The dye sublimation printing processes is the closest you can come to photo-lab-quality results at home. With traditional photo laser and inkjet printing methods, images are made up of individual coloured dots. Yet when these printed materials are examined closely, the dots don't add up to a very realistic photograph.

Dye-sub printing works by rolling a continuous cellophane film that is impregnated with four solid colour dyes over the paper, one colour at a time. As each section of coloured film passes over, the print head heats up to differing degrees and impregnates varying intensities of yellow, magenta, and cyan (corresponding to CMYK) onto the glossy surface of the paper. This process is also sometimes called dye diffusion thermal transfer.

The diffusion of each CMYK dye into the glossy paper is softer, so there aren't the sharp edges of individual pixels. The sublimation process produces a glossy image which should last years without fading, is waterproof (although the paper is not), and won't smudge.

Furthermore, because replacement paper and colour films are sold as a kit, there is an exact number of colour films for the exact volume of paper. The downside to this is a paper jam will mean one image worth of colour film goes wasted.

First Impressions

At first glance, the Samsung SPP-2040 is such a compact device that it's easy to jump to the assumption its battery powered. It is not... although that would be a very desirable capability. The unit weighs just over 1.0 kg, and measures a scant 18 x 14 x 7cm in size so it is quite portable.

From the top of the Samsung SPP-2040 we see the power button (outlined in blue) at left, the 2" colour LCD screen which can fold up or down for better horizontal viewing, the Control pad, Zoom In/Out buttons, Menu, Cancel, and Print buttons.

At the left hand side of the SPP-2040 there is the DC-power jack, USB2.0 type-B port which connects the unit to a computer, and USB1.1 type-A jack for the bluetooth adaptor or cable directly to a PictBridge-enabled digital camera. The 2" LCD screen flips up to about 45 degrees, but the mechanism feels very flimsy.