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The Epson PictureMate Snap is the lunchpail of portable photo printers. With all the doors closed, the unit is an unassuming dark gray plastic box with a handle for carrying.
Tour
Front
The front of this compact printer hardly looks like a printer at all. In keeping with the overall plain look of the PictureMate, the front of the printer is simple dark gray plastic with rounded edges merging into the sides. The PictureMate logo appears at the center top with the words "personal photo lab printed" below. Epson is printed at the bottom right of the front. The print exit door, measuring 4 1/4" wide by 4-3/4" high, is front and center, made of the same gray plastic, and hinged at the bottom. With the door open, a slit near the bottom shows where the paper is output through the rollers. Near the top of the compartment are two memory card slots for SD/xD/Memory Stick Pro and a larger slot for CompactFlash cards. In the upper left corner of this compartment is a tiny black lock that keeps the door in place when transporting.
Back
The Epson PM240 has more features on its back than on its sides. There are two ports on the left for different USB cables—one for PictBridge-enabled cameras and the other for the computer connection. On the right side is a large round jack for the power cable. In the center of the top is a rectangular-shaped protrusion for the hinges for the top door and the back of the input paper tray. A plastic cover that hides the niche for the optional battery pack sits dead center in the back. This cover pops out with a simple latch so the optional battery can fit in its place. At the bottom of the back is a rectangular plastic door held closed by a magnet which opens via a finger slot to reveal the compartment for the ink cartridge. The cartridge slides in just like a VHS cassette.
Left Side
This side looks very much like a lunch pail with its large handle attaching in the center.
Right Side
The large handle attaches at the same point on this side and is the only feature seen from this angle.
Top
The top looks very minimalist when the cover is closed. There is a hinge near the back edge to hold the door in place. A darkened plastic window lies in the center of the door, which is the same color as the rest of the printer. There is a cutout for fingers near the front edge of the door. When the door is opened, this lunch box starts to look like a printer. The dark window on the door fits over a hinged LCD screen in the center of the top. The LCD display, inset in black plastic within a thin gray plastic housing, folds upward about 80 degrees for easier viewing. Behind the LCD is the input paper tray with edge guides that slide as a unit.
To the left of the LCD monitor are two square gray buttons: power on the top and display on the bottom. Below each corner of the LCD are two small circular gray buttons that make selections in on-screen menus. Directly below the center of the LCD is a navigational control that consists of four gray directional buttons and an OK button for selection. At the control’s left is another square gray button that accesses menus. In the lower left corner of the top is a black rectangular Open button, which releases the front output tray door. To the right of the navigational control is a red Cancel button followed by the lime green print button with a printer icon on it. This button is quite large and well distinguished from the other controls.
Interior
When the lid is lifted and the front door opened, this PictureMate still doesn’t reveal many internal components. Some printers have large exposed rollers and heads, but the PM240 keeps its interior protected as much as possible. The front door does show a roller where prints are output, but it is small and the door is often closed. Also in this front door are two memory card slots. The open lid reveals the top of the printer and the paper input tray that looks like a deep dark abyss. The ink cartridge compartment is the only other look inside.
Components
Display (6)
The Epson PM240 has a 2.5-inch LCD monitor that is protected under a lid, although there is a dark window in the lid that allows users to peek in at the LCD. The screen doesn’t exactly line up with the window, but users will almost always have to open the lid to access the buttons around the screen anyway. The PM240’s LCD screen folds up about 80 degrees and can be seen fairly well from side to side. The sharpness and resolution aren’t great: expect a lot of stair-step-like edges on print previews. No images looked good on it, but at least users can distinguish the picture of the elephant from the picture of the car—maybe.
Paper trays (6.5)
The input paper tray sits behind the LCD monitor and has edge guides that can slide from a 4-inch width to a 2-inch width. The open lid behind the feed acts as a part of the paper tray by propping the paper up. This can hold up to 20 sheets of PictureMate photo paper, which is the same amount that comes with the printer. The output paper tray pops down from the printer body when the "open" button on the top is pushed. The door doesn’t fold down all the way; it rests at an angle so paper doesn’t fall out easily. This tray doesn’t have edge guides or any sides to keep the paper from slipping and sliding, so slick glossy prints may slide sideways easily.
CD burner (0)
The PM240 printer doesn’t have a CD burner, although the next model up in the PictureMate line, PM280, aka the Flash, does include one. The PM280 retails for $199.
Battery (8)
The Epson PictureMate Snap PM240 is designed to be incredibly portable with its lunch box-like size and handle. The optional rechargeable battery enhances this quality because users can potentially take it anywhere with or without a power outlet. The battery is long and skinny and fits onto the back when a plastic panel is popped out. It costs about $50 on Epson’s website.
 Power Supply
Included with this Energy Star compliant printer is a power cable and 120-volt power adapter. The skinny cable plugs into the back of the printer and connects to the larger power adapter and its attached plug. If users wish to carry the Epson PM240 somewhere power outlets aren’t available, the optional battery can be purchased to power the printer.
Internal memory (0)
The Epson PM240 doesn’t have much internal memory to work with. There is an option to save photos in the menu, but they can only be saved on an external backup device. They can’t even be saved on the memory card in the slot.
Hard drive (0)
No hard drive is included nor is it standard with any of these small compact printers.
Accessories (7)
This is where Epson will make most of its money. The printer itself costs about $150, but it only includes enough ink and paper for 20 pictures. Thus, users will have to purchase one of the two compatible ink/paper products, which include a color ink cartridge and 150 sheets of glossy 4x6-inch paper for $37.99 or 100 sheets of matte paper for $32.99. The printer does not come with a USB cable, so some users may need to purchase one. Epson’s website sells one for $10, and that is about $3 or $4 more than the ones you can find at your local chain pharmacy. Epson also sells a Bluetooth photo print adapter for $39 which plugs into the USB port and allows the printer to communicate with and receive photos from Bluetooth-enabled computers, cell phones, and other devices. Another accessory on the Epson website is a carrying case, but it seems almost unnecessary because of the Snap’s self-contained design, with all buttons, ports, and paper trays protected, and of course, the sturdy handle. Nevertheless, the black carrying case sells for $35. Lastly, perhaps the most useful accessory, a rechargeable battery sold on Epson’s website for $50, allows users to create prints anywhere—even if there isn’t a power outlet in sight. Epson didn't specify the capacity of the battery or how many prints you might get out of it, and we were not able to test this.
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