Canon Selphy CP790 Digital Photo Printer

Canon photo printers are typically excellent, and the Selphy CP790 digital photo printer--the high end of the Selphy line--is no exception. It's also at the high end in terms of price for a photo printer, and worth it. That's not just because the printed photo quality is excellent, or that it's very easy to set up and use, but also because it's the coolest-looking and, perhaps with the exception of the Polaroid PoGo, the most fun, photo printer I've tried.

This top-of-the-line Selphy photo printer compares price-wise with the Sony DPP-FP97 Digital Photo Printer , which puts it between $170-200. The Canon Selphy CP790 is the most expensive of the Selphy line of compact photo printers and while it doesn't particularly excel past the other Selphys I've tried, it's still worth the extra money. Why? Well, because it comes in a big green bucket, which holds not only the actual printer (which is quite small) but also has space for cables and accessories. There's something so audacious about a big green bucket that it's hard not to like it.

The Selhpy is a dye-sublimation printer--it uses a proprietary ink ribbon and special paper) that allows printing from a wide variety of media. A color 4x6 photo took just over one minute to print. Because it's a dye-sublimation printer, the photo comes out of the printer and is pulled back in several times to add new colors to the print. Photos print out with astoundingly rich and deep colors, and were as sharp as any printed photos I've ever seen.

Basic photo-editing features such as red-eye removal, and fun stuff such as frames and calendars, are easy to use via the printer itself--since it's meant to be portable, everything can be done without connecting to a PC.

Since it's meant to be portable (I mean, it's a big green plastic bucket!), it would be nice if Canon would include the battery and the Bluetooth adapter. If you want to go truly portable, you'll need to spend another $79.99 for the battery and $49.99 for the Bluetooth adapter. Ink and paper come together; on Canon's site, 36 sheets of paper plus ink are $11.99 (4x6).

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.