The VuPoint Solutions Photo Cube IP-P20-VP is similar to, but one step down from, the VuPoint Solutions Photo Cube IPWF-P30-VP that I recently reviewed. Like its more expensive sibling, it's a dedicated photo printer designed to print strictly from smartphones, tablets, and PictBridge cameras, and it can print both 4 by 6 photos and panoramas at up to 4 by 16 inches. As with the IPWF-P30-VP, if you want to print without moving files to your computer first, it can be a good fit.
It's easy to tell the IP-P20-VP from the IPWF-P30-VP from a distance, but only because it's white instead of black. Beyond that, the main differences are the IP-P20-VP's lower price and its lack of Wi-Fi. If you want easy photo printing from your camera or mobile device, either one can do the job. But if you don't need Wi-Fi, the IP-P20-VP's lower price makes it the preferred choice.
Basics and Setup
The IP-P20-VP is a thermal dye printer, a category that also includes the Canon Selphy CP900. At 5 by 6 by 7 inches (HWD) and only 3.1 pounds, it's reasonably portable. However, it's not as portable as the CP900, which is not only smaller and lighter, but has an optional battery available. The IP-P20-VP needs to plug into a power outlet.
Much like the print cartridge for the Canon CP900, the IP-P20-VP's cartridge includes both paper and ink, in the form of a dye roll. This welcome convenience lets you load ink and paper in a single step. Unlike the Canon CP900, however, the IP-P20-VP has the advantage of being able to print photos at different sizes: 4 by 6, 4 by 11, or 4 by 16 inches. The printer can manage this trick because the paper is stored in a continuous roll. When it's finished printing, its built-in automatic paper cutter slices the roll to releases the photo as the last step.
One other unusual feature, which the IP-P20-VP shares with the VuPoint IPWF-P30-VP, is a 30-pin connector for printing from iThings. The connector is on the top of the printer, with a raised rest behind it, so you can connect an iPad, iPhone, or iPod to print from. According to VuPoint Solutions, the dock works with iPhone models 4S, 4, 3GS, and 3G; the iPad, iPad2, and third generation iPads; and the second through fourth generation of iPod touch.
There's also a USB port on the side of the printer that you can connect to by USB cable. VuPoint Solutions says it works with all the same Apple models, plus the iPhone 5, fourth generation iPad, iPad mini, fifth-generation iPod Touch, and Android smartphones and tablets using OS 2.0 and above. In addition, it supports PictBridge cameras. There's no way to print from a computer, however.
Setup is simple. The printer comes with a 10-photo starter cartridge already installed. All you have to do is take the printer out of the box and plug it in. Replacing the cartridge is also easy. Slide the old cartridge out and slide the new one in.
Speed and Photo Sizes
To print a photo from a mobile device, you have to download the appropriate version of the VuPoint Solutions Photo Cube Advance app to your phone, tablet, or iPod. You can then run the app, pick a photo, connect to the printer's dock or connect by USB cable, and print. To print from a PictBridge camera, you simply connect the camera by USB cable and use the camera's built in commands to print.
For my tests, I printed from a Samsung Galaxy S3 phone and a Canon PowerShot S60 camera. For testing the panorama feature, I used photos I took with Wondershare Panorama version 1.5.1, a free app available on Google Play.
For both the camera and phone, print speed for 4 by 6s in my tests varied from 1 minute 11 seconds to 1 minute 29 seconds, which is essentially the same range I saw with the IPWF-P30-VP. Keep in mind that these results aren't comparable to our standard tests, which use a specified suite of photos and print from a computer. One valid comparison, however, is to the Editors' Choice Epson PictureMate Charm, which took 43 to 52 seconds to print 4 by 6s from the same camera using PictBridge.
As with the VuPoint IPWF-P30-VP, the IP-P20-VP can print panoramas in three sizes, with the Photo Cube app giving you the choice of 4 by 6, 4 by 11, or 4 by 16. For each of these sizes, you can use the app to zoom in on the photo to print only part of it and drag the photo on the screen to choose which part to print. You can also zoom out to print more of the photo, with white space above and below. Not surprisingly, the times for each size were similar to the times on the VuPoint IPWF-P30-VP, at 1:15 for the 4 by 6 size, 2:20 for 4 by 11, and 3:37 for 4 by 16.
Output Quality, and Other Issues
Output quality, unfortunately, showed the same shortcomings I saw with the VuPoint IPWF-P30-VP. Photos in my tests tended to lose details based on shading in both light and dark areas, and many of the photos had a slightly soft focus, which is a known potential issue for thermal dye printers despite the true 300 dot-per-inch resolution with no need for dithering. This puts the quality at the low end of what you would expect from drugstore prints and is best described as snapshot quality overall.
I also saw an additional issue with panoramic photos. The panoramas are printed in sections, with vertical lines showing between sections, and with a noticeable color shift from one section to the next in some cases.
As I mentioned in my review of the VuPoint IPWF-P30-VP, VuPoint Solutions is aware of the problem and has temporarily addressed it by removing the ability to print panoramas from its latest upgrade the to Photo Cube app, version 3.59. At this writing, the company still plans to fix the problem before reintroducing the feature. Until the fix is available, however, panoramic printing with the IP-P20-VP will be limited to letting you create panoramic collages of 4 by 6 photos.
One final issue that the IP-P20-VP shares with the IPWF-P30-VP is the cost per photo. At $19.99 street for a 36 photo cartridge, 4 by 6 photos are 55.5 cents each. You can double that for 4 by 11 panoramas and triple it for 4 by 16 panoramas.
I'd like this printer a lot more if it had higher photo quality and a lower cost per photo. It would also help if it let you print from a computer. However, the snapshot quality is acceptable as long as you don't have too critical an eye. If you simply want an easy way to print from your phone, tablet, iPod, or PictBridge camera, that may be enough.
That said, what really makes the VuPoint Solutions Photo Cube IP-P20-VP different and worth considering is the potential to print panoramic photos. Even the flawed panoramas, with vertical lines and color shifts, would be good enough for some purposes. Any improvement will make the output that much more attractive. If the ability to print panoramas is enough to make you consider getting this printer, however, you'll want to be sure before you buy it that the feature has been added back to the app.
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