Epson sets a furious pace unrivalled by other printer manufacturers when it comes to turning out new products. While most of its new models offer only minor tweaks, the IP-100 is distinctly different from others on the market.
Most Epson printers are housed in its signature beige chassis, but the IP-100 comes in a rather racy, black box with several brightly coloured buttons and a large LCD panel. These unusual features typify this machine.
The printer does not require a computer to print images from digital cameras. While other printers on the market can do this, most offer 3R- or 4R-size prints only, work only with cameras of the same brand and generally allow little or no control over how pictures are printed.
Hit the power button on the IP-100 and a string of musical notes is followed by a female voice with a rather thick Cantonese accent that asks you to insert a card into the printer. Could it be the voice of starlet and Epson spokesmodel Kelly Chen guiding you through yet another adventure in colour printing? Be still my beating heart.
The IP-100 includes a PC Card Type I slot. Using a PC card or a PC card adaptor, you can plug stored JPEG images from a range of digital cameras into the printer without any hard wire connection.
The printer comes with a CompactFlash adaptor, and others can be purchased for SmartMedia and Sony's Memory Stick cards.