After installing the Windows driver software you can print to the DPP-FP90 from any windows application. Elegantly simple, the driver software has only two tabs in Printing Preferences.

The first tab in Printer Preferences has options for Orientation, Page Order and Page Format.

The second tab in Printer Preferences has options for Tray Selection (even though there is only one tray) and printing in Black & White or Color.

DPP-FP90 Menus

There are a number of functions available from the menu button on the printer.

Menus:

• Edit - Picture Station printers allow you to enlarge, reduce or rotate images and shift images to improve composition.

• CreativePrint - Create custom Layouts, Calendars, ID photos or Superimpose messages or greetings on photo prints, add special filter effects (Cross-filter highlights, Partial Color, Sepia, Monochrome, Paint and Fisheye lens effect)

• Easy Printing - Print and Index, DPOF Print or Print All images

• Slideshow - View a Slideshow on the LCD

• Print Setup - Define quality, Borders, Print the date taken on the photo, Modify Color Settings

• Display/Printer setup - Change Listing order of prints, Date Display type, Brightness of LCD backlight, Unit of measure and menu Language

• File operation - Copy or Delete files, Format Memory cards

• Image Search - Search by File number, Date or Folder

Auto Touch-Up

If you select an image on the LCD and press the Auto Touch-up button on the control pad the FP90 will perform actions to improve the selected image. This actually worked rather well on most tested images.

Picture Motion Browser

Picture Motion Browser version 2.0 for Windows is included with the FP90. Our test printer did not come with the software so we can not review it. However Sony states that with "Picture Motion Browser, you can browse, edit, and manage still images and movies recorded with your camera or saved on your computer. With Picture Motion Browser's calendar view, you can browse your images automatically organized by the recording date and time. You can also print out images, or send images by attaching them to an e-mail from Picture Motion Browser."

Steve's Conclusion

The DPP-FP90 is a fully-featured, compact, personal dye sublimation photo printer with a 3.6" color LCD. It offers direct printing from any PictBridge compatible camera and many types of memory cards. It can also be plugged into your Windows PC (sorry, no Mac support) and used like any other photo printer.

The print quality is excellent, and thanks to the protective overcoat, UV resistant and durable. The printing process is totally dry, no leaky ink cartridges to change, just a ribbon cartridge and the special Sony paper. Dye-sub printers make four passes on the paper, three to lay down the primary colors (magenta, cyan and yellow) and the fourth pass puts a protective overcoat on the print.

The DPP-FP90's MSRP is US$199, but the street price was only US$169 or less when we wrote this review. 4" x 6" prints cost between 25 and 50 cents each, depending on the Print Packs you purchase. The print speed, about 45 seconds for a 4" x 6" is quite fast. The imbedded editing capabilities make it easy to organize and print your photos, and also lets you create mini-photo calendars, postcards and other special prints. Setup and use is very simple and we're sure that the FP90 will please those that want a high-quality, portable home color printer.

The bottom line - The photos from this compact, portable printer are excellent. The imbedded controls and edit features worked very well and were easy to understand. The coated prints we made are durable and water resistant. If you need a fast color printer to take to family reunions or anywhere you want to print color photos on the spot, the DPP-FP90 is the printer that seems to set the standard in this arena.