Review:
TruPhoto
by Art Umland
In the good old days before there were computers to spend one's time and money on,
photography was my main hobby. So I have watched with interest, but not really jumped
into, digital photography as it develops. Seeing computer technology and and photography
gradually merge is exciting! I used to do a lot of photographic darkroom work and
there develops (pun intended) the quandary. Good printing skills require attention
to detail and quality is paramount. The appeal of digital graphics is that one can
take a photographic, digital or conventional, and use your computer to manipulate
the original image. That was also at the heart of some of the more advanced darkroom
work.
Digital photography at consumer level prices is what is of concern here. Were I to
win the lottery and have almost unlimited cash I would have digital photography capability
in a flash. EROS Data Center has been selling digital graphics for years. (You really
should tour their facility northeast of Sioux Falls some time) And commercial publications
are cranking out beautiful images. Unfortunately, the quality of resolution from
consumer grade digital cameras, scanners, and printers is still a ways off from allowing
one to duplicate the efforts of Ansel Adams.
The offering described below from Panasonic caught my interest and I did check out
their WEB site information. I do wonder why they designed their equipment to use
a 3 1/2 x 5 inch format when 4 x 6 inch prints are practically the standard now days.
Panasonic now offers TruPhoto, a digital photo printer. The printer creates a photographic
image by releasing color dyes inside TruPhoto paper. So you don't have to add toner
or ink to the printer, simply use the paper. The photo yields a glossy 3 1/2 x 5
inch image. Based on the expense of the paper each print would cost about 75 cents,
assuming you have what you want on the first try!
The printer uses full 24 bit color and prints in 2 minutes. Minimum requirements
are a 68030 CPU at 33 Mhz with 8 MB RAM using MAC OS 7.1 or better and a CD-ROM drive
for MGI PhotoSuite for TruPhoto. The printer weighs 5.5 pounds and is 10" W
x 3" H x 12" D.
The Tru-Photo Printer sells for $479.95 and a pack of 20 sheets of paper sells for
$14.95. A special offer includes an 8 pin MAC cord to connect the printer to your
computer.
Additional information is available at http://www.truphoto.com.
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This article was first published in the April 1997, Apple Core of Siouxland newsletter.
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