Photo Printer extends and expands the commercial possibilities provided by the popular, award-winning Olympus P-300 Personal Photo Printer. In addition to producing still camera images, the P-330 can be connected directly to a TV set, Camcorder, video or DVD playback device for printing still photographs of action shots. It's a great option for a variety of business applications and supports true photographic output with continuous-tone 300dpi dye-sublimation printing.
With the Olympus P-330 home photo printer, you can take all those photos you made with your digital camera, or downloaded from the Web, and print them on real photo paper. You can also capture stills from any video device, edit them on TV, and add them to your photo collection in just a few minutes.
This printer comes with an overwhelming array of accessories and cables, yet we were able to figure out which accessories fit into which slots without consulting the owner's manual. (However, we do recommend that novices read the owner's manual before attempting setup.) We simply plugged in the printer, attached the parallel cable, and inserted the paper tray and ribbon cartridge. Then we dropped in the CD-ROM and followed the setup wizard on our PC.
Next, we tested the printer's features. We started our favorite image-editing program, opened a previously scanned 24-bit color photo, chose the Print command, and waited. After two minutes of mysterious humming, the printer produced a great-looking new photo. At arm's length, the quality of the print was astonishingly true to the original. Closer inspection revealed definite pixelation, but the output was still much better than a print on coated paper from a good quality ink-jet printer.
We also attached an S-video cable (not included) from a DVD player to the P-330, and connected the composite video cable from the P-330 to a monitor. Looking at the P-330's controls, we intuitively guessed how to select the video-input signal and how to capture a still shot from the DVD player. We pressed the P-330's Print button, and the photo printer produced the image two minutes later.
The P-330 impressed us with both its sophistication and its simplicity. It's fun to use, and if you enjoy digital imaging, but miss the feel of photographic paper in your hands, then this photo printer makes a great companion for your digital camera.
Pros:
- Includes accessories to get started right away
- Intuitive setup
- Mac- and PC-ready right out of the box
Cons
- No quick start card
- Slow printing
No film No computer, No waiting for prints to arrive. Make true, photo-quality prints at home in about two minutes with the P-330 Digital Home Photo Printer. Simply insert the memory card from any SmartMedia digital camera, preview the images on your TV, select the ones you want to print, the total number of prints and photos per page, press a button and out they come. You can also print stills from videotape and use the P-330 to sharpen, mask or crop the image before you print. Or connect the P-330 to a computer to enhance and manipulate images electronically or print out any computer generated image - even images downloaded off the internet. It's the most versatile home photo printing solution you can buy. The P-330 prints 1, 4, 9, or 16 photos per sheet to be printed in single or multiple copies on photo paper or labels, or as thermal transfers for printing on photo mugs or other merchandise. Images can also be individually tagged on the SmartMedia card using the Olympus digital camera image selection feature for later printing or all images can be printed consecutively using the P-330 "all card" feature. The images can be transferred directly from the camera by removing the SmartMedia card and inserting it into the printer. Images can also be printed from a computer through the serial (Macintosh) or parallel port (Windows) for users who want to retouch their photos before printing. The P-330 printer provides three pass capability for fast and economical printing and four pass printing with a UV overcoat protection for extra image longevity. The printer auto-senses the ink ribbon cartridge (three or four pass) and responds accordingly. It prints a 4" x 5.5" page at a rate of about 2 minutes per page in 24-bit color depth with 16.7 million true colors.
Spotlight customer reviews
olympus p-330 photo printer
[ Posted: 2000-10-12 ]
the printer gave very good results, but see no need for all the insturction books, (2) that come with the printer. Everything said could surly be condensed to one simple to read and use set of insturctions. there should be a better system to tell what you are going to print before you print it.
Does one job well
[ Posted: 2000-04-10 ]
This printer is designed for one task- printing 4x6 color images. It's not real fast or real cheap but it is very easy to use and the quality of the prints is comparable to conventional photos. This printer is particularly useful if you use your digital camera as a replacement for a point-and-shoot, and you want to be able to get good, quick prints with a mimimum of fuss. Individual prints are probably more expensive than conventional photos but you don't pay for printing pictures you don't want, so in the end it's probably more cost effective. Compared to ink-jet printers, it's clearly less versitile, but you don't have to remember to load special paper or make special settings, and you won't run out of ink in the middle of a print job, as each paper pack comes with a print cartridge that runs out when the paper does.
Good for what it is
[ Posted: 2000-02-09 ]
This is not an Office printer. It print as good as a 35mm film camera does. Do not expect any thing else. Small paper high cost but best picture that U can get.
P-330/Sony Digital Camera
[ Posted: 2000-01-08 ]
There are suggestioons, including on Amazon.com that the P-330 and a Sony Digital Camera that uses 3.5" floppy disks are compatible. To a limited extemt this may be true, but direct use is not possible as the P-330 only takes the smaller Smart Media disk. It would appear one would be well advised to use a Sony printer that can directly receive the 3.5" floppy disk; otherwise one of the feature attractions of a printer is defeated. The one star rating is only in connection with a Sony digital camera.
No driver for Windows NT. Picture quality is poor.
[ Posted: 1999-10-10 ]
The setup was relatively easy until I tried to hook it up to my PC. There is no driver available for Windows NT workstation. I tried to install it under Windows 95. Spent most of my Saturday with downloading drivers from their website. Finally called tech support and got email back that someone will call me in 2-3 days and also to be patient. Color quality is ok. I could print from my Sony Digital camcorder. It takes about 2 minutes to print a 4-5 in. picture. Save your money and get something else. This printer is not ready for any prime time yet. At least they should include a driver that works.