Canon intros printer in a bucket

By John Mello on May 14, 2008 6:05 PM

For shutterbugs who want to print on the go, Canon USA today announced a mobile printer that at first glance looks like something you'd find the Easter Bunny toting around after a trip to KFC. The Selphy CP770 ($149.99) is designed to be not only portable--it comes in a storage bucket with a handle and storage area for paper, ink, cartridge and power cord--but independent, too, since it can be used without plugging it into a computer or camera. For true independence, though, you'll need the optional battery pack, which sells for $79.99. The printer is designed for ease of use--its buttons are larger and there are fewer of them--and with its color offerings--apricot and "crisp" white--it's definitely not aimed at the Goth set. Other features include a 2.5-inch LCD for previewing images before they're printed and a high speed infrared port that's compatible with some mobile phones.

In addition to the CP770, Canon also introduced today the more-conventional looking CP760 ($99.99).

Like its offbeat cousin, the 760 has a 2.5-inch display. It also has a card reader for reading memory cards and a USB port. Both the 770 and 760 have features often seen in point-and-shoot digital cameras, such as automatic red-eye correction, dynamic range manipulation and face recogntion and improvement. What's more the printers use a new overcoat technology to help reduce blurring and fingerprint smudges. After the colors have been laid down on the print, the unit applies the overcoat through a proprietary lamination process, which reduces bleeding and blurring as the print is finished and protects it from fingerprint smudging, water damage and ultraviolet light corruption after it leaves the printer. By the way, if wires, cards or line-of-sight wireless connections are unappealing to you, an optional Bluetooth adaptor is available for the printers for $49.99.