Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
The Print Alternative?
There has been talk of digital displays replacing real paper prints for years (just like the predictions of the paperless office!). Two contemporary
examples come from Epson and MediaStreet.
Epson entered the home entertainment arena in 2004 with its LivingStation (see Figure 9.13), which comprises a flat-screen HDTV LCD projection
television plus an on-board dye-sub digital printer, a CD burner, computer hookups, and digicam media card slots. The goal is to allow
imagemakers the ability to move from the office to the living room to do all their work, from computer to photo viewing and printing. $3,000+
The latest in a long line of “digi-frames” is MediaStreet’s
eMotion Multimedia Digital Picture Frame. This is not as
high-ticket as the Epson system, but the price for the small
7-inch diagonal screen is also more comfortable: $620. It’s a
combination photo-art-music-movie player, and it accepts all
the usual memory cards and CDs/DVDs.
There’s no doubt that, eventually, every office and home will
have the equivalent of a LivingStation or Multimedia Digital
Frame sitting in a corner or hanging on a wall. However, that
day, I predict, is many years away. People still love their prints.
Figure 9.13 Epson's LivingStation
for viewing, printing, and storing
digital images.
MediaStreet’s eMotion Multimedia Digital Picture Frame.