For many business applications, there's no need to splurge on a pricey laser printer. Leif Rideout, an architect in Santa Cruz, Calif., is about to buy a Stylus Photo to print computer-generated renderings. Engineers at the 18-employee energy engineering firm of EME Group in New York use a Kodak DC40 camera to help clients troubleshoot problems with boilers, pumps, and cooling systems. A field engineer shoots the problem equipment from every angle, then ships the photos to colleagues. The savings in time and travel have been enormous, he says.
Some newer models save the photos on a removable card that plugs into a laptop.
Don't expect these low-end devices to generate photographic quality on paper. Images tend to be grainy, lacking the visual depth of 35mm film. That works out to 640 pixels across the computer screen and 480 down. The result looks O.K. on your screen. But it's not nearly good enough to produce a flyer displaying the fine latticework on a house.