HiTi Photo Printer 630PS

Page one of the print driver has options for selecting the media type, setting the orientation, printing 2-inch ID photos, number of copies, enabling the Preview function and optionally adding a visible watermark (Magic coating) over the picture.

Page two lets you calibrate the printer, set a specific skin tone (Yellow, White or Black), enable Windows color management or disable color preferences altogether.

Page three displays the printer's firmware version, serial number and release date. It also has a hyperlink for visiting HiTi's web site for newer firmware or printer drivers.

This is the Preview screen, if you check the "Run Preview" box on the first page of the driver then this screen comes up before each picture is printed. From here you see "visually" exactly how your picture is going to look when printed. You can alter the brightness, contrast or sharpness as well as change the scaling and then re-center the picture.

Most digital cameras create images that use a 4:3 aspect ratio so when printing them at 4x6" you will always be cropping some of the picture to fill the entire print area. Now you know why some cameras have a special (3:2) resolution setting, this yields perfect 4x6" prints with no cropping.

Clicking on the "Mirabella" button from the Prevew screen will bring up this quick selection window. You are shown 9 variations of your picture, each has a slightly different color or contrast - just pick the one that looks best and that's how your print will come out. Doesn't get any easier than that.

Application Programs

PhotoDesiree   delivers professional quality results with an easy to use User Interface. It allows you to create personalized calendars, poster and greeting cards. With creative color toning buttons; options for adjusting saturation, contrast, sharpness, brightness, hues. PhotoDesiree gives you studio quality results right at home.

Using PhotoDesiree is as simple as: (1) Select desired image file, (2) layout the image, adjust colors, drag to Print Queue and print.

Full TWAIN support for cameras, scanners or whatever. DPOF direct printing support. Templates for the HiTi 4x6" photo, 4x2x4 sticker and 4x4 sticker media. You can easily view, organize, print and save your image collections as albums for quick recall and future printing.

This is the 4x2x4 sticker paper. Simply drag-and-drop the desired photos into each of the three template areas. All of these small photos peel off and have a self-adhesive backing to let you stick them wherever you want. Kids love them for school notebooks and such. They're also perfect for ID badges too.

Image Enhancer   lets you adjust the image's color, brightness, contrast, sharpness and gamma.   You can scale the image up or down as desired and even color tone the entire image with the preset buttons. And as you can see from this frame, it's easy to add one of the pre-defined photo borders.

Here's the drop-down list of predefined image sizes that can be applied to print multiple pictures or specific size pictures, like 2-inch ID photos for passports and etc.

It's easy to add a calendar or text anywhere in the image desired. Shown here is the text entry window with all of its size, font and color options.

This is an actual 4x6" borderless print, the two end tabs are ready to be easily removed, just bend them twice and they seperate cleanly. Even though this is a good scan it still doesn't do it full justice, the pictures are just as colorful as the best film print you ever had made. The paper is thick not flimsy, it feels like a "photo" and it has a real nice glossy surface and comes out completely dry.

Steve's Conclusion

October 2003 update: Hi-Ti has now made available Mac OS 10.2 drivers for download from their website

So I guess you can tell that I am quite positive about this printer. Personal dye sub printers are great for making "jumbo" color prints at home that rival what you get from your local film lab. These 4x6" printers satisfy the needs of most digicam users because they rarely make prints larger than 4x6" size anyway. Other dye sub printers cost from $349 to $500 and have a consumable cost of about 75¢ to 85¢ per print. The HiTi 630PL and 630PS printers lower the initial purchase price to $169 and $249 respectively and slash the per print cost down to an economical 40¢.

We've reviewed a number of other 4x6" dye sub printers and the HiTi 630PS has print quality that rivals any of them. If you've used an inkjet photo printer then I'm sure you have been overwhelmed by driver choices (color matching, resolution, dithering, microweave, bidirectional, etc, etc) -- and frustrated by the usual "it doesn't look like the picture on the computer screen" results. Dye sub printers are fixed at 300x300dpi, they're continuous-tone so there's no dithering settings to mess with. And print after print comes out with the right color balance and looks and feels just like a regular photo lab print. These prints are waterproof, smearproof and overcoated to protect them against UV fading too.

The HiTi 630PS takes up very little room on the desktop, it's easy to setup and operate - some may even call it "fun" to use. Because of its diminuitive size and weight you can take it with you and print your pictures anywhere - without need of a computer. This is sure to make you the center of attraction at the next party or family get-together. Sixty minute film processing is one thing, 100-second instant digicam printing is another, and you don't even need to leave home!

I give the HiTi 630PS my "Two Thumbs Up" seal of approval. Hopefully at this price point many more people will be able to enjoy the "digital photography experience" in a positive way. No more tossing bad prints into the waste can and saying goodbye to $.75 or more in consumables. For $249 the HiTi 630PS clearly blows away the competing printers and if you don't need the standalone capabilities, the HiTi 630PL at $169 is an incredible buy for the same image quality and low per print costs.

US visitors $

UK visitors £