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Out of the box (7.00)
The HiTi S400 comes with all the components necessary to get started printing, minus a print pack, not even a starter kit. Included is the printer, paper cassette, LCD controller, dust proof case, power cord, quick start guide, user manual, CD-ROM with drivers and software, and, amazingly enough, a USB cable. No other printer manufacturer includes a USB cable. Thank you, Hi-Touch.
Setup (6.75)
Setup was quick and easy, and this was one of the things that the documentation described well enough. The whole process, including software installation, took 12 minutes.
Manual / Quick Start Guide (4.00)
The literature included with the S400, both printed and electronic, are not very good. Few things are explained adequately, and there are no extended instructions available, even on the company website. Diagrams of the printer show most of the important features, but not all of them are explained, like the four buttons on the controller that turn on and off specific features. The manual names them and describes that they are turned on and off with the buttons, but no specific explanation of what they do or how they work is provided. This is not necessary with the Date Stamp button, but the Auto Color and Signature buttons should be explained.
Drivers and Administration (7.00)
The driver for the HiTi S400 is divided into four tabs, three of which offer controls. The Setting tab allows for setting the page orientation, paper type, number of copies, and a Magic Coating setting. Clicking this checkbox opens a window (shown below) that provides patterns to be applied to the clear overcoat layer. Users can apply a finely embossed grid pattern which is supposed to simulate a matte finish to the paper. Users fond of matte finish shouldn’t expect a very noticeable effect. The other option is a pattern of cartoon-like images of cat, cow, and dragon heads and zodiac signs. Again, the pattern is very subtle so it doesn’t interfere with the image, but at the same time, it’s so subtle that we wonder why someone would want to apply it.
HiTi provides a position calibration tool in the Tools tab that allows users to print out a gauge pattern on the paper they’re using. Users are then instructed to select the numbers along the vertical and horizontal axes that line up with the paper edge. This is supposed to calibrate the printed area to align with the edge of the perforations on the short side and the edge of the paper on the long side. These numbers are entered in the driver window and saved so the paper is calibrated. We wonder why this is necessary. Other dye sub printer manufacturers don’t have these controls and their prints come out aligned with the paper. It’s not a difficult process, but we’re left wondering if it could be eliminated with better automatic driver control of the printer.
The S400 driver’s Color tab provides the user with a reasonable amount of control, giving them the ability to accept standard auto color settings or manually adjust image settings themselves. Users can choose not to use these settings at all, use Windows ICM management, or select the four auto image settings: Portrait, Portrait Enhanced, Landscape, and Landscape Enhanced. The Auto button disables the use of the slider bar controls on the right of the Color tab. The Manual button allows it. These include brightness, contrast, sharpness, saturation, color settings, and gamma. Users can preview these changes on a stock mountain scene when landscape is selected, and a stock baby portrait for the portrait setting (Three different skin colors are represented—black, Asian, and white).
Checking the Color Spread Management button on the Color tab slows down the printing to provide a more even application of color to the paper. Apparently, the heating process can potentially cause irregularities. We printed with this button unchecked and did not notice any unevenness.
An option to print out RGB color charts also occurs on the Color tab. This button opens a window in which users can select up to ten pages of color squares (500 colors total) for use in matching it to onscreen images.
Software (5)
Photo Désirée Deluxe is the software that ships with the S400. It’s a very simple program that allows users to browse files, select images and page formatting, apply Magic Coating effects, and queue them for printing. It does the job with no frills. Beyond that, any image editing would have to be conducted in the driver or third party software.
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