For a little more than a year, consumers have been able to take both the PC and the desktop printer out of the equation when printing their 4-by-6 photos by using dedicated portable printers that have been popping up on the market at reasonable price points.

Epson's PictureMate Deluxe isn't the newest kid on the block, but it continues to differentiate itself -- along with HP -- by using ink rather than the thermal dye method (like in real photo labs) espoused by competitors like Canon and Samsung.

Epson's device is also a little bulkier than its competitors, though the general design bears some similarities to HP's model, which might be a coincidence or just a consequence of using ink.

The PictureMate prints 4x6 prints at a speed of about 60 seconds per print. Rarely will it fluctuate much above or below that mark. Epson guarantees that an ink cartridge will be able to print 100 prints before needing to be replaced, although that number can be pushed up to 200 depending on varying factors like types of photos, color saturation and resolution.

This "printing guarantee" is a bit of a gimmick, however, for though you might be able to squeeze so many more photos from the ink cartridge, you still have to buy more special photo paper, and that paper is sold in ink and paper bundles only.

Despite the razor and blades hook of prints and ink, there's a lot of good in the PictureMate Deluxe. For one, the unit can handle just about every storage medium available: SD, CompactFlash, XD, Smartmedia and Memory Stick Pro. Too, MiniSDs and any other storage formats can be used along with an adapter that allows you to plug the device directly into the PictureMate Deluxe via USB.

The PictureMate Deluxe also sports a 2.4" LCD screen, which allows for a full preview and some limited editing of photos that you intend to print. You can also navigate and pick individual photos to print in a certain sequence, as opposed to just printing everything from a card.

The system works well, though the screen tends to be on the blurry side. Then again, the inbuilt editing features of red-eye reduction, cropping and color correction don't really demand crystal image clarity; it's clear enough to navigate, the menu system is simple as are the various editing functions: adding borders, re-sizing for wallets, artsy black and white or sepia tone, etc. All told, a simple yet seamless user experience. Even those who feel intimidated by technology should be able to get the gist of the PictureMate in less than half an hour.

Oddly, the loading dock on the back of the PictureMate is slightly too wide, which means that the print sheets don't fit snugly and are prone to moving. Hence, a white line will sometimes appear on the top of the newly printed photo. You can alleviate this problem by flushing the sheets tightly right, manually, but it still seems like a design flaw. After all, the PictureMate Deluxe is meant to print no larger than 4x6; the paper tray just doesn't seem aware of it.

Printing from a PC is pretty easy — provided that you use the proprietary software that comes with the unit. Try to calibrate the PictureMate with Photoshop and you'll be tinkering for a long time.

The software isn't bad, mind you, but it does pale in comparison to something like Photoshop... then again, it's free with the printer, so you can't expect much more.

There are a couple of peripherals for the PictureMate that some may find handy: a battery pack and a Bluetooth adapter, sold separately for about $80 Cdn each. The battery pack is pretty straight forward and allows you to print up to two hours continuously, which is great if you're going away for the weekend. The Bluetooth adapter, of course, will let you print directly from wireless devices like cell phones and even some wireless digital cameras.

Where the PictureMate Deluxe really shines is in the quality of the photos it churns out. The colors are vibrant, the paper nicely textured and the protective coating very reliable (these stain- and water-proof prints can last as much as 200 years, according to Epson. Hard to check on that, mind you). It's reproduction quality is so good that bad photograhers will be expsoe. For example, if you're prone to shaking the camera slightly when taking shots, the output from the PictureMate will make that glaringly evident, even if the shot looked great on the camera's LCD screen of your camera.

Fortunately, the very purpose of the PictureMate is to enable something near "instamatic" hard copy printing and viewing, so if you blow it, you can always edit the shot or just shoot a new one and print that.