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The passage of photos from the digital world to the physical world can be both tortuous and tedious. I like to think of my smartphone as a bit like a visual diary, its built-in camera capturing hundreds of memories. Freeing these memories can be a little tricky though; connect a USB cable, transfer them to my PC, connect a photo printer, load in some photo paper and print them one at a time. What a bore!
The Bolle BP-300 is a wi-fi enabled photo printer that has a built-in iPhone dock. The wi-fi function is especially useful as once I had downloaded the free “Bolle PhotoAir” app, I could, for the first time, print direct from my Android smartphone. If you are an iPhone lover, you can also dock directly with the BP-300, charging and printing at the same time. Even digital cameras are catered for, with the built-in USB socket allowing PictBridge compatible cameras to print directly.
The BP-300 doesn’t work like a normal inkjet printer, as it uses thermal dye-sublimation technology. Instead of employing micro-droplets of ink, this process uses heat to transfer dye from solid to gas state onto specially coated paper. Inside the box you get three cartridges with each one containing 36 sheets of 4inx6in photo paper. Everything is built into the cartridge – so if you can stomach the £15 cost per cartridge, you know that each print is going to cost you 42p.
The quality of the prints produced is impressive and at £149, the BP-300 is a neat solution for those looking for hassle-free printing.
Bolle BP-300 Wi-Fi Smartphone Printer
£149, from www.amazon.co.uk and www.mymemory.co.uk; for more information see www.prinics.com