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General Performance
Warm-Up (8.02)
All of the other dye sublimation printers we’ve tested so far warm up quickly, ranging from 7 to 14 seconds. But the 731PS outdid them all, warming up lickety-split, ready to print in just 5 seconds.
Power Usage (6.01)
Inkjet printers are the most energy efficient home printers available on the market, and laser printers are the most power-hungry. Dye sublimation printers fall somewhere in the middle, with relatively low "ready" power usage (the power used when the printer is waiting for commands). Watts used increase significantly when printing, with the values jumping around as the printer performs the various tasks associated with printing. In a dye sub, this ranges from simply advancing the paper to heating the element that fuses the ink to the paper.
The 731PS falls to the bottom of the pile of dye sub printers tested by Printerinfo’s lab when it comes to power usage. Watts used in both ready and printing modes was greater than any other printer tested.
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Power Usage (watts)
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Printer
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Off
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Idle
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Ready
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Printing
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Self-Cleaning
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Canon Selphy ES1
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0
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n/a
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3
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32
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n/a
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Canon CP730
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0
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n/a
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3
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56
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n/a
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Sony DPP-FP90
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0
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n/a
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4
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55
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n/a
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Panasonic PX20
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1
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5
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6
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31.5
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n/a
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HiTi 731PS
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0
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n/a
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6
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63.5
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14.5
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Photo Speed / Timing (4.29)
Like a similar Hi-Touch Imaging model, the S400 Dazzle (reviewed here-link), the HiTi731 PS achieved a print speed score in the middle of all the compact printers tested. The 731PS was actually much quicker than the S400, but its inability to read our 19-megabyte file brought its score down considerably. In the table below, the 731PS clearly shows quicker speeds than the Canon Selphy CP730 for printing images from a PC, but the lower memory card scores hobbled it.
The 731PS was able to print a 4-by-6-inch photo from a PC in about 54 seconds, a 5-by-7 print in 72 seconds, and 6-mb and 19-mb 6-by-8-inch prints in 79 and 98 seconds, respectively. The highest scoring printer, the Sony FP90 only scored a little better for PC prints, but was much quicker with 4-by6-inch prints from memory cards—44 seconds for small files and 53 seconds for large files.
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Compact Photo Printer 4 x 6 Photo Print Speeds in Pages per Minute
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From Computer
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From CompactFlash
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Small file
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Large file
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Small file
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Large file
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Sony PictureStation FP90
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1.18
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1.06
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1.36
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1.12
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Epson PictureMate Snap*
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1.40
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1.40
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1.36
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0.10
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Canon Selphy CP730
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0.83
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0.81
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0.98
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1.00
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HiTi 731PS
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1.12
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1.12
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0.81
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n/a
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Canon Selphy ES1
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0.74
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0.74
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0.81
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n/a
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Panasonic FX-PX20
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0.73
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0.57
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0.56
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0.48
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HP Photosmart A440*
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0.61
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0.60
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n/a
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n/a
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* Compact inkjet printers included for reference
Color Accuracy (2.93)
Despite the low score, the 731PS actually performed well in our color accuracy test. The score is based on an ideal value of zero error, which no printer can achieve and very few come close to. Its error value of 7.34 was lower than every other dye sublimation printer we’ve tested and lower than many inkjets. Only top of the line photo printers and a couple of others scored better. Other dye sub printers, such as the Sony FP90 and the Canon Selphy ES1, yielded 9.75 and 8.60 color error values, respectively.
The error value we base our score on is calculated from the difference between the color values of a standard color chart, known as the X-Rite Colorchecker, printed with the tested printer and the actual ideal values with which the chart was created. (A representation of the Colorchecker chart is shown below.) We measure the printed chart’s values using an X-Rite EyeOne Pro spectrophotometer, which gives us what are known as La*b* values. The a* and b* values are coordinates on a x and y axes of a color graph, while the L refers to the saturation or lightness of a particular color on the chart.
The greatest errors were evident in the yellow to red side of the spectrum, with the lowest errors in blues and greens. Flesh tones were about midland. There were no colors that were outrageously off and none that were dead on, so the error is spread somewhat evenly across the colors.
An even better score was achieved by creating our own custom profile for the HiTi 731PS using X-Rite’s Color Match software and spectrophotometer. This custom profile yielded only 2.01 mean color error, an excellent score. However, we base our test score on the printer’s stock abilities, and this includes the standard profile.
Color Gamut (3.43)
As expected for a higher end dye sublimation printer like the 731PS, the range of colors it can reproduce, known as its color gamut, was very good, better than all other dye subs tested. The 731PS was able to reproduce just over 48 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, the standard color space we measure printers against. The 731PS reproduced 588,383 of the Adobe RGB’s 1,225,088 colors. The best printers tested, high-end photo inkjets, were able to reach the 60th percentile.
We determine these numbers by viewing the printer’s ICC profile within Gamutvision, a software program developed by Norman Koren for viewing gamuts and exploring color management. The graph below shows the 731PS profile as a color blob nested within the Adobe RGB space, represented by the wire frame. Notably lacking is good reproduction of greens and yellows, but the printer reproduces a decent number of blues and reds.
Dmax (5.16)
Color in printing is often measured in units of density to determine how saturated colors and tones will look. The extremes of these density measurements are known as dmin and dmax, representing the lightest tones and darkest tones, respectively. We measure the darkest tone to give readers an indication of how rich a printer’s output could be. (The dmin value is usually set by the paper.) The densest value that a printer can achieve is 2.50, and only the higher-end pro photo printers have even come close to this.
The HiTi 731PS achieved a respectable dmax value of 2.11, not the highest we’ve seen a dye sub printer produce (Sony FP90, 2.30) but better than most. The value created nice, deep shadows in our black-and-white test prints. A smaller model made by HiTi, the S400, reviewed here (link), had a dmax of only 1.99. This may not sound like a huge difference, but the density was clear to the eye in our test prints.
Monochrome (5.50)
Our black-and-white test prints from the 731PS were not as good as expected. The prints did have a respectable tonal range with good highlight detail and deep dark tones, but shadows were a little blocked and mid-tones a tad muddy. That said, we thought this printer produced the best black-and-white prints of any dye sub yet tested, but still not a match for the Epson PictureMate series compact inkjet printers.
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